Africa-Press – South-Africa. A pair of superb half-centuries from Aiden Markram and David Miller got South Africa over the line, but the platform for their nervy, thrilling T20 World Cup win over India in Perth on Sunday was laid by the seamers.
The victory sees the Proteas move to the top of Pool 2 with two games to play – against Pakistan and the Netherlands – and they have now taken a significant step towards qualifying for the tournament’s semi-finals.
India won the toss and batted first, but with the pace and bounce of the wicket playing directly into the hands of the Proteas bowling attack, they were soon on the ropes, and that was almost all down to man of the match Lungi Ngidi.
The 26-year-old came on as the first change bowler and made an immediate impact, getting rid of both Indian openers and then Virat Kohli to reduce the pre-match favourites to 41/3.
By the time he was done, Ngidi had carded game-changing figures of 4/29 (4) and done the damage.
He didn’t operate alone, though.
Anrich Nortje (1/23 in 4) bowled with rapid pace and caused problems, Kagiso Rabada (0/26 in 4) was tidy throughout and Wayne Parnell’s left-arm swing was the perfect tonic for the Proteas both with the new ball and in the overs that followed Ngidi’s initial destruction.
Parnell’s 3/15 (4) was as important as Ngidi’s return, and were it not for a sublime 68 (40) from Suryakumar Yadav, then India would have been nowhere near the 133/9 they eventually reached.
Speaking after the match, Markram was full of praise for the Proteas attack, especially Ngidi and Parnell.
“I thought both bowling attacks today were really good and deserve a lot of credit,” Markram, who made 52 valuable runs, said.
“I think Wayne has been performing like that now for a lot of games for us since he came back. He’s got that experience and calmness of knowing how to set the tone with the ball, and we’ve enjoyed having him back.
“Lungi, I think everyone can agree, in conditions like this becomes a massive weapon for us and we’re grateful that tonight he executed extremely well and managed to make some very important breakthroughs for us.”
Markram added that, despite the Proteas’ good start to the tournament, it was important to stay grounded and focus on the immediate tasks at hand.
“We’re firmly not thinking about having a foot in the door at the moment,” he said.
“We still have a massive game against Pakistan and then the Netherlands, and we’ve seen that the teams that have joined the Super 12 stage can beat anyone on their day.
“There is still a lot of cricket to be played and for us it’s about trying to get better game by game so that we give ourselves the best chance.”
South Africa’s clash against Pakistan in Sydney on Thursday starts at 10:00 (SA time).
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