New Delhi: As we approach the business end of this exciting but rain-hit Men’s T20 World Cup, India is taking on fellow tournament contenders South Africa today at Perth Stadium, in an encounter that could spell crucial ramifications for the rest of their Super 12 group.
Having narrowly lost their first two matches against India and Zimbabwe, Pakistan will hope for an India win and other results going in their favour in order to qualify for the semifinals. India and South Africa, on the other hand, are both unbeaten and have their semifinal fates in their own hands, so they need to simply keep winning, provided there are no more significant weather interruptions.
India have won the toss and have chosen to bat first. Captain Rohit Sharma has announced one change to the starting lineup that beat Netherlands, with Deepak Hooda coming in for Axar Patel
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma says he would have chosen to bat first as well, had he won the toss, and agreed with Ravi Shastri’s assessment that the pitch conditions offered at Perth are similar to South African pitches. South Africa have also made a change from their previous game — Tabraiz Shamsi misses out for Lungi Ngidi.
Team India squad
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), R Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh
Team South Africa squad
Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi
Catch all the live action from IND vs SA match here:
8.07 pm This win takes South Africa to the top of the table, pushes India to second
It also eliminates Pakistan from semifinal contention although they are still in it mathematically. India will still be confident about qualifying for the semifinals as they stand favourites in their two remaining games against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, while South Africa still have Pakistan and Netherlands left to play. Despite Suryakumar’s best efforts, the real difference between the two sides was Ngidi’s dream spell at the start of the match, as he’s named the Player of the Match with figures of 4 for 29.
8.02 pm Over 20 South Africa 134-5 (Miller 56*, Parnell 2*) – Miller takes South Africa home
Bhuvneshwar has a positive start to the final over, conceding just a single off the first two balls as Miller comes back on strike. But his bouncer is not well-directed enough, as Miller manages to use the pace to glove it past Pant for a boundary. With the Proteas needing just 1 off 3, Miller does it again, this time, hitting the ball over the top on the off side towards the boundary as South Africa win!
7.59 pm Over 19 South Africa 128-5 (Miller 51*, Parnell 1*) – Miller reaches 50 but Shami comes back well
Miller has made a fantastic recovery over the course of this innings, having initially been scoring at a snail’s pace. He was on 5 off 15 at one point but reaches his fifty off 40 balls, and marked this milestone by going hard at a short and wide delivery which went to third man for four. But Shami has come back excellently, conceding just two runs off the remaining balls. South Africa need 6 off the final over.
7.53 pm Over 17.4 South Africa 122-5 (Miller 47*) – Despite Stubbs wicket, Ashwin’s final over spells disaster for India
India came into this match with one less bowling option by leaving out Axar for Hooda. It was a big risk and it hasn’t paid off — Rohit has been forced to use Ashwin at the death and Miller has taken to his flighted full deliveries magnificently, smacking two sixes off the first two balls. But there’s a twist — an ill-advised reverse sweep from Stubbs sees him trapped in front and given out LBW. He reviews straightaway but it’s fruitless as the ball is hitting the stumps on umpires’ call. South Africa only need 12 from 14, in any case.
7.46 pm Over 17 South Africa 109-4 (Miller 34*, Stubbs 6*) – Stubbs smacks early boundary to keep scoreboard ticking
Arshdeep comes on for his final over to turn the game further in India’s favour and he does so decently at first, forcing a defensive shot from new batsman Tristan Stubbs. But Stubbs anticipates Arshdeep’s short ball and pulls the ball magnificently towards deep midwicket, getting a boundary despite KL Rahul’s diving efforts. With two dots and three singles, South Africa still need 25 off the last 3 overs and you’d back them to chase it down, but stranger things have happened in this tournament
7.38 pm Over 15.4 South Africa 100-4 OUT! Hardik removes Markram for 52
There’s a brief delay as Karthik leaves the field, seemingly due to pain in his lower back, and Pant comes on to keep in his place. The delay seems to have done little to halt the Proteas’ momentum, with Miller and Markram now using the breadth of this ground’s dimensions to run more twos. However, Hardik’s persistence with the short ball finally pays off, as Markram skies it to Suryakumar at deep midwicket. A major breakthrough for India and they’re back in this game at last
7.31 pm Over 15 South Africa 95-3 (Markram 50*, Miller 28*) – Markram reaches 50 as Proteas need 39 in 30
India bring back their in-form left-armer Arshdeep in a desperate bid to break this partnership. But he’s ultimately unsuccessful, despite some decent lines and lengths. Markram smashes him over cover before hitting a fortunate skier that bisected where Hardik and Kohli were fielding at midwicket and square leg in the deep, as he reaches his well-timed half-century
7.26 pm Over 14 South Africa 85-3 (Markram 43*, Miller 26*) – Miller breaks the shackles with monster 104m hit
David Miller has finally arrived — this is the middle-order finisher T20 cricket fans are used to seeing, this is the man who won multiple games for Gujarat Titans on their way to the IPL title. Ashwin’s third over is bookended by a pair of sixes — one a monster hit that went 104 metres back into the crowd at long-off, the other an apparent mishit by Markram that was still enough to sail over Suryakumar at the long-on boundary. Critical over for South Africa
7.23 pm Over 13 South Africa 68-3 (Markram 36*, Miller 16*) – Shami’s disciplined over sees Rohit miss run-out chance
The pressure of this must-win encounter appears to be getting to India’s fielders too. Markram and Miller haven’t learnt their lesson from a previous over and attempt a single that simply wasn’t on. But Rohit can’t punish them and misses the direct-hit, bafflingly so, as he was close enough to even run to the stumps and whip the bails off to send Miller packing.
7.19 pm Over 12 South Africa 65-3 (Markram 36*, Miller 13*) Markram turns it on as Kohli drops a dolly
Funny what a week of T20 can do to your fortunes. Last Sunday, Kohli rolled back the years in vintage fashion with the comeback victory over Pakistan. But today, while turning the match on its head, Markram dances down the pitch to hit Ashwin’s delivery over cow corner and its nearly straight down Kohlis throat but he juggles it and drops it onto the Perth grass. Did Kohli drop the match or will India’s bowlers snatch victory anyway?
7.15 pm Over 11 South Africa 56-3 (Markram 30*, Miller 10*) Markram and Miller put Hardik to the sword
That drinks break and chit-chat with the South African dugout appears to have given a newer sense of resolve for Markram and Miller. Having been stuck for so long, they are now taking advantage of the softening white ball by trying for riskier boundary shots and it’s paid off. The duo plunder 16 off Hardik’s third over and likely need just a few more such overs to take the game beyond India.
7.06 pm Over 10 40-3 (Markram 23*, Miller 5*) South Africa need 94 from 60 balls
India’s first over of spin arrives in the form of R Ashwin, as he sticks to length balls throughout but varies in line. The Proteas do not look for boundaries but find it easy enough to knock it around for five singles. India stand as favourites at the drinks break but the modest target means that South Africa could easily come back in with a couple of expensive overs
7.04 pm Over 9 35-3 (Markram 20*, Miller 3*) Hardik hurries the batsmen before run-out chance missed
The required run rate has risen to 9 and the pressure has started to affect the Proteas batsmen at the crease. With the benefits of the Perth breeze blowing in his direction, Hardik hurries the struggling batsmen with extra pace and bounce. The penultimate ball of the over sees miscommunication between Miller and Markram as the latter is left scrambling back to the non-striker’s crease and forced to put a dive in. But Rohit’s throw misses the stumps — a direct hit would have sent Markram packing.
7:01 pm Over 8 South Africa 33-3 (Markram 19*, Miller 2*) – Miller survives Shami LBW threat with inside-edge
Shami appears to trap Miller in front at the start of the eighth over and convinces Rohit to send the decision upstairs. It was an excellent length delivery that deviated into the batsman off the pitch, but the replays show a clear inside-edge causing India to lose a review. The over ends with a second LBW appeal turned down, this time against Markram but Rohit opts not to use India’s last remaining review.
6:54 pm Over 7 South Africa 32-3 (Markram 19*, Miller 1*) – Markram leads the Proteas’ rebuild
Thanks to the flurry of wickets in the powerplay, this contest is now on a knife-edge with India creeping on the ascendancy according to the ICC’s win predictor. As such, Markram and the new man in, David Miller, continue to struggle against Hardik’s hard length deliveries and take singles through edges. However, Hardik delivers it too full in the penultimate ball and Markram is able to relieve some of the scoreboard pressure with a well-directed cover drive for four.
6:49 pm Over 6 South Africa 24-3 OUT! Bavuma’s woes with form continue
Bavuma’s bid to go ultra-aggressive and creative as a way to get back himself into form is short-lived, as his premeditated ramp shot to Shami’s length ball leads to an inside edge. Karthik dives to his left to take the catch behind the wicket and Bavuma’s seemingly random shows of intent come to a tame end.
6:45 pm Over 5 South Africa 21-2 (Bavuma 9*, Markram 10*) – Bavuma responds to Bhuvneshwar’s brilliance with a top-edged six
Bhuvneshwar is on for his third over and repeatedly tries to expose Bavuma’s ongoing form issues and technical frailties in the shortest format. But he moves away from his greatest strengths — swinging full and length balls — to bowl it shorter. Bavuma attempts a pull shot and gets enough on it to send it flying well over the keeper’s head for a six behind the wicket. A much-needed, if unconvincing, release for the Proteas captain.
6:39 pm Over 4 South Africa 13-2 (Bavuma 3*, Markram 9*)
Arshdeep is still finding enough swing to prevent Markram from getting bat on ball too easily, but his short ball is far too wide. Markram is quick to react, position himself to jump and smash the ball through point for a boundary. Barring that error in line, however, Arshdeep bowls five dots to keep South Africa in danger of collapsing.
6:34 pm Over 3 South Africa 9-2 (Bavuma 3*, Markram 5*)
Buoyed by these breakthroughs, Bhuvneshwar continues to extract late movement off this Perth surface as Markram and Bavuma seem to face the same issues that plagued India over an hour ago. A minor let-off for India, however, is that Bhuvneshwar’s over-pitched final ball of the over wasn’t punished with a boundary by Bavuma.
6:31 pm Over 2 South Africa 7-2 (Bavuma 2*, Markram 4*)
India couldn’t have asked for a better response from their youngest pacer after South Africa had restricted India’s batsmen to 133. After his double-strike, Arshdeep attempts to york Markram but misses it, and Markram flicks it to midwicket for four. But Arshdeep keeps the pressure on with two length balls that lead to dots
6:28 pm Over 1.3 South Africa 3-2 OUT! Incredible review for India as Rossouw falls for a duck
He may have scored consecutive centuries in his last two T20I innings but Rilee Rossouw has to walk back without scoring tonight, as Arshdeep strikes again. This time it’s an inswinger full ball that raps Rossouw on the pads, initially not given by the umpire. But Rohit decides late to review it, and what an important decision that turned out to be for India. The Proteas are on the ropes
6:23 pm Over 1 South Africa 3-0 (Bavuma 2*, de Kock 1*)
Bhuvneshwar begins proceedings with a disciplined opening over, conceding just the three runs. Bavuma attempts to subvert criticisms of his T20I record by moving across to the off-side and play a pull shot towards midwicket for two.
Over 20 India 133-9 – Tail loses the plot with run-out
That Parnell over seems to have shaved off a potential 15 runs off of India’s final total as Shami, Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep can’t keep up the momentum SKY had built up for India. A series of mishits, byes and desperate running ensue, as Nortje runs Shami out before Arshdeep hits a couple off the final delivery.
Over 18 India 124-6 (Suryakumar 66*, Ashwin 7*)
Suryakumar Yadav is determined to take India to a decent score all on his own now, as he flatbats Rabada down the ground for four — a “baseball-batted” boundary, as stated by the global broadcast feed’s commentator Eoin Morgan. Ashwin supports him decently as well, showing good enough shot selections to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Over 17 India 115-6 (Suryakumar 61*, Ashwin 4*) — 360-degree SKY plays a lone hand
Maharaj comes back on for his third and likely final over and shows far more control with his lines and uses the pitch more effectively than before, perhaps aided by the scoreboard pressure his teammates have put on India all innings. Both SKY and Ashwin are unable to get him off the square, barring a fortuitous edge behind the wicket for four. But a more confident SKY finishes the over with his signature 360 degree pick up shot for another boundary.
Ngidi may have picked up four wickets at Perth today, but Suryakumar appears unfazed and is now well-set in his innings. So the first ball of Ngidi’s final over is deposited back into the stands by SKY. While Ngidi responds with a smart slower ball which SKY failed to read, he errs by bowling too full later on. SKY drives the delivery to the mid-on boundary to mark a truly exceptional fifty under the circumstances.
Over 14 India 89-5 (Suryakumar 40*, Karthik 5*)
With Maharaj’s economy rate a concern, Bavuma looks to get one of the spin overs out of the way by handing it to part-time offspinner Aiden Markram. And it pays off for the Proteas, as his disciplined lengths only concede 5 runs. India’s rebuild to a competitive score continues.
Over 13 India 84-5 (Suryakumar 37*, Karthik 3*) – SKY shows footwork to hit his second six
Maharaj is supposed to play a holding role and apply scoreboard pressure without really bowling risky deliveries in search of wickets. However, Suryakumar seems to have lined him up as the bowler to target, and dances down the pitch to hit the third ball of the over straight back above Maharaj’s head for a six, hitting the sightscreen in the process.
Over 12 India 73-5 (Suryakumar 27*, Karthik 2*)
Rabada’s return brings a relatively quiet over, as he rotates between length balls and short-of-length balls. Karthik is struggling to cope with the pitch conditions, much like his teammates, and subsequently struggles to get off strike. Suryakumar, on the other hand, shows off his wrist-work to get India another crucial three runs off a single delivery.
Over 11 India 67-5 (Suryakumar 23*, Karthik 2*) – Steady consolidation by SKY and DK
Bavuma brings his vice-captain and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj into the attack, but Maharaj instantly greets Suryakumar with a short delivery outside off turning wide which the latter cuts for an easy boundary. Three singles feature in the rest of the over, as well as a few forward defensive shots by Karthik as he looks to preserve his wicket.
Over 10 India 60-5 (Suryakumar 17*, Karthik 1*) – SKY rebuilds with calculated risks
SKY’s bold strategy is working so far as he flicks Nortje’s leg-side delivery for six, bisecting two fielders positioned deep on the leg side. He follows this up with three plays and misses and a well-timed single but the important thing for India is that he’s kept the strike for the next over and somehow amid the carnage, India have crawled to a run-a-ball score at the drinks break, halfway through the innings.
Over 9 India 51-5 (Suryakumar 8*, Karthik 1*) – OUT! Ngidi has FOUR as Rabada takes a diving catch
India’s last recognised specialist batting pair occupy the crease now as allrounder Hardik Pandya has gone too, yet again to a heightened short ball and an ill-judged pull shot to one of the great T20 World Cup spells by Ngidi. But this wicket was created by Rabada more than anyone else as he runs in from the boundary rope and dives forward to take one of the catches of the tournament.
Over 8 India 47-4 (Suryakumar 6*, Hardik 1*) – OUT! Nortje removes Hooda for a duck
India’s worst fears look to be coming true as South Africa’s pace quartet are all over them on this Perth wicket. Just three balls into his second over, Nortje removes Hooda for a duck as the latter is caught behind chasing at a wide delivery with no foot movement. Once SKY gets back on strike, he tries to respond to Protea Fire with some aggression of his own and edges the ball flying for four just above slip fielder Markram’s reach. A bold strategy by SKY, let’s see if it pays off for him
Over 7 India 41-3 (Suryakumar 1*) – OUT! Three for Ngidi as Kohli is out for 12
Virat Kohli marks the end of the powerplay by counter-attacking Ngidi for two masterful boundaries and causing South Africa to field more defensively. But it’s Ngidi who has the last laugh for the third time, hurrying Kohli with a well-directed bouncer. Kohli can’t deal with the higher bounce, top-edges his pull shot and is caught by Rabada at the fine leg boundary. Massive, massive strike by Ngidi on his return to the side
4.58 pm Over 6 India 33-2 (Kohli 4*, Suryakumar 1*)
What was looking like a steady but sedate powerplay turned out to be South Africa’s by some distance, with both openers removed in the fifth over. As a result, the final over of the powerplay, bowled by Nortje, was just a matter of surviving and consolidating. Despite a lack of timing, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have done just that.
4.53 pm Over 5 India 26-2 (Kohli 2*) OUT! Double strike for Ngidi as Rahul falls cheaply again
Ngidi is on a roll! This pitch is tailor made to his style of seam bowling as he extracts extra bounce once again, inducing a mistake from Rahul, who was simply looking to guide the ball to third man but edges it to Aiden Markram at first slip. India’s powerplay has gone south very quickly.
4.50 pm Over 4.2 India 21-1 (Rahul 8*) – OUT! Rohit departs
South Africa bring on Lungi Ngidi as their first change pacer and he makes a near-instant impact, using the Perth bounce to deceive Rohit into playing a pull shot. Rohit gets no timing and tamely top-edges back to Ngidi. A dream start for South Africa
4.47pm Over 4 India 21-0 (Rahul 8*, Rohit 13*)
India’s openers are slowly finding their stride here and trying to knock the ball around more, as Rahul nicely plays Rabada’s third ball of the over with soft hands to pinch a single. Rohit then punishes Rabada for bowling a full toss by playing it off the square for four.
4.43 pm Over 3 India 14-0 (Rahul 7*, Rohit 7*) – Openers show more intent but struggle to rotate the strike
Parnell’s back on to continue his good length and decent swing but the second he overpitches, Rahul whips him for India’s second six of the innings, this time over deep midwicket. Rahul and Rohit then show more intent but can only pick up two more singles before Parnell’s penultimate delivery angles in again and hits Rahul on his body. After some discomfort, he’s good to continue and plays out another dot ball.
4.39 pm Over 2 India 6-0 (Rahul 0*, Rohit 6*) – Rohit gets India off the mark but survives a drop catch
Kagiso Rabada follows up Parnell’s great work with on-the-money length balls to Rohit Sharma but the second he drops it short, Rohit’s eyes lit up and hooks Rabada for six over fine leg. But the last ball of the over offers Rohit a lifeline — he tries to hit back over Rabada but only checks his shot. Rabada’s reaction time is low and fails to take what would have been an excellent one-handed catch.
4:34 pm Over 1 India 0-0 (Rahul 0*, Rohit 0*)
The anthems are over, South Africa’s left-arm pacer Wayne Parnell opens the bowling and straightaway looks to deliver it full and make use of the swing available to try and angle it back in to the batter. Rahul is beaten four times in the first five balls and struggles to get bat on ball, for the most part. The fielders are well-placed for the two balls in which Rahul does get a hit too, and all in all, it’s a fantastic maiden for Parnell
4:04 pm: India won the toss and elected to bat
T20 WC 2022. India won the toss and elected to bat. https://t.co/KBtNIk6J16 #INDvSA #T20WorldCup
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 30, 2022
Also read: ‘We respect each other’s game,’ Suryakumar enjoys growing partnership with Kohli