Hendricks, Coetzee shine as South Africa beat India by 5-wicket in rain-curtailed match
Gqeberha : Reeza Hendricks’ knock of 49 and Tristan Stubbs’ unbeaten cameo of 14 runs followed by Gerald Coetzee’s three-wicket haul powered South Africa to a five-wicket victory over India via the DLS method in a rain-curtailed match in the second T20I of three-game series at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
South Africa registered an incredible win to take a 1-0 lead against India. Hendricks scored the highest for the Proteas with 49 off 37 while captain Aiden Markram slammed 30 in 17 deliveries. For India, Mukesh Kumar bagged two wickets, conceding 34 runs.
Chasing a revised target of 152 in 15 overs, Reeza Hendricks started the chase on a fiery note as he smoked Mohammed Siraj for three boundaries. The openers Hendricks and Matthew Breetzke hammered Arshdeep Singh for 24 runs in the 2nd over of the innings with the help of two boundaries and 2 maximums.
The 42-run stand between the openers came to an end as a terrible mix-up caused Breetzke to walk back. Captain Aiden Markram then came out to bat and joined hands with Hendricks, slamming India bowlers all around the ground.
The colossal batting and continuous strike rotation from the Proteas batters put Indian under pressure. The 50 partnership between the duo only off 29 balls came to an end as Mukesh Kumar delivered a stunner to remove Markram for 30.
The right-handed batter Heinrich Klaasen then came out to bat. Hendricks went back to the pavilion just one run shy away from his half-century. Siraj then cleared up dangerous batter Klaasen for 7.
When it looked like the Proteas are marching towards victory, Mukesh Kumar brought India back in the game as he cleared up David Miller for 17 in the 13th over of the game.
However, Tristan Stubbs and Andile Phehlukwayo kept the home side in the game and guided Proteas to a five-wicket victory with a four and six in the 13.5 over.
Earlier in the first innings, Suryakumar Yadav’s fifty and Rinku Singh’s maiden half-century powered India to 180/7 against South Africa in 19.3 over after rain halted the play in the second T20I of the three-match series at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
Suryakumar and Rinku starred with the bat as they slammed 56 and 68 respectively guiding their team’s total to 180/7. For South Africa, Gerald Coetzee bagged three wickets.
Due to rain disturbance, the match was reduced to 15 overs a side and Proteas needed to chase 152 runs to win the 2nd T20I according to the DLS method.
Brief score: India 180/7 in 19.3 (Rinku Singh 68*, Suryakumar Yadav 56; Gerald Coetzee 3-32) vs South Africa 154/5 in 13.5 (Reeza Hendricks 49, Aiden Markram 30).
