India vs SA, 1st T20I, 2022, Top Performances: Miller-van der Dussen century stand gives SA 1-0 lead

India vs SA, 1st T20I, 2022, Top Performances: David Miller's 64*, Russie van der Dussen's 75* and Ishan Kishan's 76 are top three performances. South Africa beat India and lead series by 1-0.

Miller-Dussen put up 131-run partnership and beat India by 7 wickets (Images ©BCCI)

Brief Scores: South Africa 212/3 (van der Dussen 75*, Miller 64*, Axar 1-40) beat India 211/4 (Kishan 76, Shreyas 36, Hardik 31*, Parnell 1-32) by seven wickets and lead the 5-match T20I series by 1-0

Player of the Match: David Miller (64* in 31 balls)

After two easy white ball assignments to begin the T20 World Cup year before a two-month mouthwatering IPL show, a new look Indian side locked horns with South Africa for the first of the five-match T20I series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday evening.

India were tied with Afghanistan and Romania on a record 12-match winning streak before this game. With a win over the Proteas, India would have rewritten men’s T20I history.

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bowl first on a track which was expected to get better to bat on under anticipated dew later. South Africa handed a debut cap to Tristan Stubbs as Aiden Markram was unavailable because of Covid. India, on the other side, had welcomed Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik back in the playing eleven.

South Africa ends India’s 12-match winning streak in a high-scoring affair

Put in to bat first, India’s new opening pair of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan propelled them to a flying start with 51/0 after the powerplay. Even though the home side lost Gaikwad two balls later, Kishan in his wild mode, stitched up an 80-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer.

The former ended with 76 in just 48 balls. Later, Rishabh Pant with 29 off just 16 balls, and new IPL winning captain, Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 12-ball 31 fired India to 211/4 in their 20 overs which was India’s highest T20I total against South Africa.

Chasing a mountainous total, South Africa got off to a flying start with 61/2 in the powerplay before losing the path in the next few overs. It was then that David Miller joined Rassie van der Dussen in the middle and partnered him to compile an unbeaten 131-run partnership in just 63 deliveries. Miller with 64* off 31 balls and van der Dussen with 75* in 46 balls took the Proteas to a seven-wicket victory to hand India their first defeat defending 200+ score in T20Is.

Let’s scan the top three performances from the game between India and South Africa.

Kishan's 76 goes in vain as South Africa beat India in 1st T20I (Images ©BCCI)

Ishan Kishan set the stage on fire a fiery 76

Ishan Kishan, after an average IPL season, where he grabbed 418 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of just 120.11, showed his old version, opening in the first T20I in New Delhi.

The left-hand batter began with a couple of boundaries in the very first over before cracking two more fours against Kagiso Rabada. The timing and the shot selection besides finding the gaps at the tiny ground was worth watching from the India opener. With a huge six off Keshav Maharaj over deep mid-wicket, Ishan Kishan registered his third T20I fifty in just 37 balls. After 11 innings for India, Kishan with 365 T20I runs ranks third after KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.

In the next over of the left-arm spinner, Maharaj, Ishan Kishan clubbed 20 runs, thanks to two huge sixes and two boundaries. The batter hit 36 runs in 15 balls against Maharaj in the evening with four boundaries and three sixes.

Although Maharaj had the last laugh getting rid of Ishan; the India opener had done the damage with his 76 in just 48 balls that was arranged with 11 boundaries and three sixes at a strike rate of 158.33. This knock helped India earn their 20th 200+ total in T20Is.

David Miller gets player of the match for his unbeaten 64 off 31 balls (Images ©BCCI)

Miller’s whirlwind knock of 64* blew away India

Chasing a record total of 211, South Africa, even after a decent start lost their path att he halfway stage of the second innings, losing three wickets for 81 when David Miller, who carried his IPL team Gujarat Titans to the final and made them IPL 2022 champions with 481 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 142.73 and average of 68.71, made his way to the middle.

The left-hand batter took a few balls to settle in before powering back-to-back four and six off Hardik Pandya. In the next over bowled by Axar Patel, Miller tore away the left-arm spinner for 17 runs. The Protea batter now has 30 T20I runs against Patel at a strike rate of 200.

He cracked one more boundary and six against Bhuvneshwar Kumar to complete his fifth T20I fifty in just 22 balls; Miller now has 75 T20 runs in just 42 balls with three boundaries and five sixes off Bhuvneshwar. It was also the joint third quickest 50 against India. He also now has 163 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 150.9 against India in T20Is.

Miller kept the momentum going and managed to get an unbeaten 64 off just 31 balls thanks to four boundaries and five sixes at a strike rate of 206.45 to give South Africa a 1-0 lead in the series.

van der Dussen's 75* helps South Africa beat India in 1st T20I (Images ©BCCI)

Rassie van der Dussen did a “Rahul Tewatia” with a 75-run knock

South Africa fired up a powerful start after which Rassie van der Dussen joined Quinton de Kock in the middle. Even though he cracked a four and six early in his innings, the right-hand batter seemed to fridge at one spot with hardly any timing scoring a 29-ball 30.

In an attempt to hit a ball, he broke his bat and the change of willow swapped his luck. He murdered Harshal Patel in the 17th over for 22 runs thanks to three sixes and one boundary; in the evening, he collected 29 runs off Harshal in just 16 balls to register his seventh fifty in 37 balls.

In the next over bowled by Bhuvneshwar, van der Dussen charged for 15 runs with two boundaries and one huge six. With two more boundaries, he remained unbeaten on 75 in just 46 balls at a strike rate of 163.04.

South Africa, as a result, won the game by seven wickets.

What’s to come

The second T20I of the five-match T20I series will be played on June 12 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

Top Twitter Reactions from India vs SA, 1st T20I as South Africa beat Team India

Read More: India vs SA, T20Is 2022: Dravid backs Rohit’s decision to opt out; echoes all-format players’ needs