Batting Or Bowling: Where Did India Lost The Track In 2nd T20I vs South Africa?

South Africa defeated India by four wickets in the 2nd T20I to lead the five-match series 2-0.

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India suffered yet another loss against South Africa not only in this T20I series but overall in 2022 with seven defeats in seven games across formats. In the 2nd T20I on Sunday, South Africa defeated India by four wickets to lead the five-match series 2-0. 

The pitch at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium wasn't easy to bat on. From Delhi's 400-plus run game, Cuttack offered less than 300 runs, and 12 wickets fell. The track had a lot to offer for the pacers as the ball was gripping which resulted in seaming conditions if not swing. 

Temba Bavuma was lucky to get the toss in his favor and he rightly opted to bowl first. India had to face the pitch first and it wasn't easy. Some bowls kept low while they were seaming. Kagiso Rabada only conceded four runs in his first two overs while getting Ruturaj Gaikwad out. 

Ishan Kishan tried to make the most of powerplay 29 runs inside the powerplay. His aggressive intent was working well until he got out. Shreyas Iyer was with him for almost five overs of the powerplay but he only scored one boundary and was on 11(14) at the end of the six overs in which India scored 42/1. 

What South Africa did well was not pushing their spinners even when the pitch was gripping. They attacked Shreyas with the pace and only brought spin for the first in the ninth over where Shreyas hit Tabraiz Shamsi for a four and a six. 

With not many boundaries coming, Rishabh Pant batting at number four had to take the bait which Bavuma offered in the 10th over by introducing Keshav Maharaj after Iyer had just finished Shamsi's first over with a six. Pant came down the track on the first ball and got caught at the boundary. 

The bait had worked and that also brought Hardik Pandya to the crease. Now, Pandya vs SLA - 21 Avg, 126 SR; Pandya vs LWS - 22 Avg, 91 SR

As expected, Pandya scored 8 runs in 10 balls vs the spin duo of Maharaj and Shamsi and got out trying to cut Wayne Parnell due to the lack of boundaries India were scoring at that time. 

It was only the 13th over running so Indian management decided to delay Dinesh Karthik's entry point and sent Axar Patel ahead of him. South Africa didn't over bowl spin due to Iyer's threat and the assistance pacers were getting off the wicket. 

The pressure was mounting on Shreyas and that got him out as well after he scored 40 off 35 balls where he scored 21 off 10 vs spin while 19 off 25 vs pace with a total of 13 dot balls. It seemed that Bavuma will be tempted to bowl once Shreyas got out and Karthik walking in but he didn't. 

With more than six overs left and not much on the scoreboard, Karthik had to restrict his boundary-hitting instinct vs pace. Only 13 runs came between 15-17 overs, a wicket, and no boundaries. 

Karthik and Harshal made 30 in the last two overs to get India close to the 150-run mark but it was still a below-par total but a competitive one considering how the pitch was behaving. 

In reply, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Avesh Khan found great seaming conditions and South Africa were 29/3 inside the powerplay. Bhuvneshwar was correctly bowled three overs inside the powerplay where he finished with 3/11. It wasn't a pitch that one can just come in and smack. Temba Bavuma was still at the crease when Heinrich Klaasen joined him when India were all over South Africa. 

Bavuma dropped anchor and Klaasen played two overs before setting off in the ninth over against Yuzvendra Chahal. Post that 13-run over, Klaasen didn't look back and kept finding boundaries in each over. 

Axar Patel was introduced in the 12th over and got hit for 19 runs. Why was Axar introduced so late? Because Harshal Patel bowled 8th and 10th over. What India hoped was for Harshal to get the same grip that Bhuvneshwar was getting and continue to press South African batters but Bavuma and Klaasen played him well. 

Chahal got Bavuma out in the 13th over but Klaasen had already found his rhythm, South Africa's required run rate was now well under control and David Miller had walked in. 

With everything under control, Miller had time to get set and what he perfectly did was to keep rotating the strike and not play too many dot balls (only four in 20 balls). Klaasen kept smacking boundaries and India kept losing control of the situation. 

When Klaasen got out, he had scored 81 in 46 balls with the help of five sixes and seven fours. India over bowled Chahal in search of wickets but Klaasen made sure that threat was neutralized as he thrashed the leg-spinner for 30 runs in 13 balls. 

Bhuvneshwar bowled 17 dot balls in his four overs while Avesh bowled 11 in his three but South African batters made up of those 24 dots against the remaining bowlers to finish the run chase with 10 balls to spare and four wickets in hand.