IND vs SA, T20 World Cup 2022: Team India struggled to get going with the bat against South Africa in the T20 World Cup encounter in Perth, scoring just 133/9 in 20 overs. No other batter stepped up as the South African pacers controlled the roost for the team, with the exception of Suryakumar Yadav, who hit a heroic 68 off 40 deliveries. In his first game of the competition, Lungi Ngidi took four wickets while Wayne Parnell also dismissed three batters. By cheaply taking out India’s top three players, KL Rahul (9), Rohit Sharma (15), and Virat Kohli (12), Ngidi put the team under immediate pressure.
Before Suryakumar and Dinesh Karthik formed a 52-run partnership to stabilise the innings, Deepak Hooda (0) and Hardik Pandya (2) both left early. Even though Karthik only managed to score 6 runs off of 15 runs, he stayed in the middle and let the 31-year-old batsman play his natural game, contributing to significant runs for India.
Interestingly, Yuzvendra Chahal, who had been a member of the starting lineup in nearly all important matches for the team in the run-up to the World Cup, has yet to play a single match for the team in this edition. India only made one change in the game, replacing Axar with Hooda. Instead, Chahal was spotted bringing beverages for the team on several occasions, and a video of him having fun with the umpires early in the Indian innings has since gone viral.
Chahal, who wasn’t selected for the Indian team for the World Cup the year before, was expected to be the team’s top spinner for the 2022 tournament. Ravichandran Ashwin, who can also contribute with the bat in the lower order, has been given preference since India has prioritised all-round skills in their starting XI.
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