India vs South Africa, 1st T20I, Stats Review: South Africa’s highest successful run-chase in T20Is, Rishabh Pant’s feat, and other stats

David Miller continued his scintillating form from the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he and Rassie van der Dussen combined together to script South Africa’s highest successful run-chase of 212 in the T20Is. The former smashed 64 off 31 with four fours and five sixes while van der Dussen struck 75 off 46 which included seven fours and five maximums as both remained unbeaten to share 131 runs partnership for the fourth wicket against India in the first T20I in Delhi. The visitors chased down the massive target in 19.1 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Speaking about how the match panned out, Temba Bavuma won the toss as South Africa elected to field first. Ishan Kishan looked in solid touch as he hammered 76 off 48 with the help of 11 fours and three sixes. His opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 23 off 15 which included three maximums. Shreyas Iyer made 36 while skipper Rishabh Pant, who became the second-youngest captain to lead India in the T20Is, amassed 29 runs.

Hardik Pandya also brought his IPL form into the internationals as he racked up 31 off just 12 to take his side to a total of 211/4 in 20 overs. Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi went wicketless with the other four bowlers picking up a wicket each. In reply, skipper Bavuma fell for just ten runs with wicketkeeper batter Quinton de Kock managing to score 22 runs. Dwaine Pretorius got promoted up in the batting order at no. three as he played quickfire innings of 29 off 13.

Miller and van der Dussen then joined hands as both also recorded the highest fourth-wicket partnership for the Proteas in the T20Is. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel both bowled identical spells of 1/43 in their respective four overs while Avesh Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal went wicketless. The loss meant India’s winning streak of 12 wins ended as a chance of creating a world record of 13 consecutive victories remained a dream. For his brutal hitting, David Miller won the Player of the Match award. The second match of the series takes place on June 12 in Cuttack.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the 1^st T20I between India and South Africa:

62 – Ruturaj Gaikwad has now scored just 62 runs in four innings at an average of 15.50 in the T20Is.

2 – Rishabh Pant became the second-youngest captain (24y 248d) to lead India in a T20 International. Suresh Raina is on top for skippering at the age of 23y 197d.

211/4 – India registered their highest score of 211/4 against South Africa in the T20Is. Their previous best was 203/5 at Johannesburg in the year 2018.

212/3 – South Africa scripted their highest successful run-chase in the T20Is. Their previous best was 208/2 (Target 206) against West Indies in 2007.

1008 – Rassie van der Dussen reached the milestone of 1000 T20I runs.

51 – Wayne Parnell is now joint-top with Heino Kuhn for missing most matches (51) between two T20I appearances for South Africa.

2 – David Miller and van der Dussen recorded the second-highest fourth-wicket partnership of 131* in T20 internationals amongst the full members. Glenn Maxwell and David Warner are on top for scoring 161 against South Africa in 2016.

1 – Miller recorded his first half-century against India in eight T20I innings.

240 – Shreyas is now joint-top with Aaron Finch for scoring the most runs (240) between two dismissals in the T20Is.

1 – South Africa also recorded the highest successful T20I run-chase (212/3) against India. The previous best was also by team South Africa (200/3) in 2015.

131* – Miller and Van der Dussen registered the highest fourth-wicket partnership of 131* for South Africa in the T20Is. Faf du Plessis and Van der Dussen previously scored 127* against England in 2020.

57 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar has now opened the bowling second-most times in the T20Is. Tim Southee is on top for doing it 60 times.

101 – Hardik Pandya completed the landmark of 100 sixes in international cricket.

50 – Dwaine Pretorius appeared in his 50^th international match.

1 – India scripted the highest T20I total of 211/4 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The previous best of 202/3 was by India only against New Zealand in the year 2017.