India vs SA 1st T20I: Exceptional bowling by Men in Blue breaks record

In the opening T20 International in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, India’s reserve seamers Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar made the white Kookaburra chirp with some sharp swing bowling that held South Africa to 106/8.

Due to Jasprit Bumrah’s withdrawal from the game due to his recurring back issue, which has reappeared, left-armers Arshdeep (3/32 in 4 overs) and Chahar (2/24 in 4 overs) had the opportunity to significantly move the ball both ways while taking full advantage of the bite in the air and the bounce off the surface.

Also read: Deepak Chahar fills in for Jasprit Bumrah vs SA, takes a wicket in the first over: Watch

The Proteas were floundering at 9 for 5 on a pitch with a reasonable amount of grass and undoubtedly some underlying wetness before they realised what hit them. South Africa was rocked in a span of record 15 deliveries.

Previously, the fewest number of balls India needed to take the first five wickets in a T20I was 31 balls vs Sri Lanka in 2016.

Chahar did a good job of positioning Temba Bavuma (who scored 0) with stock outswingers, which the captain then left alone before bowling him through the gate with a banana inswinger. The amount of deviation into the batter was at its maximum.

Also read: Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar tear apart South Africa top order: Watch

As soon as Arshdeep began to move the ball away from the left-hander, Quinton de Kock (1) tugged one back onto the stumps in an effort to advance.

The second left-hander, Rilee Rossouw (zero), too attempted to nick one to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps by chasing a wide outswinger (inswinger by the bowler).

But the delivery made by Arshdeep to David Miller (0) will live on in memory for a very long time.

Miller engaged on the front foot in anticipation of an outswinger only to discover that the bowler had gotten one to bend back into him. He would have been castled as a direct result of his terrible across-the-line shot.

Also read: 1st T20I: India wins toss vs SA, Chahar, Arshdeep send top order packing

Tristan Stubbs, a rising T20 star, was unable to get enough wood on a Chahar delivery that bounced slightly more to slash over deep. Arshdeep took a wise catch and dove in front as a result.

With five wickets lost, South Africa was unable to recover, and the course of events remained as expected.

The innings was attempted to be revived by Aiden Markram (25 off 24 balls), Wayne Parnell (24 off 37 balls), and Keshav Maharaj (41 off 35 balls), but the damage from the first three Powerplay overs had a significant impact on the visitors’ strategy.

Also read: India vs South Africa 1st T20I: Records, stats and pitch report

The run-flow was easily stopped by bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin (0/8 in 4 overs), Axar Patel (1/16 in 4 overs), and the notoriously careless Harshal Patel (2/26 in 4 overs).