Twitter Reactions: David Miller's valiant ton goes in vain as India win maiden home T20I series against South Africa

India sealed their maiden bilateral T20I series against South Africa in India.

By Chaitanya Prakash

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Team India
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Team India (Photo Source: Twitter/BCCI)

India clinched another series win after outscoring South Africa in a high scoring affair at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday, the 2nd of October. Rohit Sharma's triumph meant that India has defeated the Proteas in a home T20I series for the first time ever. The men in Blue won the game comfortably by 16 runs after posting a mammoth total of 237 runs on the board on the back of some scintillating batting display from the Indian batters.

The visitors, in hopes of compiling a record-breaking chase, were once again pegged by a familiar nemesis in Arshdeep Singh. The youngster who scalped three wickets in an over in the series opener, grabbed another two wickets in his first over in the match. 

Those early strikes handed India the initiative, while Aiden Markram started a counterattack against the visitors. He played some lovely shorts before being dismissed by probably India's best bowler in the last couple of months, Axar Patel. While timing eluded Quinton de Kock, David Miller showcased his power-hitting abilities from the other end.

The Southpaw overtook JP Duminy to become the leading run scorer for the Proteas in the shortest format of the game. His innings provided the much-needed impetus for visitors, stitching an invaluable century-run stand with de Kock. The veteran batter kept the visitors in hunt with a trailblazing century of just 46 deliveries, but India's total proved to be a total too stiff in the end.

Suryakumar and Kohli punished the Protean bowlers after a solid start from Rahul and Rohit

Earlier, The match started with the Indian openers taking their time in the nascent couple of overs after they were put into bat by the Protean skipper. But after a sedated start, the innings exploded to life as Wayner Parnell's fourth over yielded 15 runs. The opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul never looked back after that big over and went on to compile 96 runs for the first wicket in just under ten overs.

The South African bowlers tried to wrestle back the momentum with the wicket of both the set batters in quick succession. But all their hopes were dashed when Suryakumar Yadav walked into the middle with all his trademark pyrotechnics. The mercurial batter played some astonishing shots, including an audacious cut shot for six on a waist-high full toss to reach his half-century off just 18 deliveries, the joint second fastest by an Indian in the format.

While Suryakumar was plummeting the Protean bowlers from one end, former Indian skipper Virat Kohli played some authoritative shots from time to time to keep the runs flowing. It took Kohli a while to get into the groove, and a few wayward deliveries helped his cause too, as the batting ace started opening his shoulders. The Suryakumar-Kohli partnership knocked the winds out of the visitors, recording the fastest century stand for India in T20Is.

The final gloss to the demolition job was added by Dinesh Karthik as India recorded the highest T20I total against South Africa and the fourth highest overall total in the format.  The South Africa bowling unit, who dropped Tabraiz Shamsi in favor of another pacer, had a forgetful day, as all four Protean pacers hemorrhaged runs in excess of 12 runs per over.

Twitter was in disbelief after a run-fest in the second T20I in Guwahati:

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India vs South Africa 2022IndiaSouth AfricaSuryakumar YadavKL RahulDavid Miller