T20 World Cup 2022, Gr 2, IND v SA: Parnell-Ngidi's combined 7-44 hurts India; SA leapfrog to no 1

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Super 12, Group 2, India vs South Africa: Lungi Ngidi-Wayne Parnell's 7-44, Suryakumar Yadav's 68 and Aiden Markram-David Miller's 76-run stand are top performances. South Africa beat India at Perth and move to top in Group 2 Points table.

Lungi Ngidi ran through (4-29) India's top order at Perth (Source: ©Getty Images)

Brief Scores: India 133/9 (Suryakumar Yadav 68, Ngidi 4/29, Parnell 3/15) lost to South Africa 137/5 (Miller 59*, Markram 52, Arshdeep Singh 2/25) by 5 wickets

Player of the Match: Lungi Ngidi, (4/29)

India who were coming off two straight wins and looking firm favourites for the semis spot, ran into a strong South African bowling unit on a bouncy Perth wicket on Sunday in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. South Africa looked like a rejuvenated side after their comprehensive win over Bangladesh. It is a great departure from the side that was defeated by India in both ODI and T20I series just recently.

Before this match, India had won 13, lost 9 and one game ended in no result against South Africa in 23 T20Is.

India struggle on fast & bouncy Perth pitch against South African pacers

Wayne Parnell and Kagiso Rabada kept India on a tight leash with accurate fast bowling. With the pressure mounting to make the most of the powerplay, Rohit Sharma attempted a pull in the fifth over off a length ball only to top-edge it back to pacer Lungi Ngidi. The pacer then dismissed KL Rahul for 9 in the same over.

In his next over, Ngidi got the back of Virat Kohli who fell to a good catch at deep fine leg by Rabada. Hardik Pandya fell next to Ngidi to leave India struggling at 4/42. SKY then did what he does best, played a brilliant counter-attacking innings and put the South African bowlers under pressure. Out came his flicks, smashes, cuts, swings, scoops and sweeps to keep India in the hunt for a good score. He ended up with a 40-ball 68, with the next best score being 15 by Rohit Sharma as India ended up with 133/9.

South Africa overcome slow start to beat India

South Africa had a disappointing start, being 3/24 by the final over of powerplay. Arshdeep Singh did most of the damage, making Quinton de Kock edge it behind to KL Rahul stationed at second slip for a personal score of 1. Rilee Rossouw fell for a second-ball duck in the same over, being dismissed LBW on review.

At 40/0 in 10 overs, South Africa were on the backfoot straight away. But Aiden Markram and David Miller then combined to put up a 76-run stand in 10 overs, helped by some missed run outs and dropped catches. Markram made 52 before being dismissed by Pandya. Miller then completed the chase in the company of Wayne Parnell.

Let’s take a look at the top three performances from the game between India and South Africa in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

Parnell supported Ngidi with his 3-15 against India at Perth (Source: ©Getty Images)

Lungi Ngidi’s 4/29, Wayne Parnell’s 3/15 derail India

India seemed to have weathered the early storm off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell when they were 23/1 in 4.1 overs. But the need to accelerate saw Rohit Sharma take on Lungi Ngidi, who bowled a ball just short of good length. Rohit was hurried on to his shot and top-edged a pull back to the bowler. In the same over, Ngidi got KL Rahul edging it behind to first slip for 9.

Virat Kohli looked in great touch, playing some great drives in Ngidi’s next over. But his pull in the same over was taken brilliantly by Rabada stationed at the deep fine leg boundary. Ngidi then got Hardik Pandya in a similar fashion with Rabada completing another brilliant diving catch. Ngidi, who was playing the match in place of Tabraiz Shamsi, had Indian batters all at sea against some accurate fast bowling. He also reaped the rewards for India’s players going after him after other South Africa bowlers gave them no room to play shots.

Wayne Parnell was also a major contributor to the good bowling performance from South Africa. After keeping India’s openers on a tight leash, he came back to dismiss the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav, who played uppishly to hole out to Keshav Maharaj at mid-off. Parnell ensured that there was no fightback from India’s lower order, dismissing Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin for low scores. The combination of Ngidi and Parnell took 7/44 to derail India’s innings.

Read More: T20 World Cup 2022, Group 2, SA vs BAN: QdK-Rossouw 168-run stand, Nortje's 4-fer win game for SA

Surya scored 68 off 40 balls against South Africa at Perth (Source: ©ICC/Getty Images)

Suryakumar Yadav’s 68 only shining beacon in India’s otherwise poor display with the bat

After India had slumped to 5/49 in 8.3 overs, the need was to consolidate to reach a par score. Another batter would have taken the innings deep, build a stand and then accelerate in the last few overs. But not for Suryakumar Yadav. He continued to play his big shots, irrespective of the situation. He went after the South African pacers, playing 360-degree shots to entertain the fans.

In fact, it was a calculated assault he launched single-handedly on South African bowlers. He raced to his fifty off just 30 balls while other batters struggled to time the ball or rotate the strike. He put up a stand of 52 runs for the sixth wicket in just 6.4 overs with Dinesh Karthik, whose contribution was just 6 runs off 15 balls in the stand. That explains how good was SKY as he single-handedly diminished the damage induced by South Africa’s attack. The best shot of his was a slam off the backfoot on a short ball straight over the bowler’s head off Rabada. He ended up with a 40-ball 68 with 6 fours and 3 sixes.

Read More: KL Rahul’s form: Is it governed by ‘Law of Diminishing Returns’ on the big stage?

Markram-Miller added 76 off 60 balls for 4th wicket (Source: ©ICC via Getty Images)

Aiden Markram-David Miller’s 76-run stand ease the nerves in SA camp

India were on top when they had taken three quick wickets. South Africa needed a partnership to sail through the difficult times. Aiden Markram and David Miller then dictated terms, going for their shots, and bringing down the required run rate.

Markram was the more adventurous of the two as he played his shots and was helped by a few dropped catches by India’s fielders. Miller, on the other hand, played the anchor role, ensuring he holds up one end, while Markram goes for his shots. The 76-run stand in exactly 10 overs ensured all gates were closed for India’s fightback.

Read More: T20 World Cup 2022, Group 2, IND v NED: SKY’s 51*, Kohli’s 62* drive India to 2nd win & top of Group 2

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 Group 2 Points Table

Group 2 Points Table

Points Table Scenario & What’s Next

South Africa have one foot in the semis as with 5 points from 3 games they find themselves at the top of the points table in Group 2. Their net run rate (NRR) is at a healthy 2.772. They will face Pakistan and Netherlands next.

This win registered by South Africa has also made Pakistan’s chance of making the semis extremely remote.

India have slipped to the second spot in Group 2 with this loss. They have 4 points from 3 games with a NRR of 0.844. They next face Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and would aim to win both of those games to ensure a safe passage into the semis, otherwise net run-rate might come into play.

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