Proteas dig deep to clinch narrow victory over India

Led by middle-order batter Tristan Stubbs, South Africa clawed their way back from the brink of death on Sunday night, clinching a nail-biting three-wicket win over India to level their T20 International series in the second match in Gqeberha.

The hosts did well to restrict the tourists to a defendable target, and while the Proteas batters again struggled to put up a fight, they managed to scratch their way to a narrow victory.

With India having won the first game of the series by 61 runs in Durban two days earlier, the two teams were left level at 1-1 with two fixtures remaining.

Chasing a target of 125 runs to win, the Proteas top order failed to build on starts, and they never really got off the ground. This left the hosts in real trouble at 66/6 in the 13th over of their innings.

They were able to stitch things together well enough in the closing stages, however, with Stubbs carrying them to victory as they racked up 128/7 with six balls to spare.

Stubbs made an unbeaten 47-run contribution off 41 balls, at a strike rate of 114.63, in an innings which featured seven boundaries.

Spin bowler Varun Chakravarthy returned career-best figures of 5/17 to lead India’s bowling attack, but while they managed to pin back the home side for much of their innings, Stubbs turned things around as he guided South Africa to victory.

India innings

After being sent in to bat, India were left reeling, with a top-order collapse leaving them flailing at 15/3 in the fourth over.

But they put up a fight and were resurrected by their middle order, with Tilak Varma (20), Axar Patel (27) and Hardik Pandiya (39 not out) all making valuable contributions.

Gaining momentum after their early destruction, however, the Proteas attack combined well, containing the tourists and preventing them from building runaway partnerships, as India were restricted to 124/6 in their 20 overs.

South Africa and India will square off in the third of four T20 International matches in Centurion on Wednesday, with the last game of the series to be held at the Wanderers on Friday.