No Hard feelings

Cuttack: Hardik Pandya made a memorable comeback to competitive cricket, striking a mood-lifting unbeaten fifty and then took a key wicket as India etched a dominant 101-run win over South Africa in the opening match of the five-match series here on Tuesday.

The victory helped India take a 1-0 lead in the rubber and it also pushed South Africa to their lowest-ever T20I total. Their previous lowest was also against India -- 87 all out in Rajkot in 2022.

India had been pushed onto the back foot after the visitors asked them to bat first on a tacky red-soil surface, but Pandya’s commanding 59 not out off 28 balls rescued them from early turbulence. India posted a competitive 175/6.

On a pitch that demanded discipline, South Africa showed none, to be all out for a mere 74 in 12.3 overs, as the hosts’ bowlers ran through them with relentless accuracy.

Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel grabbed two wickets each, while Pandya fittingly chipped in with the prized scalp of David Miller.

It was also South Africa’s first defeat in three T20Is in Cuttack, and if India had started shakily, South Africa began disastrously.

Arshdeep set the tone with a superb away-swinger that kissed past Quinton de Kock’s tentative prod for a two-ball duck.

In his next over, Arshdeep produced another beauty -- a length ball that jagged back into the in-form Tristan Stubbs (14).

India went upstairs for the review, and UltraEdge confirmed a thick inside edge onto the elbow before Jitesh Sharma completed a sharp take as South Africa were 18/2 inside four overs.

Axar was introduced in the final over of the powerplay and struck immediately.

Aiden Markram, shuffling back to work a skiddy, straight delivery, was beaten on the inside edge to get bowled. At 28/3 in six overs, South Africa were already in a hole.

Pandya then added to their misery, dismissing Miller.

Chakravarthy, operating with sharp drift and deceptive pace, got into action after the powerplay. Donovan Ferreira was late to react to a delivery that held back, and could only nick behind to Jitesh.

Marco Jansen, who had fielded brilliantly earlier, was undone by Chakravarthy’s googly as South Africa slid to 68/6. The end arrived quickly thereafter with Bumrah cleaning up Dewald Brevis and Keshav Maharaj in the space of four deliveries.

Earlier, coming back after 74 days following a left quadricep injury that forced him out of the Asia Cup, Pandya walked in at No. 6 and immediately changed the tempo of the match.

India had slipped in both the power play and middle overs losing six wickets, but Pandya, who had proved his fitness at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Baroda with a 42-ball 77 not out, counter-attacked with clean, fearless hitting to finish en route his sixth T20I fifty. He began with two towering sixes against Maharaj just after a well-set

Tilak Varma (26) fell.