Cuttack, Dec 9 (IANS) Hardik Pandya was the star of the show as the host managed to post 175 runs on the board, riding on the all-rounder’s unbeaten half-century, against South Africa in the first T20I of the five-game series here at the Barabati Stadium.

With Shubman Gill making a much-anticipated return after recovering from an injury, all eyes were on him. However, Lungi Ngidi cut his innings short and the vice captain walked back in the first over of the game, scoring just four runs off two deliveries. South Africa got an early breakthrough, and their celebrations doubled when the pacer picked Suryakumar Yadav’s wicket in the third over.

The Indian captain looked in great touch as he notched up a six and a four, including his trademark ‘supla’ shot, to get things going. However, a mis-timed shot led to the opposition skipper Aiden Markram taking a fine catch over mid-on. Opener Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma then sailed through the powerplay as India reached 40/2 in six overs.

Abhishek looked in good touch and had found the momentum, but Lutho Sipamla got the better of him shortly after the powerplay, giving his side a crucial breakthrough.

The next few overs were sluggish as Varma and Axar Patel struggled to find boundaries and juggled between singles and doubles. While the former did hit an 89-meter long six off Anrich Nortje in the 10th over, he couldn’t convert his knock into a big innings and was eventually dismissed scoring 26 runs in 32 deliveries.

Axar Patel played a handy knock while forming partnerships with Varma and Pandya, but it was the Baroda cricketer who stood out during the first innings.

Pandya took on the bowlers confidently and notched up six fours and four maximums, giving his best till the final delivery. Shivam Dube and Jitesh Sharma’s innings was short but impactful as they contributed 11 and 10 runs in the limited time they spent on the field.

Pandya’s clutch knock anchored India’s innings as the team rose from 50/3 to finish at 175/6 at the end of their 20-over quota.

As for the visitors, Marco Jansen showed a brilliant fielding display and took some magnificent catches, though he went wicketless. Ngidi was the pick of the bowlers for the Proteas as he finished with 3-31, while Sipamla and Donovan Ferreira picked two and one wicket apiece.

Brief Scores: India 175/6 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 59*, Tilak Varma 26; Lungi Ngidi 3-31, Lutho Sipamla 2-38) against South Africa.

–IANS

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