Arshdeep, fellow pacers hand Proteas a seven-wicket defeat

Bowlers cash in on seaming conditions in Dharamsala as India go 2-1 up in T20 series

- Somshuvra Laha

Arshdeep Singh (2/13), Harshit Rana (2/34), Hardik Pandya (1/23) and Shivam Dube (1/21) bowled full tilt, making the ball zip and zoom in a coordinated assault before Varun Chakrav-arthy (2/Il) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/12) dismissed South Africa to a paltry 117. Abhishek Sharma once again reminded the world of his destructive ways with an 18-ball 35 that knocked the wind out of South Africa’s sails to set up an emphatic victory.

Aiden Markram was the only South African to walk away from this defeat with his head held high, thanks to a nicely paced 46-ball 61. Donovan Ferreira and Anrich Nortje were the only other batters to get to double figures as the only partnership worth mentioning came for the eighth wicket when Markram and Nortje added 36 runs to get them across 100 from a precarious 77/7.

From 25/3 in the Powerplay to 44/4 at the halfway mark, South Africa did remarkably well to reach 117. In the context of the game, especially considering the heft of India’s batting, it was never going to be enough. And that was largely due to the early inroads by India’s pacers.

Sign of early dew prompted India to elect batting and it worked quickly in their favour, chiefly to Arshdeep Singh who bowled a probing spell where he constantly induced the false shot when he wasn't getting the edge.