Hardik makes the difference as India crush SA in series opener

Cuttack's maiden red-soil pitch offered a far sterner examination than the 45,000-odd in attendance might have expected, and South Africa buckled under its weight, dismissed for 74, their lowest ever, to lose the first T20I by 101 runs. At the centre of the gulf between the sides was comeback man Hardik Pandya. On a surface that kept most batters guessing, he controlled more than 82% of his strokes and compiled a 28-ball 59* that lifted India to 175/6, a total that proved too many despite the venue's reputation for dew-driven chases.

Suryakumar Yadav, having lost yet another toss, admitted he was "a bit confused" about the options and described batting first as a challenge for his team. It quickly became one for Shubman Gill, whose return from a neck injury lasted an eventful two balls: the first, a wide ball, that was cut away for four and the next one stopping on him and lodging into the hands of mid-off. The difficulty of hitting on the up soon caught up with the captain as well. After a four and a six, Suryakumar miscued one to mid-on, with Lungi Ngidi claiming both early wickets.

Abhishek Sharma countered with a couple of fours and a six, and his 31-run stand with Tilak Varma for the third wicket offered some stability. Tilak helped maximize the powerplay, timing a couple of boundaries off Marco Jansen in the sixth over, and even slammed a 89-meter six against Anrich Nortje that went out of the stadium.

The partnership between Tilak and Abhishek was broken thanks to a brilliant catch from Jansen, who covered good ground at fine leg and ensured that the slower, short ball that Abhishek mistimed went to hand. Axar Patel, another left-hander who replaced Abhishek at the crease, played a crucial role and proved the ideal foil to Pandya, who went on to hit six fours and four sixes, two of the maximums coming off the second and third balls he faced on the night.

Wickets kept falling around Pandya, and India's highest partnership of the night (38) came for the seventh wicket between him and Jitesh Sharma. Tilak Varma, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube all contributed important cameos to keep the innings moving. India took 18 off the penultimate over, with both Pandya and Jitesh clearing the ropes against Lutho Sipamla, before Nortje returned for the last over. Pandya still managed to take him over third man for six, pushing India to a competitive total.

South Africa's chase was dented early. Arshdeep Singh, brought in at the expense of Kuldeep Yadav, removed Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs in his first two overs. It soon became 45/4 when Axar Patel deceived Aiden Markram with an arm ball first up to bowl him and then Pandya had David Miller caught behind.

The slide continued as Varun Chakaravarthy joined in, striking in back-to-back overs to remove Donovan Ferreira and the dangerous Marco Jansen. Dewald Brevis briefly countered with a 14-ball 22 but took one risk too many against Jasprit Bumrah, top-edging a short ball. The dismissal briefly stirred controversy, with camera angles blocked by fielders and replays struggling to offer a clear view of Bumrah's front foot, but eventually the on-field umpires were informed that the delivery was legal.

Bumrah and Axar added another wicket each, and even Shivam Dube chipped in as South Africa were bowled out in just 12.3 overs. Arshdeep entered the 100-T20I wicket club and Bumrah followed him into the list later in the innings but it was Pandya who defined the night, proving to be the difference with an innings no one else on the pitch could match.

Brief Scores: India 175/6 (Hardik Pandya 59*; Lungi Ngidi 3-31) beat South Africa 74 in 12.3 overs (Dewald Brevis 22; Axar Patel 2-7) by 101 runs