Proteas

Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj has always been handy with the bat, but on Wednesday in Thiruvananthapuram, he was much more than that.

"When you're put under pressure early on, it's very difficult to come back, but the boys showed a bit of fight and character and I think we can build from that. "If you go five down in the powerplay, it's very difficult to come back from there. Maybe it was a bit of rustiness by the boys, but hopefully we can come back a lot better and make the second T20 a lot more exciting."

Indian seamers Arshdeep Singh (3/32) and Deepak Chahar (2/24) swung the ball both ways to set up an eight-wicket win in the first T20I on Wednesday night.

I don’t think it became easier to bat but the small moments could have gone our way.” “We didn’t expect the ball to swing so prodigiously. The ball did swing prodigiously in the first couple of overs.” “I don’t think it’s a chapter we need to dwell too much on. “Something that we need to address is the new ball, the way we are playing it, there is a lot of swing in it. “The application we saw upfront, we need to re-assess that and find ways to combat the swing.

Those were the words of South Africa's unlikely batting hero, Keshav Maharaj, after the first T20 against India in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. It was a ...

Like Chahar did in the over before, Singh then displayed his ability to swing it both ways to devastating effect and Miller was the victim, clean bowled by one that shaped back into him. The ball flew to third man This one swung away from the left-hander, and De Kock shaped to cut only to chop onto his own stumps. This also moved away from the left-hander, and perhaps wasn't as full as Rossouw had hoped. Bavuma is under a world of pressure right now, but what happened in the minutes that followed his dismissal was placed the entire Proteas batting unit under the microscope. De Kock has been in horrible T20 form on the international stage, and it continued here with a nothing shot.

While there were some positives to take from the fight the Proteas displayed to recover from a horrific top-order collapse, all-rounder Keshav Maharaj says ...

Keshav Maharaj bats for of SA in the first T20 international against India at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, India on September 28 2022 ...

“I just think we need to reassess the application we showed upfront and find ways to combat the swing.” “We did see that the side winning the toss tends to bowl first, but we never expected the ball to swing that much. “There is a lot of swing, so maybe we just need to adjust our plans and mindset and take it from there.”

South Africa's top-order produced a terrible batting display against India, crashing to 9/5 and Keshav Maharaj admitted it needed attention.

“We need to find a way to combat the swing up front and our application at the top also needs to be looked at. “But we need to adjust better against the new ball, they were getting a lot of swing, so we needed a change of plan and mindset. “With five wickets down in the powerplay, you’ve still got to be focused. Hopefully we can execute much better and make the second T20 more exciting. “We do need to chat about how we started. The Proteas eventually made it to 106/8 thanks largely to Maharaj’s greatly determined 41 off 35 balls, while there were also rearguard knocks by Aiden Markram (25) and Wayne Parnell (24).

While there were some positives to take from the fight the Proteas displayed to recover from a horrific top order collapse, allrounder Keshav Maharaj ...

India won the match with 18 balls and 8 wickets in hand and that too without their superstar pacer - Bumrah! Indian bowling came under heavy scrutiny after ...

Axar has filled in Jadeja’s shoes quite well and Karthik has cemented his place in the eleven as a finisher. He was in fine form during the IPL and could lead the bowling attack in Bumrah’s absence. He now has the highest number of runs in a calendar year and has risen to No2 in T20 Batting rankings. Patel has been in amazing form and was the Player of the Series against the Aussies. He carried the form against the Proteas and conceded just 16 runs in his tight spell of 4 overs and even picked up a wicket. After a narrow series win against the Aussies, India began with a dominant victory in the first encounter against the Proteas.

Between the now-veteran Fanie de Villiers and allies Jeremy Fredericks, Shafiek Abrahams and Cobus Pienaar came unpretentious enthusiasm and opinionated ...

Out of curiosity, in my slightly less comfortable (but competent enough) second lingo, I switched over to that feed for an intended dollop of the dramatic first encounter at Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday ... but SuperSport's Afrikaans commentary option on the Twenty20 international series between India and South Africa isn't falling short so far, I believe, for maintaining your attention.

Fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar wreaked havoc with the new ball to set up a convincing eight-wicket win for India in the first Twenty20 ...

16.4 - Comment! Short ball on the off, played to cover. Slower ball on the off, played to cover. Length ball on the off, dabs to point. Short ball on the off, dabs to point. 7.6 - LBW OUT! Fuller ball on the off, played back to the bowler. Fuller ball on the stumps, played to long on for single. Fuller ball on the stumps, played back to the bowler. Quicker ball on the off, played back to the bowler. Flight ball on the off, played to cover. Short ball on stumps, taps it to short leg.

The Proteas will head into the first T20I of this new three-match series as the underdogs. It's just how it is when visiting the subcontinent powerhouse ...

The key is to limit the damage and not let those wickets fall, and then try to get momentum going into the innings,” Bavuma said. "Facing their new-ball bowlers is quite challenging, they get the ball to swing and move quite a bit in the Powerplay. There is some relief on offer with "Bhuvi" being rested ahead of the T20 World Cup, but Bumrah still poses a major threat to the Proteas chances of starting on the front foot. My focus is on the World Cup, and making sure we are in the best space possible going into that tournament. And that's exactly what Bavuma is trying to do after being caught in the eye of a rip-roaring storm since his omission at last week’s inaugural SA20 auction. "But those are big names with big pedigree behind them, and obviously as you saw in the last while their performances have boosted the confidence of the team.

Suryakumar Yadav (50 runs off 33 balls) brought up an eighth T20I half-century at better than run a ball before KL Rahul (51) smacked Tabraiz Shamsi for a six ...