South Africa defied difficult conditions to beat India by 51 runs in the second T20I. Quinton de Kock played a brilliant knock to set up a huge total. India could not chase down the target despite the dew factor. This win locks the series at 1-1 with three games remaining.

De Kock and Ferreira Power the First Innings

India chose to field first after winning the toss because of the heavy dew. However, South Africa’s batters did not let the conditions bother them. Quinton de Kock smashed 90 runs off just 46 balls. He hit seven sixes and put immense pressure on the Indian bowlers.

Other batters chipped in too. Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram started slowly, but Donovan Ferreira finished the innings in style. Ferreira scored an unbeaten 30 from 16 balls. His partnership with David Miller helped South Africa reach a strong total of 213 for 4.

India’s Bowling Struggles

• Wides and Errors: The dew made it hard to grip the ball. Indian bowlers bowled 15 wides and 13 full-tosses.
• Arshdeep's Tough Over: Arshdeep Singh struggled the most, bowling seven wides in a single over against de Kock.
• Bumrah's Challenge: Jasprit Bumrah conceded four sixes in his spell, which is rare for him in T20 cricket.

South Africa Strikes Early with the Ball

New-ball bowlers Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen used the early movement perfectly. They took three crucial wickets in the first four overs.

• Shubman Gill was caught at slip off Ngidi.
• Abhishek Sharma edged a ball from Jansen after hitting two sixes.
• Suryakumar Yadav was caught behind while trying to steer the ball.

These early wickets reduced India to 32 for 3. It left them with a mountain to climb.

Tilak Varma Fights Alone

India never really looked like winning after the top order collapsed. Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel struggled to score quickly. However, Tilak Varma played a fluent inning. He scored 62 runs off 34 balls, using smart shots to find boundaries.

Tilak hit a reverse sweep for six and looked comfortable against both pace and spin. Jitesh Sharma added a quick 27 runs later on, but the game was already out of reach.

The Final Collapse

Ottneil Baartman wrapped up the tail quickly. India lost their last five wickets for just five runs. They were bowled out for 162 with five balls to spare.