Team India registered a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over South Africa in the T20I series opener at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday (September 28).

Invited to bat first, the visitors managed only 106/8 in their allotted 20 overs. It was a tough pitch for the batters and the Proteas were reduced to 9/5 in the first three overs itself. Thanks to Keshav Maharaj’s 35-ball 41 down the order, they managed to cross the 100-run mark.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was the stand-out bowler for India, claiming three wickets by conceding 32 runs in his four overs. Seamers Deepak Chahar (2-24) and Harshal Patel (2-26) also bowled brilliantly and returned with two scalps each.

In reply, the Men in Blue lost skipper Rohit Sharma (0) and Virat Kohli (3) cheaply. However, KL Rahul took his time and anchored the chase while Suryakumar Yadav continued his brilliance and produced an attacking knock on a difficult track.

The duo shared an unbeaten 93-run stand for the third wicket to take the hosts over the line in 16.4 overs. While Suryakumar slammed 50 not out off 33 balls (5 fours and 3 sixes), Rahul remained unbeaten on 51 off 56 balls.

Brief Scores:

South Africa - 106/8 in 20 overs (Keshav Maharaj 41; Arshdeep Singh 3-32) lost to India - 110/2 in 16.4 overs (KL Rahul 51*; Suryakumar Yadav 50; Kagiso Rabada 1-16) by six wickets.