India beat South Africa by 8 wickets in the T20I series opener in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday night thanks to half centuries from Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul after Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar wrecked havoc on the South African batting order.
It was difficult to reach the 107 run target on a pitch with moisture and bounce as high as waist level at times, until Suryakumar (50 not out, 33 balls) released the pressure created by Rahul (51 not out, 56 balls), allowing India to win in 16.4 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Despite Ravi Shastri on air describing the pitch as “not ideal for T20 cricket,” both teams’ batters had difficulty coping with both pace and movement.
