Twitter Reactions: Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar leave South Africa in tatters with stunning opening spells

A full house crowd at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, were treated to a breathtaking opening spell of bowling as young fast bowling sensation Arshdeep Singh rattled the Proteas with three wickets in his first over. Rohit Sharma decided to bowl first in the first T20I of the series, and Arshdeep and Deepak Chahar fulfilled his captain's decision with a sensational bowling display.

The hosts suffered another injury in the lead-up of the series opener as Rohit Sharma revealed the omission of Jasprit Bumrah due to a back injury. But the incoming Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh put their hands up for the Men in Blues, running riot with the new ball.

While Deepak Chahar removed the South African skipper with a pearler in the first over of the match, Arshdeep got rid of three Proteas batters in the next over, breaking the back of the batting line-up. The left-arm pacer got rid of the dangerous Quinton de Kock on the second ball of his spell. He then dismissed the in-form Rilee Rossouw with a teasing delivery for a golden duck on the fifth delivery and followed it up with a corker to castle the veteran David Miller.

South Africa's abysmal start hands India the momentum in the series opener

The 23-year-old's exceptional first over left the visitors reeling for 8/4 before his opening bowling partner added another in the next over. Temba Bavuma's side were in danger of being bowled out inside the powerplay after the chaos in the first three overs. 

Notably, this is the first time a T20I side has managed to scalp five wickets of the opposition team inside the first three overs of the match. Among the five dismissed batters, four of them did not manage to even open their accounts, with three being dismissed for a first-ball duck. The visitors are in deep waters and will have to conjure a miraculous effort in the batting innings to get a result in this game after their atrocious start.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the record-breaking bowling display by the Indian duo