Team India had a poor performance with the bat in their T20 World Cup match against South Africa in Perth as the side were restricted to 133/9 in 20 overs. Apart from Suryakumar Yadav who scored 68 off 40 deliveries, the other batsmen did not step up as the South African pacers led the team. While Lungi Ngidi picked four wickets, Wayne Parnell also missed three shots; Ngidi played his first game in this edition and quickly put the side under pressure, removing the Indian trio of KL Rahul (9), Rohit Sharma (15) and Virat Kohli (12) at a cheap price.
Deepak Hooda (0) and Hardik Pandya (2) also departed early before Suryakumar put on a 52-run partnership with Dinesh Karthik to stabilize the innings. Although Karthik scored just 6 runs off 15 deliveries, he stayed in the middle and allowed the 31-year-old bowler to play his natural game, helping India score crucial runs.
Also read: IND vs SA: Virat Kohli breaks the Sri Lankan legend’s eight-year feat with an incredible world record in the T20 World Cup.
India made only one change in the game, replacing Huda Axar; Interestingly, Yuzvendra Chahal, who has been a part of the XI in almost all the major matches in the World Cup preparations, is yet to play a single match in this edition. Instead, Chahal was seen carrying drinks on the side several times and now a video has gone viral where Chahal can be seen having fun with the umpires in the early stages of the Indian innings.
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Chahal was not part of India’s squad for last year’s World Cup and has been tipped as the side’s leading spinner for the 2022 edition. However, India have prioritized all-rounders in their XI, hence Ravichandran Ashwin, who can bat in the lower order.
Team India has won both their first two matches in the T20 World Cup so far (against Pakistan and Zimbabwe). A defeat against South Africa could relegate India to the second spot in Group 2 of the Super 12.