South Africa brush aside Team India, Suryakumar Yadav stamps his bravery

Lethal pace attack from Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabadda inflicted the batting line-up, which featured a couple of modern greats like KL Rahul (9 off 14), Rohit Sharma (15 off 14), Virat Kohli (12 off 11), Deepak Hooda (0 off 3), and Hardik Pandya (2 off 3). South Africa sent half-of-the most trusted Indian batters back in the hut before even few realised the stakes.

The 26-year-old right-handed South African pacer Lungi Ngidi rattled the world’s strongest top-order as he picked up four wickets in the game’s first few minutes. With the scoreboard indicating trouble for Team India, the onus was on just a-year-old sensation Suryakumar Yadav and rejuvenated Dinesh Karthik to sail the blue boat.

While combined Indian & Pakistan cricket fans were praying for some magic from the pair, only Suryakumar Yadav rose to the occasion. Karthik forced many to believe he was a hollow bet for Indian selectors.

The eldest in the pack added another poor result under his belt as he got dismissed after adding just six runs on board. However, Sky was standing tall in front of fierce South African pacers who were very well capitalising on the assistance from the surface.

32-year-old was once again at his best as he kept on punishing Proteas bowlers in his own unique style. Team India’s victory would have not just sealed the semi-final spot for them but also provided drowning Pakistan’s side an opportunity to stay relevant in the ICC tournament. With the help of three maximums and six boundaries, Suryakumar could only propel India to 133/9 in 20 overs.

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The trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Md. Shami tried their best to defend the total by reducing South Africa to 24-3 in 5.4 overs. But Aiden Markram and David Miller left the Indian pacer clueless as their knocks spread a wave of sorrow among Indian and Pakistan fans.

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52 from Aiden Markram and David Miller’s 59 promoted South Africa to the top spot in the Group 2 points table, pushing back Pakistan to the second spot. Eventually, it was not just batting or bowling which laid the foundation for India’s maiden defeat in the Super-12 stage, but sloppy fielding from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma added more woes.

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