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In the end, it was India’s sloppy fielding that cost them the game in a low-scoring encounter in Perth against South Africa. Half-centuries from David Miller and Aiden Markram meant that South Africa chased down the total with two balls to spare and won the game by five wickets. South Africa’s thrilling win also meant that Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semi-final are even less now.
Arshdeep’s double blow
It was expected that the South African openers will approach the run chase cautiously. But Arshdeep Singh once again got a big wicket off the first ball he bowled. Quinton De Kock went for a drive and got caught by second slip fielder KL Rahul. Arshdeep followed it up with the wicket of in-form batter Rilee Rossouw. The in-swinger missed his bat and struck him flush on the pads.
Indian bowlers right on money
Bavuma got a lucky six off top edge but Mohammed Shami ended his stay at the crease. His poor run continued as he managed to score just 10 runs from 15 deliveries. With three wickets down, South Africa had 24/3 on the board. Indian bowlers' domination continued till the 10th over. South Africa had 40/3 on the board and the required run rate neared 10 runs per over.
The missed chances
Pandya's third over released the pressure. He conceded 16 runs as Markram and Miller showed first signs of aggression. In the next over, the most unexpected thing happened. Virat Kohli put down an easy catch of Markram's. He was batting on 35 when his catch was dropped. Shami came back into the attack and kept the two set batters quiet. A run out chance was also missed by Rohit in Shami’s over.
Momentum shift
But Ashwin's third over spoiled the equation. Miller and Markram hit one six each in the 14th over to bring the required run rate down. Arshdeep was brought back into the attack. Markram got to his half-century from 38 deliveries in the 15th over. Pandya came back into the attack and broke the partnership. Markram went for a pull shot off the front foot but found Suryakumar in the deep. Markram scored 52 runs from 41 deliveries including six fours and one six.
Miller finishes it off
In the next over, Arshdeep finished his quota of four overs. Tristan Stubbs managed to hit him for a boundary. Ashwin's final over was eventful. He bowled it full and with pace. Miller was ready for it and hit him for two big sixes. Ashwin made up for two huge sixes with the wicket of Stubbs (6). Shami was tasked with the responsibility of bowling the penultimate over. Shami conceded six runs from the 19th over.
Bhuvneshwar was given the ball to bowl the final over. He started off well against Parnell conceding just one run from two balls. Bhuvneshwar then bowled a bouncer to Miller. The Proteas batter got some glove on it and the ball raced towards the boundary. He followed it up with another boundary to win the game for South Africa with two balls to spare. Mille remained unbeaten for 59 off 46 deliveries including for fours and three sixes.
Openers’ fall again
Earlier, Rohit won the toss and opted to bat first on a challenging batting track. Wayne Parnell troubled KL Rahul and started off with a maiden over. Rabada bowled a few dot deliveries. He got off the strike with a massive six in Rabada's first over. Similarly, Rahul got off the mark with a six off Parnell. Lungi Ngidi sent both openers back to the pavillion in the fifth over. Rohit (15) got out caught and bowled whereas Rahul (9) edged one to first slip fielder Markram. After the powerplay overs, India’s score was 33/2.
Half the side down
Kohli hit a couple of extravagant boundaries off Ngidi but got caught at fine leg by Rabada trying to play a pull shot. Kohli managed to score just 12 runs from 11 deliveries. To make matters worse, Deepak Hooda got out for a three-ball duck on his World Cup debut in the next over to Anrich Nortje. Ngidi continued to cause problems and Pandya (2) became his fourth victim of the day. India were reduced to 49/5 in the ninth over.
Surya to the rescue
Suryakumar did not curb his natural instinct to attack. On the other end, Karthik struggled to even rotate the strike. In the 15th over, Suryakumar got to his half-century with a boundary from 30 deliveries. The dot ball pressure caught up with Karthik and he played a loose shot off Parnell to throw away his wicket. He could score just six runs from 15 deliveries.
Suryakumar hit a few more boundaries to get India to a respectable total. In the penultimate over, Parnell started off with the wicket of Ashwin (7). Suryakumar got out in the same over as well. He scored 68 runs from 40 deliveries including six fours and three sixes. Nortje conceded just six runs in the final over including the run out of Shami. India managed to put 133/9 on the board as Ngidi and Parnell took four and three wickets each.
