India v South Africa 2nd T20I review: India hand over series after sorry batting display

India v South Africa 2^nd T20I review: India hand over series after sorry batting display: Cuttack was expected to witness a closely contested match, but it hardly turned out that way. India collapsed spectacularly for 92 and it was never going to be challenging. The India spinners tried hard, but the Proteas eventually won by 6 wickets amidst unsavoury scenes at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack and sealed the 3 match T20 trophy for the Gandhi-Mandela series with a game to spare. The crowd didn’t give a good account of themselves and did a lot of damage to BCCI’s reputation.

If Dharamsala was a batting beauty Cuttack was anything but that. Cracks, movement, invariable bounce is what best described the Barabati deck. India found the South African bowling too hot to handle after being inserted in for the second time. And against a strong South African batting line-up it was a dismal effort.

As soon as the visitors took the field it was evident that they had taken a lot of confidence from their close win in Dharamsala. Albie Morkel replaced De Lange in what later turned out be the fantastic choice as he finished with figures of 3 for 12 in his 4 overs. India also made a change and decided to go with 3 spinners as Bhajji replaced Aravind. Nobody was expecting a run feast like the previous game but by no means was it a 92 run pitch, which is the score India managed.

The hosts were off to a decent start, but they lost their way soon after Morris trapped Dhawan in front. There was enough bounce on the pitch to keep the batsman on the back foot. Kohli and Rohit put on 138 in the last game but this time they failed miserably in their communication skills as Kohli was found short even after a dive while going for the second run. That pretty much started the slide. South Africa started calling the shots with some top-notch fielding and miserly bowling.

Soon Rohit Sharma found out that it’s not advisable to take on David Miller’s arm and was the second one to be run out after Kohli. Rayudu simply missed a full toss in a manner which can only be described as comical. India expected a lot from Dhoni who is a perennial resurrector in such situations. But the skipper failed to produce a knock of note as he edged one to de Villiers.

Imran Tahir loves a wicket and needs little reason to go off on a celebratory run. He had enough reason to do so today with the wickets of Raina and Harbhajan off consecutive deliveries. The India innings didn’t last long as Ashwin advanced to a Morris delivery only to see his bails disturbed. This (92) was the second lowest total for Team India in T20Is. Imran Tahir and Chris Morris picked up a couple of wickets each apart from Morkel’s 3.

The innings break witnessed spectators throwing bottles disappointed with India’s show. The situation, however, was under control.

R Ashwin came in to bowl only in the second over as Dhoni was looking for wickets straight away as the chase began. The leg slip came into action soon enough as Amla turned one to Rohit. Ashwin was fighting hard even with that paltry total and dismissed Faf du Plessis and de Villiers to give India some hope.

The hero of the last game Duminy then settled in with Behardien as he took the South African total to 64 for 3 when the crowd again got restless. With South Africa coasting towards the target, it fuelled the fury of the spectators as they started to throw more bottles onto the field. The policemen swarmed the stands and took the necessary action and the match got restarted.

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But due to further crowd trouble, the game again was suspended. Only after the fans from the top tiers were asked to come down, the game got restarted.

Sunil Gavaskar was pretty concerned with this behavior of the Cuttack crowd and voiced his displeasure during commentary. After a bit of order was restored both teams again stepped on the field, without any reduction in the overs and the visitors cruised through to a six-wicket win.

South Africa won handsomely and sealed an emphatic series win, but it’s the crowd that will make the headlines. It has to be said that Cuttack may face serious consequences due to today’s happenings.

Brief Scores

India – 92/10 (17.2 ov) (Raina 22, Rohit 22; A Morkel 3-12)

South Africa – 96/4 (17.1 ov)  (Duminy 30, de Villiers 19; Ashwin 3-24)

South Africa won by 6 wickets

Man of the Match – Albie Morkel