India crashed to a 51-run loss in the second T20I in Mullanpur, allowing South Africa to level the five-match series at 1-1. A strong crowd saw India struggle from the first over and failed to keep up a long chase of 214.
Quinton de Kock propelled the visitors with a blazing 90 that kept India in the background. His clean batting and leisurely pace helped South Africa post 213 for 4. Ottniel Baartman backed it up with a sharp spell of 4 for 24, which breached India’s middle order.
India started the chase poorly. Shubman Gill fell first ball to Lungi Ngidi. Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav then fell behind Marco Jansen in successive overs. India fell to 32 for 3 and never recovered.
The middle phase brought some struggle, but asking rates continued to rise. Regular wickets meant India were bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs. Because the upper order left early, the lower order had too much to do and the chase was delayed.
Suryakumar was honest after the defeat. He said India have relied too much on Abhishek’s good starts and senior batsmen need to step up. He admitted that he should have taken the innings deeper.
“I personally think, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we cannot always rely on Abhishek,” he said. “I should have taken that responsibility, hit a little deeper. We are learning, we are trying to do better in the next game.”
He also explained that the team backed Axar Patel to hit free again after his knock in the previous match, but things didn’t click. “We will see what awaits us in the next match,” he added.
South Africa’s strong response after losing the first match has opened the series. The momentum now shifts to Dharamsala, where the third T20I will act as the early decider on December 14.
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