Rajkot: First it was Dinesh Karthik (55, 27b, 9×4, 2×6) with the bat and then fast bowler Avesh Khan (4/18) with a brilliant spell helped India beat South Africa in the fourth T20I of the series by 82 runs here Friday. After being put in India had scored 169 for the loss of six wickets. However, the bowlers then dismissed South Africa for just 87 in 16.5 overs. The five-match series now stands at 2-2 with both sides having won two games each.
None of the South African batters got going against the Indian bowlers who maintained tight line and length. Even though Harshal Patel (1/3 off 2 overs) bowled just two overs, he produced a magical delivery to send David Miller’s (9) stumps cart-wheeling. The top scorer for South Africa was Rassie van der Dussen (20) and only three of their batters managed to get double digit scores. Such was India’s dominance that the last five wickets of South Africa fell for only 13 runs.
In the process, Dinesh Karthik the eternal comeback man of Indian cricket notched up his maiden T20 half century and gave the bowlers a total to bowl to after the hosts had been reduced to 81 for four wickets including the wicket of skipper Rishabh Pant (17) whose horrendous form with the bat continued.
Karthik and Hardik Pandya (46, 31b, 3×4, 3×6) revived the Indian innings with some exhilarating strokeplay. They put on 65 runs for the fifth wicket in less than six overs as all the South Africa bowlers were taken to the cleaners. Karthik was particularly strong on square of the wickets on both sides with most of his boundaries coming in that region. However, the most pleasant shot was a lofted bowler’s back drive off Keshav Maharaj (1/30) that had class written all over it.
In fact the pinch-hitting capability of the Indian batting line up now looks even more impressive with both Pandya and Karthik back in the slots. If Pant can find some form with the bat ahead of the T20 World Cup, it would certainly look good for India.
The start however, was not very inspiring for India as Ruturaj Gaikwad (5) and Shreyas Iyer (4) fell cheaply. And when the inform Ishan Kishan (27) fell, things did not look too rosy for India. But then they recovered through Karthik and Pandya as South Africa bowlers went for 58 runs in the last four overs.
Lungi Ngidi (2/20) was the most impressive among the South African bowlers. It remains a mystery as to why skipper Temba Bavuma did not use him for his full quota.
Brief scores
India 169 for 6 (Dinesh Karthik 55, Hardik Pandya 46, Lungi Ngidi 2/20) beat South Africa 87 all out in 16.5 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 20, Avesh Khan 4/18, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/21) by 82 runs