South Africa vs India 1st T20: Bhuvneshwar Kumar stars as India take 1-0 series lead

Johannesburg: India secured a 36-run victory over South Africa in the first T20I on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

Being put to bat first, the Men in Blue posted 203-5 on board as Shikhar Dhawan led the way with a fabulous knock of 72. Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey chipped in with crucial cameos as the visitors set up a massive total.

However, Virat Kohli and co proved to be too good for the Proteas as they restricted JP Duminy’s men to 180-8.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar got rid of Jon Jon Smuts and JP Duminy early on to put the pressure on the hosts. Hardik Pandya also joined the party to dismiss David Miller as South Africa found themselves in a spot of bother.

However, Reeza Hendricks and Farhan Behardein had other plans. The duo struck an influential 81-run partnership to take the momentum away from the visitors.

But Kohli and co held their nerves to pull off a stunning victory, lead by Bhuvneshwar. The India pacer claimed his first five-wicket haul in the shortest format to make sure his side ended up on the winning side.

South Africa 159-8 after 18 overs:

HAT-TRICK OF WICKETS! Brilliant piece of work by Pandya at mid-off sees Dave Paterson run-out.

TWO WICKETS IN TWO BALLS! Bhuvi dismisses Klaasen and Chris Morris in consecutive deliveries to claim his first five-for in T20I's.

WICKET! Slower ball does the magic for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Hendricks goes for another biggie but gallops it high up in the air this time. MS Dhoni settles under and takes a safe catch

South Africa 129-4 after 15 overs:

WICKET! Yuzvendra Chahal delivers the Men in Blue a much needed boost by claiming the wicket of Behardein. Tossed up delivery and the batsman does not execute good control as he looks for another biggie. Finds Pandey at long on.

South Africa 103-3 after 12 overs:

100 up for South Africa! Hendricks and Behardein have looked confident out in the middle and have kept the scoreboard ticking at the same time. The wicket is not assisting the spinners and the batsmen have taken good advantage of that.

South Africa 55-3 after 7 overs:

WICKET! The dangerous David Miller makes his way back to the pavilion. Change of pace does the trick for Pandya who forces the batsman into a drive. Miller does not make good contact and finds Dhawan at the long-on boundary.

South Africa 38-2 after 5 overs:

WICKET! The South Africa skipper departs courtesy of a well-judged catch by Suresh Raina. JP Duminy lobs it over mid-off and Raina running backwards, keeps his eyes on the ball and collects it as cool as ice.

South Africa 30-1 after 3 overs:

WICKET! Just what the visitors needed. Full delivery directed towards the pads and the batsman gets a top edge while aiming to play a flick. Dhawan settles under it and takes a safe catch.

1st innings:

India posted a massive 203-5 on board after being put into bat by South Africa in the first T20 of the three-match series at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday.

The Men in Blue got off to a flyer early on after Rohit Sharma smacked Dane Paterson off 18 runs in the first over. But Junior Dala struck for the Proteas, later also getting rid of Suresh Raina, who started firing early on.

Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan steered the innings with breezy knocks but were soon sent back to the pavilion. MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya then struck influential partnerships with Manish Pandey as the visitors finished at 203-5.

It was a bad day at the office for the Proteas bowlers, who leaked runs all over the park. Junior Dala claimed two wickets while Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabriaz Shamsi and Chris Morris got one each.

India 194-5 after 19 overs:

WICKET! Cleaned him up. Dhoni tries to get cheeky in an attempt to run it down the leg side, but misses a full toss from Morris that strikes the stumps.

India 157-4 after 15 overs:

WICKET! And that's the end of a fabulous innings from Dhawan. Phehlukwayo greets the southpaw with a slower ball down the leg side and Dhawan softly scoops it straight to the wicket-keeper.

India 110-3 after 10 overs:

WICKET! Shamsi gets the big fish. Pitched in middle and turns into the batsman, who aims to flick it away but gets caught on the knee roll. Umpire raises his finger and reviews show the ball hitting leg stump.

India 107-2 after 9 overs:

The Men in Blue reach the 100-run mark and are going at an astounding rate. Despite the loss of two wickets early on, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan have steered the innings cleverly.

India 49-2 after 4 overs:

WICKET! Two in two for Dala. Full pitched delivery around middle and leg, Raina clears his leg in order to smack it over mid-wicket but miscues his shot. Dala settles down and takes an easy catch.

India 37-1 after 3 overs:

WICKET! After hammering Paterson in the opening over, Rohit has to make his way back to the pavilion. Short ball from Junior Dala and the batsman plays an upper cut towards Klaasen. The fielders are convinced there is an edge and UltraEdge confirms it.

Toss:

JP Duminy has won the toss and opted to field. Here's how both the teams line-up for today -

Kohli: "We wanted to bowl as well, wanted to chase down the target. But this is a gun wicket, it's hard, even grass cover on it, so should play good throughout. Suresh Raina is back in the team, Manish Pandey, Unadkat is playing in place of Kuldeep who hurt his thumb in the last game, Bhuvi returns. The intensity needs to be much higher in the T20 format. The mood is great in the dressing room. We are looking forward to do well. The guys are very relaxed."

Preview:

Coming off a thumping 5-1 series win over South Africa in the Momentum six- match ODI series, India will look forward to carrying on their winning momentum when they lock horns with the hosts in the first T20 at the Wanderers here on Sunday.

Virat Kohli and co lost the Test series by a margin of 2-1 previously but bounced back strongly to shock the Proteas in the limited-overs format. With the T20 series being the last of the tour, the Men in Blue will look to end on a bright note.

Suresh Raina will be the cynosure of all eyes, making a comeback into the national team after a one-year break. Despite that, India skipper Kohli would also be the one to look forward to, having smashed three tons in the ODI series.

The talismanic skipper will look forward to setting another record as he is just 43 runs away from becoming the first Indian batsman to reach 2000 T20I runs.

On the other hand, JP Duminy-led South Africa will look forward to revenge having being battered by the opposition.

With the likes of Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram and Hashim Amla not being included, a young squad will look forward to grabbing their opportunities.

Uncapped players such as Christiaan Jonker, Reeza Hendricks, Dane Paterson and Junior Dala have also been included in the squad.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (captain), Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Jon-Jon Smuts, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy (captain), David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Christiaan Jonker, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Junior Dala, Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso.

Match-timings:

The match is scheduled to start at 6:00 pm IST.

Where to watch the match live?

Live telecast: The match can be seen live on Sony Ten 1 (English commentary) and Sony Ten 3 (Hindi commentary).

Live streaming: It can also be streamed live on Sony LIV, the digital platform on the internet.