Kohli takes India to their second World T20 final

Sidelights – ICC World T20 | India Vs South Africa

The toughest challenge India supposed to get in this tournament after Pakistan, was against South Africa. Looking at Proteas’ current form which was a bit not up to the mark, India was having a nose in front before the game got started and it’s exactly ended on the same note. India chased down a big total with five deliveries to spare and now they will make a repeat of ICC World Cup 2011 in the finals of this ICC World T20.

ICC World T20 | 2^nd Semifinal | India Vs South Africa

Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Toss: South Africa and elected to bat first

Playing XIs:

South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Jean Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Dale Steyn, Beuran Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Wayne Parnell

India: Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma

Mini Score Card

South Africa 172/4 (20) – Faf du Plessis 58 (41) | Ravichandran Ashwin 3/22 (4)

India 176/4 (19.1) – Virat Kohli 72* (44) | Beuran Hendricks 2/31 (4)

Result: India won by 6 wickets and advanced to the finals.

Man of the match: Virat Kohli (India)

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) | Ian Gould (England) | Bruce Oxenford (3^rd – Australia) | Richard Kettleborough (Reserve – England)

Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)

How they played the game

Powerplay: South Africa 44 runs, 2 Wickets | India 56 runs, 1 Wicket

First 50 runs: South Africa 44 balls | India 30 balls

50-100 runs: South Africa 31 balls | India 35 balls

100-150 runs: South Africa 36 balls | India 26 balls

Best Partnership

South Africa 3^rd Wicket – 71 runs off 53 balls | Contributors: Faf du Plessis 46 (30) and Jean Paul Duminy 22* (23)

India 3^rd Wicket – 56 runs off 39 balls | Contributors: Virat Kohli 37*(22) and Yuvraj Singh 18(17)

Fours

South Africa- 14 (Faf du Plessis – 5, Hashim Amla – 4, David Miller – 2, Quinton de Kock, Jean Paul Duminy and AB de Villiers – 1)

India – 16 (Virat Kohli – 5, Rohit Sharma – 4, Suresh Raina – 3, Ajinkya Rahane and Yuvraj Singh – 2)

SIXES

South Africa – 6 (Jean Paul Duminy – 3, Faf du Plessis – 2, David Miller – 1)

India – 5 (Virat Kohli – 2, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina – 1)

Important facts about the match:

• South Africa have not won a single ICC knockout match for last 14 years.
• India has never lost a Semifinal under Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy.
• This was the first time that South Africa has lost a T20I game after posting 170 runs, batting first.
• Virat Kohli is now the top run scorer of the tournament.

In the pic: Yuvraj Singh lifts Virat Kohli after India’s win

Picture Courtesy: ESPN Cricinfo