Rinku Singh (68 not out off 39 balls), one of India’s finds lately in T20 cricket, continued his good form and impressed in his maiden appearance on South African soil. Unfortunately, his maiden international fifty wasn’t enough as India lost the rain-hit second T20I to South Africa by five wickets at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
With the opener being a washout, the Proteas lead the series 1-0 and India can only draw the series if they win the final T20I on Thursday.
Rinku and captain Suryakumar Yadav (56 off 36 balls) helped India to 180/7 in 19.3 overs before rain forced players off the field. Chasing a revised target of 152 in 15 overs, South Africa benefited from the wet conditions as almost all the Indian bowlers struggled to bowl the right line and length.
Openers Matthew Breetzke and Reeza Hendricks, along with captain Aiden Markram at No.3, blazed away with the bat in helpful conditions that ensured the required run rate was never a problem for the South Africans. That, in spite of the hosts losing three for 12 in just nine balls.
Tristan Stubbs and Andile Phehlukwayo, thereafter, had no problem to take their team home with seven balls left.
Earlier, overcast conditions in Gqeberha didn’t make it the easiest for the batsmen. India, put into bat, had lost both openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in the first two overs with just six runs
on the board before Tilak Varma (29), preferred over the more experienced Shreyas Iyer, also perished even after being well set.
But the left-handed Rinku played a superb knock alongside forging a crucial 70-run partnership with skipper Surya that propelled India to a formidable total.
Nine boundaries and two maximums adorned Rinku’s innings as he certainly did a commendable job to not just register his maiden T20I and international half-century, but also get those runs at a tricky phase for India. Not at all overawed with the conditions, Rinku backed his abilities and executed his shots perfectly to quickly put India’s innings back on track.
Surya’s dismissal off left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi — adjudged Man of the Match for his 1/18 from four overs — didn’t have any effect on Rinku either. He couldn’t have the last laugh in the end though.
