Tristan Stubbs’ crucial 47 runs guided South Africa to a 3-wicket victory over India in the 2nd T20I at St George’s Park. India posted a modest total of 124/6, and despite a brilliant five-wicket haul from Varun Chakaravarthy, South Africa chased down the target in 19 overs, finishing at 128/7. (Match Highlights)
One of the truths in life is that there’s a day for everyone. And today, it was Tristan Stubbs' day, overshadowing Varun Chakaravarthy's five-fer, India's late surge, and more. The four-match bilateral series is now tied at 1-1.
Under the overcast skies of Port Elizabeth, South Africa's captain Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to bowl first. With the sting of their T20 World Cup 2024 final loss to India still fresh in their minds, the Proteas bowlers started aggressively, making early breakthroughs. Marco Jansen struck in the very first over, cleaning up Sanju Samson for a duck--quite the contrast to his back-to-back centuries in the previous game.
The pressure continued to mount as Gerald Coetzee followed up with the key wicket of Abhishek Sharma, who was dismissed for just 4 off 5 balls.
Andile Simelane claimed his maiden international wicket by trapping India captain Suryakumar Yadav LBW for 4 off 9 balls.
In the first T20I match India had posted 124/2 in first 11 overs, however, on Sunday they were at 67/4 after 11 overs.
Hardik Pandya along with Axar Patel posting 39 off 45 balls and 23 off 21 balls respectively, somehow steadied the ship that cruised India to 100+ which at a point seemed tough. India then set the low total of 125 runs.
In reply, South Africa started strong with Ryan Rickelton and Reeza Hendricks but then it was a strong start for the Indian bowlers too with Arshdeep Singh drawing first blood in the second over.
He bowled a clever slower ball to deceive Rickelton, who skied it to deep backward square leg where Rinku Singh took a simple catch. Rickelton was dismissed for 13 off 11 balls.
Hardik Pandya then rattled Aiden Markram with a short ball to the helmet, but Markram soon fell to a superb googly from Chakaravarthy for 3.
Chakaravarthy continued his form that was building for a record performance, removing Reeza Hendricks for 24 with a sharp-turning delivery that crashed into the stumps.
He then bagged David Miller for a golden duck, bowled with a perfect googly that disrupted the stumps.
Not content with that, India's mystery spinner struck again, dismissing Heinrich Klaasen for just 2, caught by Rinku Singh at deep square leg. With the hosts reeling at 62/5, Chakaravarthy had taken 3 quick wickets, completing a sensational 5-wicket haul. His final figures of 5/17 marked his maiden five-fers in T20Is.
Solidifying India's grip on the game, Ravi Bishnoi joined the wicket-taking spree, dismissing Simelane for 7. With South Africa now 86/7 in the 16th over, still requiring 39 runs to win with just three wickets remaining.
However, Tristan Stubbs then stepped up to rewrite the story. He kept South Africa's hopes alive with a series of well-timed shots, including a crisp drive for four and a massive six by Coetzee. By the 17th over, South Africa had reached 100/7, still needing 25 runs from 18 balls to seal the win.
Stubbs kept his composure, hitting a key boundary to bring the target within reach, finishing unbeaten on 47 off 41 balls, sealing victory by 3 wickets for South Africa. Despite a strong bowling effort from India, the target of 125 proved enough, and Stubbs was named Player of the Match for his late heroics that reminded everyone that in cricket, anything can happen until the last ball is bowled.
Now, South Africa and India will clash in the 3rd T20I on November 13, Tuesday, at SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium, with play set to begin at 8:30 PM IST.
