Overview
- Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 59 off 28 balls lifted India from 78-4 to 175-6 on a two-paced, re-laid Barabati surface, and he added 1/16 to claim Player of the Match.
- South Africa collapsed from 45-3 to 74 all out in 12.3 overs for their lowest T20I total, with Dewald Brevis top-scoring on 22.
- Captain Suryakumar Yadav used six bowlers and each took a wicket, as Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy picked up two apiece.
- Jasprit Bumrah reached 100 T20I wickets with the dismissal of Brevis, while Lungi Ngidi’s 3/31 was the standout return for the visitors.
- South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince credited India’s “formidable” attack as India’s selection debates—Jitesh Sharma’s keeper-finisher role and the Arshdeep-versus-Kuldeep balance—carry into the second T20I in Mullanpur on December 11.