A stunning century from David Miller went in vain for South Africa as the visiting team lost the second T20 international against India at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday night in a high-scoring thriller.
With a 16-run victory in the second T20I which followed a commanding 8-wicket crushing win in the first game at Mohali, India finally managed to record their maiden series victory over South Africa in the shortest format for the first time ever.
The Indian batsmen came out all guns blazing to score a humongous 237/3 batting first with Suryakumar Yadav dazzling with a 22-ball 61, while KL Rahul scoring his second half-century in as many matches, making 57 from just 28 balls with the help of 5 boundaries and 4 sixes.
Among the other contributors for India were their captain Rohit Sharma, who scored 43 from 37 balls – studded with 7 fours and a six – while the former captain Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 49 from just 28 balls with the help of 7 boundaries and a six.
In their reply, South Africa were off to a poor start once again when their captain Temba Bavuma was dismissed for 0 without offering any resistance, having faced 7 balls in the innings.
However, Quinton de Kock battled a string of poor performances to hold the fort from one end and even though he did not find enough support from Riley Russouw and to some extent, Aiden Markram, he took the contest right till the end in the company of David Miller, who played a stunning knock on Sunday night.
David Miller once again showcased why he is considered one of the most dangerous batsmen in the format as he scored his second century in T20Is, smacking 7 sixes and 8 boundaries to make a 106 not out from just 47 balls.
It was indeed a forgettable night for the bowlers from both the teams as plenty of full tosses and loose deliveries were sent down, which resulted in the contest being a high-scoring game. More than 400 runs were scored and eventually, India emerged victorious by 16 runs as South Africa were left with an improbable task of scoring 37 runs in the final over in order to win.
South Africa finished at 221/3 despite putting their best effort with the bat in their allotted 20 overs.
Quinton de Kock, who had not troubled the scorers much in the last 12 outings in the format, started off on a slow note but found his rhythm in the middle with the bat to finish with a confidence-boosting knock of 69 not out which came from 48 balls, 4 sixes and 3 boundaries.
The right-handed middle order batsman Aiden Markram was also impressive in his brief stay, hitting 5 boundaries and a six to make a quickfire 33 not out from 19 balls.
But the star performers on Sunday night at Guwahati were Suryakumar Yadav from India and David Miller from South Africa.
The middle-order Indian batsman, who is also world No 2 at the moment in the ICC rankings, showcased his array of strokes all around the ground to make yet another sensational score count in India’s victory.
Suryakumar Yadav was severe on the South African bowlers, smacking 5 sixes and as many boundaries until his innings was cut short by a horrible misunderstanding with Virat Kohli that resulted in him being run out in the 19th over.
The two teams will lock horns once again at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Tuesday night which will be a dead rubber given that the series has already been decided.
But still, the Indian side will look to not take the foot off the gas pedal and push on for a clean sweep, following which a number of their key players will leave for Australia on October 6 to prepare for the T20 World Cup 2022, starting on October 16.
The South African team will stay back as they are set to take on a second-string Indian side, captained by Shikhar Dhawan, in a three match one-day international series.