IND vs SA: Arshdeep Singh And Deepak Chahar Rewrite The Record Books In India's First T20I Against South Africa

In the opening T20I match against South Africa on Wednesday at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, the fast duo of Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar wreaked havoc as wickets fell like a house of cards.

Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar, a fast bowling pair, bowled together to reduce South Africa to 9/5 in just 2.3 overs, with three batters being out for a golden duck.

The T20I series between Team India and South Africa got off to a respectable 8-wicket start on Wednesday in Thiruvananthapuram. The Men in Blue completed the pursuit of the mark with 20 balls remaining after holding the Proteas to a meagre 106/8 in 20 overs.

The undefeated 93-run stand between KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav gave India a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar destroyed the opposition’s top order.

After three years, Team India visited Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield Stadium, and supporters were eager to see their favourite athletes perform. Outside the stadium, life-size cutouts of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were already there, and in one matchday, a sizable crowd arrived to support India.

Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh created chaos:

Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma chose to bowl first after winning the toss. In the opening over of South Africa’s innings, Chahar struck first blood by dismissing the opposition’s skipper Temba Bavuma for a duck, demonstrating the wisdom of his choice.

To add insult to injury for the South African team, Arshdeep took Quinton de Kock’s wicket in the following over off his second delivery before dismissing Rilee Rossouw and David Miller in quick succession in the same over. In just the third over of the inning, Chahar delivered the game’s decisive punch by getting power-hitter Tristan Stubbs caught by the third man.

It was South Africa’s worst-ever start and lowest total at the fall of the fifth wicket in T20I cricket, having been reduced to the loss of five wickets with only nine runs on the board.

Lowest score at the fall of the 5th wicket for South Africa

9/5 vs Ind Trivandrum 2022 *

10/5 vs WI Port Elizabeth 2007

31/5 vs Ind Durban 2007

The score at the end of the powerplay was 30/5, but the visitors managed to survive. It was India’s third-best powerplay bowling effort in T20 international cricket. The best at home was India’s 29/5 versus Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam in 2016. This was their second-highest performance with the ball overall.

India will now face South Africa in the second match of the three-game T20I series in Guwahati on October 2.

Also Read: IND vs SA: I Think Virat Kohli’s Power Game Is Back And He’s Trusting His Power Game – Sanjay Manjrekar