IND vs SA: Pacers shine; Surya & Rahul slam fifties as India go 1-0 up

India took a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series against South Africa with an easy 8-wicket victory in Thiruvananthapuram.

Having opted to bowl, Indian pacers Arshdeep Singh & Deepak Chahar wreaked havoc on the South African batter.

Arshdeep picked 3 wickets in 5 balls and Chahar too picked up a couple as the Proteas were reduced to 9/5 in just 2.3 overs.

South Africa did manage to get a little partnership going with Aiden Markram & Wayne Parnell, but the visitors were way behind the eight ball.

While Markram was the next to go, Keshav Maharaj came out and played an important knock for his side. His 35-ball 41 helped his side cross the 100-run mark at least.

In reply, India started poorly, losing captain Rohit Sharma for a duck. The home side scored only 17 runs in the first 6 overs, their lowest powerplay score in T20Is.

Also read: ICC T20I rankings for batters: Suryakumar Yadav goes past Pakistan's Babar Azam yet again

Virat Kohli too perished cheaply but Suryakumar Yadav came out all guns blazing. Along with KL Rahul, who was slow to begin with, he put together an unbeaten 93-run stand.

While Surya reached his fifty off 33 balls, KL Rahul too finished with a six to complete his half-century and give India a 1-0 lead.