Cuttack: India managed to score 148 for 6 in the second T20 International against South Africa in front of a packed Barabati Stadium here on Sunday evening.
Put into bat first after Rishabh Pant lost his second successive toss, India were dealt an early blow when Ruturaj Gaekwad was sent back by Kagiso Rabada in the very first over.
Ishan Kishan, who played a stellar knock in the first T20I, took his time on a pitch where strokeplay wasn’t easy. The left-hander still found his range, striking 3 sixes and 2 fours in a 21-ball 34.
Shreyas Iyer struggled to find his free-flowing rhythm but stuck it out to score 40 off 35 balls.
Skipper Pant and Hardik Pandya couldn’t get going against the likes of Rabada and Wayne Parnell, and it was a late onslaught by Dinesh Karthik (30 not out off 21 balls, 3×4, 2×6) that gave India a fighting total.
Rabada and Parnell were the best bowlers, bagging a wicket each conceding just 15 and 23 runs, respectively.
The other wicket-takers were Anrich Nortje (2/40), Dwaine Pretorius (1/40) and Keshav Maharaj (1/12).
