Varun's five-for in vain as SA script comeback win
South Africa were struggling at 66 for 6 in a small chase before Stubbs and Coetzee turned the game around
South Africa were struggling at 66 for 6 in a small chase before Stubbs and Coetzee turned the game around
Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: Shashank Kishore
Thanks a ton for joining us. The series is set up superbly. Can't wait for Jo'burg. From Monga, myself and Thilak - take care, stay safe and see you soon.
It's time for the presentation...
Aiden Markram: We bowled really well, ultimately it comes down to execution and we executed really well. Wanna keep taking the game on, sometimes when we lose wickets in a cluster, it doesn't look pretty. I'm fine, so far so good [when asked about the concussion and on-field bruise]. Good to see the fire in the belly of the youngsters."
Tristan Stubbs is the Player of the Match for his 47 not out off 41. "Fortunately the run rate never got away from us. I had 30 in mind to get off the last three, and the dew came in to help us also. He [Coetzee] came in and said "we can win this." We were always two hits away, the crowd was behind us and it was amazing. It was my mum's birthday, 20-30 people came here last night to watch. It gives us momentum to take into the Highveld. This is my favourite place to play cricket. I was nervous, so I was trying to control by breathing."
Suryakumar Yadav: Of course in a T20 game you don't wanna get 120, but proud of the way we bowled. In a T20, someone getting a five-for defending 125 is incredible. Varun has been waiting for this for a long time, working hard on his bowling, and everyone enjoyed it. Two games to go, lot of entertainment left. 1-1 going into Jo'burg gonna be a lot of fun."
Robin Uthappa on Sports 18 says it was a "no-brainer" when asked if Axar needed to be bowled for at least another over. Pretty sure that theory has plenty of takers here on comms feedback as well. Amol, Vijay Desai, Bhuvnesh and many, many more - all of them upset Axar wasn't called on. We'll hopefully hear about this from Surya at the post-match presentation.
7.45pm South Africa have got out of jail. India, seemingly in control going into the final three overs, have seen it come crashing down. Arshdeep and Avesh were properly under the pump and lost their radar slightly, to see it quickly get away from them.
Got to wonder if Suryakumar Yadav erred in not bringing Axar Patel back, despite spinners having a massive say. Equally, got to credit Gerald Coetzee for fuelling South Africa's chase that gave Tristan Stubbs some wriggleroom to bat through before teeing off.
It's not often that a five-for of the kind Varun Chakravarthy picked up is consigned to being second-best, but in a game of fine margins, India's pacers were slightly off and it cost India bigtime. What a game of cricket we've hand nonetheless. A low-scoring thriller that's given a strong Sunday crowd plenty of cheer and entertainment. The series is level at 1-1
South Africa one hit away from a series levelling-win
SA have scored 23 off the last two overs. Arshdeep will bowl out
Out of the Indian team for three years, Varun honed his craft to come back stronger and stake a claim in the first-choice team
South Africa were struggling at 66 for 6 in a small chase before Stubbs and Coetzee turned the game around
India are on a 11-match winning streak and one more victory will equal their best-ever T20I run