India vs South Africa 2nd T20I Stats Review: Heinrich Klaasen’s highest T20I score, Kagiso Rabada’s feat and other stats

Heinrich Klaasen played a whirlwind innings of 81 off just 46, which included seven fours and five maximums, as he powered South Africa to a victory by four wickets in the second of the five T20Is, at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The Proteas chased down the target of 149 in just 18.2 overs thanks to Klaasen’s assault, which left the Indian side clueless. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s terrific spell of 4/13 went in vain, with the visitors taking a commanding lead of 2-0 in the series.

Speaking of how the match unfolded, Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to field first. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s poor run in T20Is continued as he fell prey to Kagiso Rabada after scoring just one, the latter’s 50^th wicket in the format. Ishan Kishan looked good yet again as he made 34 off 21 with two fours and three maximums. Shreyas Iyer amassed 40 off 35 with captain Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya managing only five and nine runs respectively.

Dinesh Karthik replicated his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 form as he did what he has been doing of late. The 37-year-old finished off India’s innings by scoring 30 off 21 with two fours and as many sixes. He took his side to a respectable total of 148/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Anrich Nortje was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa as he took 2/36 in his four-over spell.

Chasing 149, Reeza Hendricks, Dwaine Pretorius, and Rassie van der Dussen all fell prey to Bhuvneshwar Kumar for single-digit scores. Skipper Bavuma led from the front as he mustered 35 off 30 with four fours and a maximum. But it was all about Klaasen who just tore apart India’s bowling line-up with his destructive innings that took the match away from the hosts.

He also scripted his highest score in T20Is, surpassing the previous best of 69, which also came against India in 2018. With this win, the Proteas are now 2-0 up in the series with three games to go. For his match-winning innings, wicketkeeper batter Heinrich Klaasen was named the Player of the Match.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the 2nd T20I between India and South Africa:

 50 – Kagiso Rabada reached the landmark of 50 wickets in the T20Is.

81 – Heinrich Klaasen registered his highest score in the T20Is. His previous best of 69 was also against India, in the year 2018.

12.60 – Ruturaj Gaikwad has now scored 63 runs in five T20Is at a poor average of 12.60.

21 – Reeza Hendricks has amassed just 21 runs in the last four T20I innings.

4/13 – Bhuvneshwar scripted his second-best figures (4/13) in T20Is. His best of 5/24, also against the Proteas, came in the year 2018.

33 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar equaled Tim Southee and Samuel Badree and is now tied at the top spot with them for picking up most wickets (33) in the powerplay in the T20Is.

81 – Klaasen recorded the highest individual T20I score by a South African batter against India. Quinton de Kock previously scored 79* in the year 2019.

63 – Bhuvneshwar surpassed R Ashwin (61) and is now the third-highest wicket-taker for India in T20 internationals.

530 – Klaasen also completed 500 runs in T20 internationals.

2 – Pacer Bhuvneshwar picked up three wickets in the powerplay for the second time in his career. The first instance came on his debut against Pakistan in 2012.

17 – South Africa is now tied with Australia on the second spot for most T20I wins (17) since 2021. Pakistan tops the chart with 20 victories.