Kohli, Dhawan Stamp India's Superiority As The Host Goes 1-0 Up

Skipper de Kock leads from the front with a quick half-century but South Africa’s bowling proves ineffective

- Rakesh Rao

A business-like chase scripted by Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan separated India and South Africa by seven wickets. More significant than the margin of victory was how ineffective the visitor’s attack was made to look in the chase of 150, culminating in the penultimate over at the PCA Stadium on Wednesday.

Having taken a 1-0 lead with a match to go in the three-match T20 series, India will have to be wary of being a shade complacent when the teams meet in Bengaluru.

Dhawan, before being brilliantly taken by a diving David Miller — clearly the catch of the match — at the long-on fence, played his part during the 61-run second-wicket stand with Kohli.

Finishing the job

As is his wont, Kohli batted with elan and ensured that he finished the job. He stroked the ball well, relied more on rotating the strike without missing an opportunity to hit the ball to the ropes.