CUTTACK: Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah completed his 100 wickets in the first T20I against South Africa at Cuttack after taking down Dewald Brevis for 22 off 14 balls. In the same over, he took down Keshav Maharaj for a duck.
Bumrah now has 100 wickets in all formats of international cricket with his 101 wickets in 81 matches at an average of 17.92 and an economy rate of 6.35 in T20I. He is now the second-highest wicket-taker for India, behind Arshdeep Singh’s 107 wickets in 69 matches in T20I cricket. On his partnership with Bumrah, Singh said:
“My relationship with him is very good. He’s a gentle senior, never harsh on youngsters and always very polite. Being Punjabi as well, it’s easy for both of us to gel. Bowling with him makes things easier for me because batters usually look to attack my overs. Even bad balls can get me wickets because they know they won’t get easy runs at the other end. It benefits me, and I absolutely enjoy bowling alongside him.”
Bumrah has now joined Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, New Zealand’s Tim Southee, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and Pakistan left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi as the fifth bowler with at least 100 wickets across all formats.
South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match given the evening dew factor that is quite prevalent during this weather. Lungi Ngidi was the standout bowler for their side, taking three wickets of Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav. While LuthoSipamla claimed 2 wickets for 38 runs in his four overs, taking out Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel.
India batted first and posted a total of 175/6 in their 20 overs. The match started slow but eventually gained momentum after Hardik Pandya’s superb half-century (59 off 28 balls). It was his first match after the quadriceps injury, and he delivered with five fours and four sixes, taking home the ‘Player of the Match’ award. Reflecting on his match-winning innings, Pandya said:
“I had to back my shots. I realised the wicket had a bit of spice. I had to be a bit gutsy. It was more about timing the ball, not breaking the ball. I was very satisfied with the way I was batting,” he said after the match. “As a cricketer, I have never been fussy about what roles I have in the game. I have always been motivated to all the time make sure that it doesn’t matter what Hardik Pandya wants, it is about what India wants. The mindset helps me. I have always tried to put my team first. That is my biggest USP and that is what has helped me.”
Tilak Varma (26 in 32 balls, with two fours and a six) and Axar Patel (23 in 21 balls, with a six) were amongst the top scorers to lead India to 1-0 up in the five-match series.
South Africa fell to 74 all out in 12.3 overs, with Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel getting two wickets each, while Hardik and Shivam Dube got one each.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, Aiden said, “I think there were some good signs with the ball and in the field. Nice to start the way we did. We put some emphasis on starting well, and that was a box we ticked, so we can be proud of that. From a batting point of view, it’s unfortunately something that can happen in this format. It is a pity that it had to happen in the first game, but you have to draw a line through it. It is a quick turnaround, and we will give it another crack in a couple of days’ time. I felt it (the pitch) was quite sticky. That steep tennis-ball bounce and a little bit there with the ball throughout the innings.”
Agencies