10:53pm Well, that ends India's run of wins in T20Is. But remember, it is just the start of the T20I series. The teams will clash in a couple of days in Cuttack. Hope you enjoyed our coverage tonight. You can catch the report and the post-game pieces by Hemant Brar, our man at the venue. That's it from Chandan, Deiva and me, Sudarshanan, tonight. See you in a couple of days. Ciao!
David Miller, the player of the match: "I think it's a lot of hard work, have been understanding my game a lot better in the last four-five years. Rassie played phenomenally well at the back end. Just try and hang in there. I was going to keep going and Rassie was to pierce the gap or find a boundary. It was about reducing the dot balls. It's belief. I have been around for some time now but understanding and winning games give you a lot more confidence. Wherever I bat, I have always wanted to make a difference. No. 5 happens to be the place now. I have done well at No. 4 in domestic but South Africa is a different story with world class players. Happy to bat wherever."
Temba Bavuma, South Africa captain: "We are happy of our performance. We expected the wicket to getter as the night wears on. There are areas we can improve on. I think the way Ishan batted, he made it look easy. He put our spinners under pressure. That was a proper batting display. David carried his form, properly supported by Rassie. It was a good wicket probably reading the situation better and (corrections needed) going to the death options earlier and taking away the boundary balls. We have a lot of belief on Rassie. He takes it slowly and takes it on at the end. He is the guy who sees us through. With David, makes it very explosive. It was hot but wasn't as humid. There's a quick turnaround so boys will have to be hydrated."
Duncan: "Is what Rassie did called doing a 'Tewatia'?"
Rishabh Pant, India captain: "I think we had enough on the board but were off with our execution, but credit to the opposition. We thought the slower one was working when we were batting but it became easier in the second innings."
Here's S Rajesh with a stat: 14 - The runs cost to India due to Shreyas Iyer dropping van der Dussen in the 16th over. He was then on 29 off 30, and finished on 75 off 46, scoring 46 off 16 after the drop (including the run he scored off the ball he was dropped). According to Luck Index, the other batters would have scored 32 off 15 had the chance been taken
10:35pm South Africa needed 64 off the last five overs and they ended up achieving it with five balls in the pocket. While both Bhuvneshwar and Harshal began well with the ball, they came undone against the hitting of Miller and van der Dussen. Even Axar and Chahal's spin couldn't come out unscathed even though they didn't bowl as bad as their figures suggest. Back with the presentations in a bit.
Rassie van der Dussen: "It's sticky in the middle but Miller was so good. It wasn't through lack of intent. I was clear in my mind.. Sometimes it doesn't come off but staying mentally tough is important. Avesh Khan put me under a lot of pressure and didn't miss his mark at all. But Miller pulled me through with his knock. It's a gameplan that has worked for me in the last few years. I feel like if i can play 40-50 balls, I can have an impact and luckily it happened today. It's a lesson to Pretorius - if it was in his arc he had to go for it. We knew it was a fast-scoring ground since we played a warm-up game a couple of days ago. Strangest things make a difference and feels like it (change of bat helped)."
10:28pm South Africa achieve their highest T20I run-chase to end India's 12-match winning streak in the format! And it was all thanks to the unconquered 131-run partnership between Miller and van der Dussen. Life was not good for South Africa when the duo got together. However, Miller had carried his form from the IPL while van der Dussen managed to change his gears midway in the chase and that was enough for the tourists to register a seven-wicket win. And so, was the track really tough for batting?
Chahal to bowl the final over. India are starting the final over just on time and hence, they escape the fielding penalty.
END OF OVER:19 | 8 Runs | SA: 208/3 (4 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 10.94, RRR: 4.00)
- Rassie van der Dussen71 (45b)
- David Miller64 (31b)
- Harshal Patel4-0-43-1
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar4-0-43-1
Afeef: "94 runs have come off the last 6 overs"
RiwajAdhikari: "If you can capitalise your slow start and being set just like van der Dussen always does, noone is going to criticize you. Many players and people need to know this."
END OF OVER:18 | 22 Runs | SA: 200/3 (12 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 11.11, RRR: 6.00)
- Rassie van der Dussen66 (41b)
- David Miller63 (29b)
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar4-0-43-1
- Harshal Patel3-0-37-1
20 off 14 needed. Is there another twist in the game? Van der Dussen has played his game to the T. He had made his T20I best of 94* in a similar manner.
Zain: "Van Der Dussen repeating Kushdil Shah's feat from yesterday. "
Karthik has a quick chat with Pant. 34 needed off 18. Bhuvi it is.
END OF OVER:17 | 22 Runs | SA: 178/3 (34 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 10.47, RRR: 11.33)
- Rassie van der Dussen52 (38b)
- David Miller56 (26b)
- Harshal Patel3-0-37-1
- Avesh Khan4-0-35-0
Now Harshal slips in his run-up and lands flat on the pitch.
Rajeev Tyagi: "Notice how SAs win probability has gone from 3 to 48 percent!"
Change of angle. Over the wicket.