NEW DELHI: India fell short in their chase of 214 and were bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs at New Chandigarh’s Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, which hosted its first men’s international match on Thursday. South Africa won the second T20I by 51 runs and levelled the five-match series 1-1.India lost wickets regularly and never built momentum in the chase. Tilak Varma scored 62 off 34 balls and was the lone warrior for the Men-in-Blue. South Africa put India under pressure early by removing Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav in the powerplay, and continued to strike at regular intervals.
Ottneil Baartman took four wickets for South Africa, while Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, and Lutho Sipamla picked up two each.Earlier, Quinton de Kock scored 90 off 46 balls and took South Africa to 213 for four. He hit seven sixes and five fours, with most of the sixes going towards deep square leg.De Kock, who recently reversed his ODI retirement and was uncertain about his T20 plans after last year’s World Cup, returned with strong intent. An innings like this just less than a week before the IPL mini auction will also create the buzz among the franchises, who might indulge in a bidding war for the multi-skilled cricketer.India chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Arshdeep Singh, who dismissed de Kock in the series opener, went for runs this time. De Kock began with a six over mid-wicket off Arshdeep before adding another with a pull shot. Jasprit Bumrah also conceded 16 runs in his second over after Reeza Hendricks hit him for a six. Hendricks was later dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy, but de Kock kept scoring and took South Africa to 53 for one in the powerplay.Arshdeep returned in the 11th over but struggled with his lines after de Kock hit him for a straight six. The over included seven wides and went for 18 runs. De Kock looked set for a second T20I hundred but was run out by wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma while attempting a single.South Africa continued to score quickly after his dismissal. Donavan Ferreira made 30 not out off 16 balls and David Miller added 20 not out off 12 in the final overs.Bumrah also went for runs at the end, conceding 18 in the 20th over as Ferreira hit two sixes. India gave away 123 runs in the last 10 overs.The five match series now stands at 1-1 with the third match scheduled in Dharamsala on December 14.
