Heinrich Klaasen – excellent smasher on tough pitch in wet conditions to get the highest score of his career and lead South Africa to a four-goal victory in the second T20I match against India at the Stadium Barabati cave next Sunday.
Klaasen, who replaced an ill-fit Quinton de Kock, used an 81 46 ball, with seven feet and five six feet on both sides, as South Africa recovered from 29 for three to chase 149 with 10. backup ball and make it 2-0 to take the lead in the series.
After picking on the pattern of first-match success and capped India at 148 for six, South Africa was in a tight spot.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar combined his superb skills with impeccable precision to beat three of the first six overruns and secure three precious headers to send South Africa wobbling in the top spot. 29th third after PowerPlay.
Experienced player Bhuvneshwar, who was put to good use by captain Rishabh Pant, moved the ball in both directions and beat Reeza Hendricks with an incoming pass in the first half.
He cut speed to turn Dwaine Pretorius hitter into a deep midwicket skier in the second inning and changed direction to break through Rassie van der Dussen’s defence in the third.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma (35, 30b, 4×4, 1×6) calculated some risks and improvised his shots to hit his boundaries.
Klaasen, known for plaguing India in the past, once again relied on his clean-hit ability and smart shot selection to revive South African rounds against Bavuma. He punished Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel, who gave away 4, 6, 4 in a row, as India leaked 13 in 11 over and 19 in 12.
Yuzvendra Chahal broke the stands for 64 runs when Bavuma failed to pull off a pull. But the well-constructed Klaassen continued to deliver his shots and bring his teammates close to the target before plunging in to defeat Harshal Patel.
Before that, the South African players had adapted to the good conditions and carried out their plan perfectly. Its speed controller quickly assesses a two-speed track on which an oddball is kept low. They bowling as a unit and mix lengths and speeds nicely to frustrate a cramped house.
India lost the opening goal of Ruturaj Gaikwad to Kagiso Rabada in the first half. Ishan Kishan (34, 21b, 3×6, 2×4) continued with his good touchdown and contributed 29, mostly aided by six-pull points, of India’s 42 runs in PowerPlay.
Ishan, who was dropped on the 28th, failed to start from the start as he pulled a short ball from Nortje to deep midwicket.
Even when Pant and vice-captain Hardik fell cheap, Shreyas Iyer (40, 35b, 2×4, 2×6) applied himself to handling the ball around. Shreyas, who broke the shackles by stepping outside and hammering Tabraiz Shamsi with a score of four and six on either side, was stopped behind Pretorius.
Experienced finisher Dinesh Karthik (30 no, 21b, 2×4, 2×6) hit Nortje with two rounds in the 19th round and Pretorius in two sixth rounds in the final, creating 18 runs, to provide Give the player a goal to defend.
