IND vs SA Highlights, 4th T20: India clinches 82-run win to level series 2-2
Dinesh Karthik and Avesh Khan help India register a comfortable 82-run win in the fourth T20I to draw the five-match series level 2-2 on Friday
Dinesh Karthik Man of the Match
Though India lost the toss, they did make the most of the opportunity given by the Proteas, who invited them to bat first. The Proteas were excellent till the 15th over, taking away top-order in Powerplay as they successfully put pressure on the hosts. Apart from Ishan Kishan, who contributed 27 runs, Ruturaj Gaikwad (5) and Shreyas Iyer (4) struggled with the bat. Skipper Rishabh Pant looked in good form partnering with Hardik Pandya, but Keshav Maharaj trapped him well for 17.
India managed to put up a challenging score for the South Africans to chase, courtesy of Hardik Pandya (46) and Dinesh Karthik (55). Dinesh Karthik was declared the man of the match for his half-century and boasted an impressive strike rate of 203.7.
Hardik Pandya also played a salient role in India, making such an easily defendable total. He missed his half-century by just four notches. Regardless, he did his best to score as many runs as possible to help India reach a mark of 169/6 in 20 overs.
The bowlers of South Africa were quite uneconomical, with their economy rate varying from 6.67 to 10.25. Lungi Ngidi was the best bowler, with two wickets to his name.
In response to the mammoth target of 170 posted on this challenging pitch, the South African batting line-up completely collapsed under the Indian bowling attack led by Avesh Khan. Avesh Khan was the Indian star bowler who took four wickets. Besides him, Yuzvendra Chahal also managed to send a couple of batters back to the pavilion.
South African batters struggled to reach the double-digit score. Rassie van der Dussen (20) was their leading scorer. While South African bowling was very uneconomical and expensive, their batting line-up seemed to stand no chance against the Indian bowlers as they completely out-did them to bundle out visitors for 87 in 20 overs and register an 82-run victory.
The South African batters looked to connect every ball and swing it out, but connected a few, missed a few more and ended up losing more wickets by this strategy. The South Africans have to ensure that they build decent partnerships in the upcoming game if at all they want to have a chance of winning.
Rishabh Pant said, "winning the match and levelling the series said, & quot; We talked about execution and playing better cricket and here are the results. Whichever team plays better cricket wins the game. Maybe I will toss with the right hand in the next round and be positive. Happy with the way Hardik put up a show. DK went for the kill immediately, which gave us positivity. As an individual, I can look to improve in certain areas. Not too concerned, though; looking to take the positives and improve. Let's see what happens in Bangalore. Looking forward to giving our best"
The South African batters looked to connect every ball and swing it out, but connected a few, missed a few more and ended up losing more wickets by this strategy. The South Africans have to ensure that they build decent partnerships in the upcoming game if at all they want to have a chance of winning.
The last T20I match will determine who will win this coveted series. Both teams will be under immense pressure to ensure the win. The final decider match is on 19th June 2022 in Bengaluru.