T20 World Cup 2022: 3 moments from the IND vs SA match that created a buzz among fans
Team India couldn't register their third successive win in the T20 World Cup, suffering a defeat against South Africa in Perth on Sunday (October 30).
Apart from Suryakumar Yadav, who scored an incredible 68 off 40 balls, no Indian batter really stood up to the challenge as they posted just 133 on the board. The 134-run target was always going to be difficult to defend, but the Men in Blue started the second innings brilliantly.
They had the Proteas in a spot of bother after picking up the first three wickets for just 24 runs. However, Aiden Markram and David Miller brought their experience to the fore and helped South Africa go to the top of Group 2.
Markram scored a superb 52 off 41 balls, while Miller saw out the chase in the last over, staying unbeaten on 59. The Indian bowlers did a decent job, but Rohit Sharma and Co. were let down by their errors in the field.
On that note, let's take a look at three moments during the match that grabbed the attention of fans on social media:
#3 Wayne Parnell's celebration of Suryakumar Yadav's wicket
Suryakumar Yadav played an absolute blinder when his team needed him the most and ensured that the bowlers had something on the board to defend.
At 49/5, it seemed like the Men in Blue would be bundled out soon. However, Yadav ensured that he played as deep into their innings as possible and exploded towards the end.
With a bid to take India as close to 150 as possible, he perished in the penultimate over off Wayne Parnell's bowling. After the wicket, Parnell unleashed a trending celebration from football legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
The pacer opened up on the reason for the celebration following the end of the contest. He stated that he was a huge fan of Ronaldo and the Portuguese's current club, Manchester United.
#2 Rohit Sharma's DRS decision and celebration
Arshdeep Singh has quickly become one of the most reliable bowlers for India in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. The Men in Blue needed early wickets against South Africa and Arshdeep delivered, sending back both Quinton de Kock and Riley Rossouw.
For the second wicket, the left-armer trapped Rossouw in front but the on-field umpire adjudged the batter as not out. Even Arshdeep seemed to feel that the in-swinger might be sliding down the leg-side.
However, captain Rohit Sharma had a long chat with wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and went for the review. The ball-tracking system showed three reds and the entire team was in delirium. Rohit's eruption of joy in particular caught the attention of fans, who praised his instincts.
Rossouw has notably been dismissed thrice for a duck in his last five T20I innings, and interestingly, he has gotten out to Arshdeep on all three occasions.
#1 India's poor fielding and Aiden Markram's charmed life
And once again, Pakistan have lost due to poor fielding. https://t.co/o7uU8TPCq8
Aiden Markram scored an important half-century for South Africa and his partnership with David Miller helped the Proteas steady the ship after a poor start. However, things could have been different had India taken their chances in the field.
Markram could have been run out on multiple occasions. The most notable chance out of those came in the second half of the innings. Rohit Sharma had time to steady himself and all three stumps to aim at but still missed with an underarm throw.
However, that was preceded by an even better chance just a few balls earlier.
Markram mistimed a shot to deep midwicket off Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling and a regulation chance was dropped by Virat Kohli of all people. It left everyone, including Ashwin and Rohit, in complete shock and the fans couldn't believe what they were witnessing.
Although India didn't have enough runs on the board, they would have given themselves a better chance by getting Markram out earlier.