The Proteas put up a clinical display of batting to claim a five-wicket DLS method victory in the second KFC T20 International against India in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
Reeza Hendricks hit 49 runs from 27 balls while skipper Aiden Markram added 30 from 17 balls as the Proteas finished the match with seven balls to spare and to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series heading into the final encounter at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Thursday at 5pm.
Earlier, half-centuries by India captain Suryakumnar Yadav and Rinku Singh helped their side to 180 for seven from 19.3 overs before rain brought a premature end to their innings.
Chasing a revised target of 152 for victory from 15 overs, the hosts' opening pair of Reeza Hendricks and Matthew Breetzke raced to 41 in the third over.
However, a miscommunication between the two resulted in Breetzke being run out for 16 from just seven deliveries including a four and a six.
Skipper Markram then smashed two boundaries to take his side past 50 as he and Hendricks took their side to 67/1 at the end of the revised five-over power play
Markram and Hendricks kept the Proteas ahead of the DLS par score as the captain slapped Mukesh Kumar over long on for a maximum, before falling for 30 off the next delivery as he tried to clear the boundary again.
Hendricks hit a boundary to take the Proteas to 100/2, but he was caught while trying to drive the ball through the off side, departing the scene for 49 off 27 as Kuldeep Yadav claimed his first wicket of the match.
Heinrich Klaasen hit one six in his run-a-ball seven before he too was caught on the boundary off the bowling of Mohammed Siraj as the hosts slipped to 108/4.
David Miller, who hit a boundary and a six for his 17, was out caught off Mukesh Kumar before Tristan Stubbs (14) and Andile Phehlukwayo (10) remained unbeaten to see the side home with a huge six from the bat of the left-handed lower order batter.
Kumar finished with 2/34 from three overs, while Kuldeep and Siraj claimed a wicket each.
In the Indian innings, Gerald Coetzee claimed three wickets, two of which fell in the final over.
SA put India in to bat and Marco Jansen struck with the third ball off the opening over to send Yashasvi Jaiswal back to the dugout for a duck, caught by Miller.
Lizaad Williams had Gill trapped in front of his stumps for another duck as India slipped to 6/2 to end the second over.
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma transferred the pressure back to the bowling side and steadied the ship, taking them to 55 before Varma slapped Coetzee straight to Jansen for a brisk 29 off 20 balls including four boundaries and a six.
“SKY” would record a 17th T20I half-century as he and Rinku Singh shared 70 runs for the fourth wicket as they looked to up the scoring rate.
However, Shamsi struck to break the decisive fourth-wicket partnership and remove the Indian skipper for a well-played 56 off 36, including five boundaries and three sixes.
Proteas skipper Aiden Markram had Jitesh Sharma caught by Tristan Stubbs for a single before Singh, who batted smartly, would bring up a maiden T20I 50 to take India beyond 150.
After a 16-run penultimate over by Markram, which saw him go for two sixes off the bat of Singh, Coetzee struck twice in the final over, to remove Ravindra Jadeja for 19 and Arshdeep Singh (0) before the heavens opened up to bring a premature end to proceedings.
Coetzee finished with 3/32 from 3.3 overs while Shamsi was economical to finish with 1/18 from his four overs as Jansen, Markram, and Williams shared one wicket a piece.
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