1st T20 IND vs SA: Dhawan shines, India set 203 as target
Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan showcased cricketing brilliance and knocked 72 runs off 39 balls
South Africa won the toss and opted to bowlin the firstT20 match against Indiaat the Wanderers, Johannesburg.
An absolute splendid start for team India was registered by the batsmen, though opener Rohit Sharma lost his wicket early but displayed some mesmerising shots and scored 21 runs off 9 balls beforeleaving the ground.
In the fourth over, Suresh Raina lost his wicket as he hit the ball with the top edge and the ball went straightup in the air and landed in the hands of Junior Dala butRaina marked his presence today by playing some lovely shots. He played with a strike rate of 214.29.
Shikhar Dhawan played brilliantly and scored 72 runs to cruise his team to a mammoth score of 2013.
Though, Virat got an early lifeline when his catch was dropped but eventually lost his wicket after scoring 26 runs.
Manish Pandey (29) and Hardik Pandya (13) remained unbeaten.
Recently, India had created history, winning the six-match ODI series by 5-1 on South African soil,Indian team outplayed South African side in all departments,fielding, batting and bowling.
Virat led team remained very calm and composed throughout the ODI series and perform brilliantly.
Earlier, South Africa started the most awaited tour by winning the Test series by 2-1 but later, in the limited overs format, they lost the momentum.
Though, they have suffered a thrashing ODIdefeat but still have the potential to outplay India in the T20 series.
Playing XI:
South Africa:JJ Smuts, Reeza Hendricks, Jean-Paul Duminy(c), David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Paterson, Junior Dala, Tabraiz Shamsi
India:Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni(w), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah