Hardik Pandya scored half century with six

Brief description of the first T20 match between India and South Africa

Cuttack: The first match of the 5-match T20 series between India and South Africa is being held at the prestigious Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. South Africa won the toss and decided to bowl first. The African bowlers justified their captain’s decision by giving early blows to the host team. Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill and captain Suryakumar Yadav returned to the pavilion early, but Hardik Pandya handled the team patiently.

Great innings of Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya defeated the African bowling attack thoroughly and scored a stormy half-century. He scored 59 runs in just 28 balls, which included 6 fours and 4 sixes. With this innings, Hardik also completed his 100 sixes in the T20 format. Thanks to his amazing innings, India succeeded in giving a challenging target to South Africa. India scored 175 runs at the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. Apart from Hardik, Tilak Verma contributed 26 runs and Axar Patel contributed 23 runs.

Barabati Stadium pitch report

This time the pitch of Barabati Stadium has been prepared with red soil. The pitch here often has good bounce, giving the batsmen ample opportunity to play shots. According to experts, it is expected to be a high-scoring match, and it is being considered as a batsman’s paradise.

India’s playing-11

Abhishek Sharma, Shubhman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakraborty and Arshdeep Singh.

South Africa’s playing-11

Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram (captain), Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brewis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi and Enrique Norquia.