South Africa players celebrate the wicket of Shubman Gill during the second T20 International cricket match between India and South Africa at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: India fell behind in their chase of 214 and were bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, which hosted its first men’s international on Thursday. South Africa won the second T20I by 51 runs to level the five-match series 1-1.India lost wickets regularly and never gained any momentum in the chase. Tilak Varma scored 62 off 34 balls and was the lone warrior for the Men in Blue. South Africa put India under pressure early by removing Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav in the power bowl and continued to attack at regular intervals.
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Ottneil Baartman took four wickets for South Africa, while Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Lutho Sipamla took two each.Earlier, Quinton de Kock scored 90 off 46 balls to take South Africa to 213 for four. He hit seven sixes and five fours with most of the sixes going towards deep square leg.De Kock, who recently called off his ODI retirement and was unsure about his T20 plans after last year’s World Cup, returned with strong intent. A trade like this less than a week before the IPL mini-auction will also create a buzz among franchises who could indulge in a bidding war for the multi-skilled cricketer.India elected to bowl first after winning the toss. Arshdeep Singh, who dismissed de Kock in the series opener, went for runs this time. De Kock started with a six over mid-wicket off Arshdeep before adding another shot. Jasprit Bumrah also conceded 16 runs in his second over after Reeza Hendricks hit him for a six. Hendricks was later dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy but de Kock went on to score to take South Africa to 53 for one in the over.Arshdeep came back in the 11th over but struggled with his lines after de Kock hit him for a straight six. The over included seven wides and went for 18 runs. De Kock looked set for a second T20I hundred but was run out by keeper Jitesh Sharma while attempting a single.South Africa scored quickly after his dismissal. Donavan Ferreira made 30 off 16 balls and David Miller added 20 off 12 in the final overs.Bumrah also went on a run at the end, blasting 18 in the 20th over as Ferreira hit two sixes. India gave 123 runs in last 10 overs.The five-match series is now 1-1 with the third match scheduled for December 14 in Dharamsala.
