PERTH: South Africa needing 6 runs in the last over, sailed past the target set by India of 133 runs with 5 wickets in hand. Miller’s stunning innings of 59 runs off 46 balls guided South Africa to a crucial win which pushes them to the top of the table and much closer to a semifinal spot.
Lungi Ngidi bowled brilliantly to pick up 4 top notch wickets of Rohit Sharma , K L Rahul, V Kohli & Hardik Pandya and had India reeling at 49 for 5 wickets in the 9th over. Suryakumar Yadav held the innings together to hit a brilliant 68 runs to guide India to 133 runs for 9 wickets. Wayne Parnell picked up 3 for 15 runs while Ngidi ended with 4 for 29 runs.
Chasing target of 133 runs, South Africa got off to a dreadful start with Arshadeep Singh bowling brilliantly to pick 2 wickets in his first over. At one point South Africa were 24 for 3 wickets with South African skipper out for just 10 runs. A 76 run partnership between Markram & Miller set South Africa on course to meet the target. Miller was composed and guided South Africa’s innings needing 12 runs in the last 2 overs. Miller and Parnell were at the strike and the match was going down to the wire. A Singh bowled best for 2 for 25 runs for India. B. Kumar bowled the last over with 6 runs needed for victory by South Africa. Miller hit a boundary to tie the score and then took a single to guide South Africa to a memorable victory by 5 wickets. South Africa now tops the points table in group 2 with India in second place.
Match score in summary
India 133/9 (20 overs)
S Yadav 68 Lungi Ngidi 4 for 29 runs
South Africa 137/5 (19.4 overs) – SA win by 5 wickets
D Miller 59* A Singh 2 for 25 runs
Australia will meet Ireland for Group 1 encounter on Monday 31st October at the Gabba while an all important match for Sri Lanka will unfold against Afghanistan on Tuesday. (RZ) Image credit: T20worldcup official website & ESPN cricinfo
