SWING & SHINE

Arshdeep, Chahar Pave The Way As India Rout SA On Spiteful Track

Thiruvananthapuram: After the run deluge by the batters in the Australian series, it was time for the bowlers to call the shots in the first T20I of the three-match series between India and South Africa. The Greenfield stadium here in Thiruvanathapuram lived up to its name by producing a greenish wicket that aided plenty of swing for the seamers.

And two young Indian pacers weren’t complaining. Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar, coming into the playing XI in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, proved they can be just as good, if not better than their senior pros with a brilliant exhibition of swing bowling to set up India’s eight-wicket win over the Proteas on Wednesday night.

The English-like’ conditions saw South Africa losing half the side even before the team total had reached double figures. The visitors couldn’t recover from that abysmal start and ended up with 106 for eight in 20 overs.

The Indian batsmen didn’t have it easy in their chase either as long as Kagiso Rabada was in operation. He dismissed skipper Rohit Sharma for a duck as he troubled the batters with his pace and movement. When Anrich Nortje accounted for Virat Kohli, some jitters were felt. However, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav took their time to wear out the South African bowlers and chipped away at the paltry target with an unbroken partnership of 93 to take India home.