In a nail-biting Men's T20 World Cup match on Sunday at Perth Stadium, Lungi Ngidi destroyed the Indian batting order with hard lengths and extra bounce, and David Miller and Aiden Markram each scored fifty runs to help South Africa defeat India by five wickets and move to the top of Group 2 in the Super 12s points table.
Ngidi's 4/29, backed up by Wayne Parnell's 3/15 and Anrich Nortje's 1/23 used the short ball to great effect to set up the game for South Africa by limiting India to 133/9. Suryakumar Yadav was the lone exception with a counter-attacking 68 off 40 balls on a typically pacy and bouncy Perth pitch where bowlers called the shots.
With a brilliant shift in gears, Miller (59 not out off 46 balls) and Markram (52 off 41 balls) saved South Africa from a precarious 24/3 and put together a 76-run partnership off 60 balls for the fourth wicket to finish the chase with two balls to spare. With South Africa's victory, India suffered their first defeat in the current competition.
After nine dot balls, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, who had chosen to bat first, each smashed a six to get things going. However, Ngidi's entry into the game in the fifth over changed the outcome of the game as Rohit fell after misfiring a pull on a short ball back to the bowler. As Rahul nicked a back of the length ball to first slip, one led to two.
Virat Kohli struck two consecutive fours from Ngidi after the power play, one over extra cover and the other past midwicket. Ngidi, however, had the last laugh when Kohli attempted to pull a bouncer but was stopped by a deep, sprinting to his right, fine leg.
In the ninth over, Deepak Hooda caused more problems for India by rushing headlong at a wide ball from Nortje without using any footwork and sending a thin edge behind to the keeper. In the ninth over, Hardik Pandya became Ngidi's fourth casualty when Rabada collected his pull at fine leg while forward diving.
However, Suryakumar put up a valiant fight, scoring a superb fifty by smashing six fours and three sixes at a 170 strike rate. He coordinated his arsenal of strokes brilliantly, and he and Dinesh Karthik, who contributed just six runs to the partnership, shared a stand of 52 for the sixth wicket to help India rally from 49/5.
He sliced Keshav Maharaj behind the point for four while whipping Nortje for six over the backward square leg. Suryakumar danced down the pitch to smash a straight six over the bowler's head since Maharaj wasn't getting any turn.
Suryakumar went across to come in line for the ball when Ngidi dropped short on the opening ball of his final over, and he pulled admirably over fine leg. He then hit a straight drive off Ngidi through mid-on to reach his fifty in 30 balls. But after Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin fell, he ran out of partners on the other end. India managed to pass the 130-mark despite his poor pull on a slower ball from Parnell in the 19th over to mid-off.
Defending 134, Arshdeep Singh found Quinton de Kock's drive's outside edge and was caught at second slip. After missing a flick, he next struck Rilee Rossouw on the back leg. Replays revealed that the ball hit top of leg and middle stump, giving Arshdeep his second wicket in three deliveries.
Temba Bavuma never seemed at ease in the goalmouth, and in the final power play over, while attempting to clear the area, he gave the keeper diving to his left an inside edge.
South Africa reached 40/3 in 10 overs despite Markram hitting some lovely boundaries—twice off Arshdeep and once off Hardik—as India's bowlers controlled the run rate, were precise with their lengths, and extracted additional bounce.
Following the beverage break, Markram and Miller appeared to shift gears as they each hit a four off Pandya in a 16-run 11th over. At 35, Kohli dropped a straightforward catch at deep mid-wicket, which gave Markram a massive break. Then, in the following over, Rohit missed an underarm direct smash at the striker's end.
On the first ball of the 14th over, Miller lofted Ashwin over long-off for six, and Markram later removed him for six over long-on in a 17-run over. Markram took 37 balls to get his fifty when his pull slid between two deep leg-side fielders.
When he holed out to deep mid-wicket off Pandya in the 16th over, his charmed innings at the crease came to an end. In the 18th over, Miller hit two sixes off Ashwin's first two balls: one down the ground and one over long off.
However, Ashwin retaliated by lbw-trapping Tristan Stubbs while attempting a reverse sweep. After getting a glove edge on a draw for four and smashing a cut over cover off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the penultimate over to secure a victory for South Africa, Miller went on to increase his fifty with a brilliant cut over third man off Shami in the 19th over.
Brief Scores: India 133/9 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 68; Lungi Ngidi 4/29, Wayne Parnell 3/15) lose to South Africa 137/5 in 19.4 overs (David Miller 59 not out, Aiden Markram 52; Arshdeep Singh 2/25, Mohammed Shami 1/13) by five wickets