| 2W | ||||
| 1W | ||||
Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: George Binoy
11.00pm Righto, with that it's a wrap from the first T20. Join us for the second one on October 5 in Cuttack. Till then, see ya.
10.40pm What an enthralling finish, what a start to the tour. South Africa won two-thirds of that chase - the start and the finish. However, it must be said that SA have a lot to thank for that start from their openers. India did pull the game back nicely through the middle with spin and R Ashwin's masterful variations, which made India favourites. But, Farhaan Behardien and JP Duminy played it expertly through that middle and bided their time. JP waited for the left-armer and punished that over for 22 - a match-changing over. Subsequently, the pair found singles and twos and found the boundaries too. Eventually, the one full toss from the debutant, S Aravind sealed a fantastic win for South Africa, considering their chasing problems. Great start to the tour for SA, but India have a lot to take from this match as well.
JP Duminy is the man of the Match: 'Definitely one of my best innings. The way we started the innings was what we wanted in the chase. We batted quite well in the middle and built a good partnership with fudge(Behardien). We both said we have to take it on, we don't want to die wondering towards the end. We knew if we could get it down to 10-11 off the last over, we had a good chance. Fortunately enough, the left-armer missed his lengths and gave me an opportunity. It's a long tour for us but we have started well and we are happy with this performance.
MS Dhoni: 'We had something close to par, but there was dew, high altitude. There were periods where we conceded too many runs. That puts a lot of pressure on the bowlers. Any over above 20, it puts a lot of pressure. Even when we don't get decisions in our favour, it changes the match. I could have gone with raina, but seeing the conditions it's quite difficult over here. Axar does bowl well, whether against right or left hander. Execution is crucial on a wicket like this and a outfield like this. We have to encourage the opposition to play false shots and get wickets.'
Faf du Plessis: 'I think it did get a little wet towards the end. But what a great game of cricket, both sides got 200. Great innings from Rohit there at the start. Today was one of those days when the bowlers were under the pump. Great innings from JP, paced it really well and well-supported by Behardien.
Farhaan Behardien: 'I spoke to AB before going in and he told me to be busy. We wanted to put pressure on the fielders with our running. I'm very glad it came off today. JP has recently become a dad and he showed his class today, let's hope it continues throughout the tour. We all try and emulate MS Dhoni(with respect to finishing capabilities), we also have Michael Hussey today. Important innings for me too.
South Africa need only ten off the final over, but they do not have the dangerous Duminy on strike. The debutant Aravind to bowl the final over, what a responsibility!
Bhuvneshwar is trying his best to dry the ball with a towel under the watch of the umpire. Vigorous rubbing.
"I switched off mentally for the rest of the day and I detached myself from the team because it was clear I was not wanted"
Fast bowling played a far larger role in South Africa than spin did in India
The seeming vacillation and inconsistency over Rahane's place in the order tells a story - and it does not say good things about India's captain
The ICC has given the Jamtha Stadium in Nagpur, which hosted the third Test between India and South Africa, an official warning under its pitch monitoring process
Or: Four Stats I Have Dug Up and Polished Before Deciding it Was Bedtime and They Would Have to Do For the Stats of the Year
