The 2nd T20i between India and South Africa was won by the visitors after Heinrich Klaasen registered his highest score in T20 internationals. He scored 81 off 46, which included 7 fours and 5 towering sixes to single-handedly help his team chase 149 runs to win the game on a difficult pitch.
Earlier in the match, South Africa had won the toss and opted to bowl first. India started poorly with the bat as Ruturaj Gaikwad could only score one run. Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer tried forging a partnership in which they succeeded, but Iyer’s slow strike rate did more damage to the Indian total than helped it.
Kishan was caught on 34, while Shreyas departed after scoring 40 off 35. Rishabh Pant, the Indian skipper, failed to register a score of substance. He added only a meagre 5 runs to the total. Hardik Pandya also found it hard to time the ball. He contributed 9 off 12. Dinesh Karthik’s death over a flurry of boundaries helped India reach a respectable total of 148 runs in the 20 overs.
Karthik remained unbeaten on 30* off 21. For South Africa, Rabada and Parnell were excellent with the ball. Both of them conceded below 6 runs per over. The duo also took one wicket each to help Proteas establish dominance in the match.
Chasing the below-par total, South Africa found themselves in a bit of trouble due to excellent bowling by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He cheaply sent Reeza Hendricks, Dwaine Pretorius and Rassie van der Dussen during the powerplay to put India on top in the match. Bhuvi ended with a marvellous figure of 4 wickets for 13 runs in his 4 overs.
Unfortunately, no other Indian bowler could weave the same magic as Bhuvi as Klaasen destroyed them all to carry South Africa towards a victory. Harshal Patel ultimately dismissed Klaasen, but by then, he had already ensured that South Africa won the match. David Miller did the rest of the work, and Proteas went 2-0 up in the series.
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