At the Barabati Stadium on December 9, Hardik Pandya stole the limelight, guiding India to a 175‑run total in the opening T20I of the five‑match series against South Africa. The all‑rounder himself finished on 59 not out, while Tilak Varma contributed 26.
Shubman Gill’s much‑awaited comeback, after his injury break, drew a lot of attention, but the South African pace attack cut his innings short. Lungi Ngidi fell early, falling for just four runs in the opening over. The Proteas soon tasted success when a quickover wicket brought Suryakumar Yadav to the crease.
India’s captain hit a memorable six and a four—including his trademark “supla” shot—to fire off early credit. A misjudged drive, however, allowed Aiden Markram to snatch a brilliant catch over mid‑on. During the powerplay, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma took India to 40 for 2 in six overs.
Abhishek appeared in good form, but Lutho Sipamla seized a decisive moment before the powerplay ended, taking the first wicket for South Africa. Subsequent overs were slow: Varma and Axar Patel struggled for boundaries, though Varma did hit an 89‑meter six off Anrich Nortje in the tenth over. He was eventually out after bowling 32 balls for 26 runs.
Axar contributed a useful knock and built partnerships with Varma and Pandya, yet the standout came from Baroda’s own Hardik Pandya, who dominated the bowlers with six fours and four sixes, his best innings to date. Shivam Dube and Jitesh Sharma provided quick contributions of 11 and 10 runs respectively in their brief spells.
Pandya’s solid performance steadied India’s innings, helping the team climb from 50 for 3 to finish at 175 for 6 in their full twenty overs.
For the visitors, Marco Jansen produced an impressive fielding display with several stunning catches, though he did not take any wickets. Ngidi emerged as the star bowler for South Africa, finishing with figures of 3‑31, while Sipamla and Donovan Ferreira claimed two and one wicket(s) respectively.
Final scores: India 175/6 (Hardik Pandya 59*, Tilak Varma 26) against South Africa.
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