"It's my mom's birthday" - Tristan Stubbs reveals after driving South Africa to victory in IND vs SA 2024 2nd T20I
South African batter Tristan Stubbs revealed that it was his mother's birthday on Sunday, November 10, which is why some people he knew came to watch the second T20I against Team India in Gqeberha. The right-handed batter was named the player of the match in a nervy and series-levelling win for the Proteas.
Stubbs, who walked in at No.4, held South Africa's innings together as a 125-run-chase proved challenging for the hosts after a middle-order collapse. The youngster remained unbeaten at 47 off 41 deliveries and shared an unbroken stand of 42 with Gerald Coetzee to take their side home with three wickets to spare.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, the 24-year-old stated that he tried to control his breathing as much as he could.
"The run rate never got away from us. Coetzee came in and played that innings in the end and we got over the line. He (Coetzee) walked in and said we can win this. It was always two hits away being back to run-a-ball. I just tried to breathe. It's my mom's birthday so there were 20-30 people who came to watch the game. This is my favourite place to play cricket. I was nervous, so I was trying to control my breathing."
Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy sparked a middle-order collapse by dismissing South Africa's big guns Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller cheaply. The leggie eventually claimed a fifer, but it went in vain as the Men in Blue lost by three wickets.
South African bowlers did a tidy job before Tristan Stubbs took them home:
With Proteas captain Aiden Markram winning the toss for the second consecutive time, he sent the tourists into bat. Coetzee, who played an unbeaten cameo of 19 off just nine deliveries, had earlier dismissed Abhishek Sharma. Markram, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, and Nqabayomzi Peter claimed one wicket each to restrict India to 124/6 in 20 overs.
Stubbs hit a boundary to finish things off in the 19th over. The two sides will square off in the third T20I on Wednesday at Centurion Park.