IND vs SA: Virat Kohli stands tall as India take the lead in Match 2

On Wednesday, India hosted South Africa at Mohali for the second match in the T20 series between the two. The first match at Dharmasala got washed out so this match was very important for both the teams as they had very less room for error. South Africa were put in to bat by Virat Kohli, who won the toss. Let us take a look at what unfolded. 

ALSO READ | Former Cricketer Daljit: 'Maalis now curators, a big achievement'

de Kock and Bavuma anchor the innings

The SA innings started with Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks opening the innings with de Kock being very solid with his drives and getting steady runs for the Proteas. Hendricks got out cheaply, scoring only six runs off 11 balls. Temba Bavuma replaced him and played steadily alongside de Kock. In the 11th over, de Kock pulled a ball which fell just short of a confused but committed Washington Sundar and went through to the boundary bringing up de Kock's 50.

In the next over, de Kock hit a shot over Navdeep Saini's head and it looked like it would land safely until a quick Virat got to the ball and grabbed the ball with one hand. de Kock was now out and van der Dussen was in to bat. He got out cheaply and was replaced by Miller who looked promising but was eventually sent back when his middle stump was uprooted by Hardik Pandya. Temba Bavuma, who was making his T20I debut, was at 49 when he tried to hit a six that landed in Jadeja's hands and got him out. South Africa managed to get 16 in the last over to end their innings at 149-5. 

ALSO READ | Can't write Kuldeep and Chahal off, say Indian cricket experts

India dominant since the start

India needed 150 at 7.50 runs per over. The batsman opening the innings for India were Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. Rohit, in the second over, played a pull shot that went for six and got the 'Hitman' off the mark. Two balls later, he hit the same shot and got six runs, again. The Indians were attacking until Rohit was dismissed by a Phehlukwayo ball. Virat went in to bat next and looked solid from the start, anchoring one end while Shikhar Dhawan handled the other end. The duo was steady at 94-1 when Shikhar tried to hit a six. David Miller, who was at long-off, made a dash for it and took a spectacular catch with one hand that left even Shikhar and Virat baffled.

They were not too worried though because India were in a comfortable position. Young Rishabh Pant could not score much and Shreyas Iyer, who came in his place, steadied the innings along with Kohli. In the 17th over, Virat walked down the pitch hitting a trademark punch through cover to get to his fifty. After this, the Indian Skipper went ballistic as he got a lot more aggressive in his approach collecting quick boundaries and sixes. The match ended in the last ball of the 19th over when Shreyas Iyer hit a boundary.  

ALSO READ | Temba Bavuma claims South Africa weren't outplayed by beatable India

India won comfortably by seven wickets and took the series lead. Virat Kohli was declared the 'Man of the Match'. South Africa will now look to tie the series in the final match of the series at Bengaluru on September 22.

ALSO READ | Virat Kohli takes an absolute blinder to dismiss de Kock as India wins