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India beat South Africa by 101 runs in the opening match of the T20I series on Friday. They have taken a 1-0 lead in the five match T20I series. Hardik Pandya was the star of the show, slamming 59 off 28 balls with the bat to power India to 175/6 in 20 overs. It was an above par total at the halfway stage. In the second innings, India delivered a stunning bowling performance, bundling out South Africa for just 74 in only 12.3 overs to clinch a 101-run victory in the first T20I in Cuttack. It is South Africa’s lowest-ever total in T20I cricket. Here are 3 things South Africa can do better in second T20I vs India.
1.Improve their middle and death over bowling.
South Africa started very well with ball in the power play as they reduced India for 40/2 in the first six overs. They were disciplined with the ball. But their middle and death overs bowling was shocking as India managed to score 135 runs in the next 14 overs. In the 7-15 over phase, India scored 81 runs and reached 121/5 at the end of 15 overs. In the last five overs, South Africa once again conceded at more than 10 runs per over going for 53 runs in last five. They will need to improve their middle and death phase bowling going forward in the next match.
2.Start well with the bat and avoid losing wickets in clusters
In a chase of 175, South Africa needed to ensure that they don’t lose wickets and once dew sets in it will get easier for chasing. South Africa lost 4 wickets in just 6.1 overs and they could never recover from that position. In the second match of the series they will look to have a better start with the bat and lose less wickets in the powerplay and set a stable base for hitting in the middle and death overs with wickets in hand.
3. Team Selection and a better combination
South Africa got it completely wrong in terms of selecting the side for this game and that is one area they could improve. Reeza Hendricks who did well in the previous T20I series against Pakistan provides them with more stability with the bat. Donovan has not done much so far to warrant a place and Sipamla's place also could come under the scanner. Bosch who did so well in the ODI series was also left out for the opening T20I. South Africa needed to select a better team combination for the next match
