Hardik Pandya heroics seal massive victory as India take 1-0 lead in T20I series

Team India roared off to a rollicking start in the T20I series as they steamrolled South Africa in the curtain-raiser at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. A phenomenal performance from Hardik Pandya with the bat backed by a collective show of brilliance from the bowlers sealed the fate of the game for the Men in Blue.

Winning the toss, South Africa opted to bowl first. India got off to a rusty start as the returning Shubman Gill (4) fell after scoring a boundary off his first ball. Much to India’s woes, two of their other top-order batters couldn’t fire either. Abhishek Sharma (17) and Suryakumar Yadav (12) were quick to follow the trail of Gill, reducing India to 48/3.

An anchoring show from Tilak Varma (26) did steady the ship but didn’t really steer it to the land of glory. Axar Patel (23) was the next one to fall, leaving India in some serious jeopardy. However, the equation flipped when Hardik Pandya arrived in the center.

He started whacking the South Africa bowlers to every single nook and cranny of the park while Shivam Dube (11) held on at the other end. Despite the fall of Dube with three overs to spare, India found a new light in Jitesh Sharma who made the most of the available deliveries to him.

He smashed an unbeaten 10 from just five balls while Pandya stayed at the crease, clobbering 59 off just 28 balls. He rocked six fours and four sixes in his stay at the center, propelling India to a formidable 175/6 at the end of their 20 overs.

South Africa lost their first wicket even before the scorers could move as Arshdeep Singh produced the all-important scalp of Quinton de Kock (0). Tristan Stubbs’ (16) stay in the center was cut short by Arshdeep Singh too, leaving the visitors in a lot of trouble. Aiden Markram (14) did try and keep South Africa in a piece but Axar snuck through his defences.

Dewald Brevis (22) was the only one who could put up a respectable score and a fight but without any support from the other end, he too had to return to the pavilion. South Africa were bundled out for a mortifying 74 as the Indian bowling unit came together in a clinical show of triumph.

Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel claimed two wickets each while Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube claimed a scalp apiece to propel India to a dominating 10Team India roared off to a rollicking start in the T20I series as they steamrolled South Africa in the curtain-raiser at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. A phenomenal performance from Hardik Pandya with the bat backed by a collective show of brilliance from the bowlers sealed the fate of the game for the Men in Blue.

Winning the toss, South Africa opted to bowl first. India got off to a rusty start as the returning Shubman Gill (4) fell after scoring a boundary off his first ball. Much to India’s woes, two of their other top-order batters couldn’t fire either. Abhishek Sharma (17) and Suryakumar Yadav (12) were quick to follow the trail of Gill, reducing India to 48/3.

An anchoring show from Tilak Varma (26) did steady the ship but didn’t really steer it to the land of glory. Axar Patel (23) was the next one to fall, leaving India in some serious jeopardy. However, the equation flipped when Hardik Pandya arrived in the center.

He started whacking the South Africa bowlers to every single nook and cranny of the park while Shivam Dube (11) held on at the other end. Despite the fall of Dube with three overs to spare, India found a new light in Jitesh Sharma who made the most of the available deliveries to him.

He smashed an unbeaten 10 from just five balls while Pandya stayed at the crease, clobbering 59 off just 28 balls. He rocked six fours and four sixes in his stay at the center, propelling India to a formidable 175/6 at the end of their 20 overs.

South Africa lost their first wicket even before the scorers could move as Arshdeep Singh produced the all-important scalp of Quinton de Kock (0). Tristan Stubbs’ (16) stay in the center was cut short by Arshdeep Singh too, leaving the visitors in a lot of trouble. Aiden Markram (14) did try and keep South Africa in a piece but Axar snuck through his defences.

Dewald Brevis (22) was the only one who could put up a respectable score and a fight but without any support from the other end, he too had to return to the pavilion. South Africa were bundled out for a mortifying 74 as the Indian bowling unit came together in a clinical show of triumph.

Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel claimed two wickets each while Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube claimed a scalp apiece to propel India to a dominating 101-run victory. Pandya bagged the Player of the Match award for his all-round brilliance across the game.