Picture Credit: Twitter
India breezed through South Africa in the first T20I at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. After an incredible bowling performance, the Proteas were reduced to 106 which was backed by a top-class batting display as the Men in Blue registered an eight-wicket win.
But the match gave the audience a heartfelt moment when a fan ran past the security to meet India captain Rohit Sharma. The fan had made his way into the ground in Thiruvananthapuram barefoot and immediately touched Sharma's feet to pay tribute to the hitman. He then got a chance to take a selfie with the Indian captain as well. The picture of this instance have now gone viral.
Talking about the game, the Indian bowling was led by the pace-bowling trio of Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar and Harshal Patel that combined to pick seven out of the eight wickets while giving away 82 runs in their 12 overs. In the second innings, the Men in Blue were in trouble as they lost skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli very cheaply. But the vice-captain KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav stitched up a magical 93-run partnership on a tricky pitch to carry India over the finish line.
Reacting to this performance, Rohit acknowledged the tricky surface as both teams had faced difficulties. He said, “The wicket was tricky. You learn a lot playing such a game. You understand what the team needs to do in tough conditions. It was nice to play a game like that. We knew the bowlers will get something seeing grass on the pitch, but we didn't expected help for the full 20 overs. It was still damp. Both teams were in the contest and the team that played better won the game.”
Sharma then praised his players, especially the top performers who held their nerves and took the team to another win. He said, “We started well, got 5 wickets in quick time and that was the turning point. Perfect showcase of how to bowl when there is help for the pacers (talking about Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep). We knew it wasn't going to be easy. Got to respect the conditions. Lost two wickets and that partnership between KL and Surya got us home.”
