India vs South Africa 2nd T20I Highlights: Quinton de Kock shines as SA beat IND by 51 runs in Mullanpur to square series 1-1

Baartman removes Shivam Dube and then Arshdeep Singh in a span of four deliveries. This is turning out to be a disappointing end with India failing to provide any resistance. Make it three wickets in this over as Varun Chakaravarthy holes out to Aiden Markram. Four runs and THREE WICKETS IN THIS OVER!

IND 162/9 in 19 overs

Jitesh Sharma needs to play a good hand here and he starts well. Hits Baartman for a SIX and then a FOUR to take 13 from his over but India need much more than this.

Marco Jansen has been brought back for his last over. The required rate has gone to 24 as India managed just six from Jansen's over.

IND 142/5 in 17 overs

Linde with his third over. Last game's hero, Hardik Pandya, has also struggled to clear the ground today. For the first time tonight, he clears the fence, hits the short ball with power to clear the deep mid-wicket region. Still only 12 from this over. The required run rate is over 16 now.

IND 105/4 in 13 overs

George Linde and then Lutho Simpala contained the run rate in the following two overs. Linde gave just four singles while Simpala leaked just three singles from his first four deliveries before Tilak released some pressure by hitting him for a six at fine leg. 10 gone, India 81 for four. Need 133 off the last 10.

IND 81/4 in 10 overs

Donovan Ferreira has been introduced in the attack. He replaces Lutho Simpala. Axar, who was looking patchy up until now, hits Ferreira for a SIX down the ground. Tilak then carves one behind at deep backward point for a four as both the batters look to change gears.

IND 65/3 in 7 overs

Change in bowling, Lutho Simpala is in the attack. Tilak Varma deals in boundaries. He steps out and clears the extra cover region for a FOUR! before hooking on to fine leg for a SIX! 13 from Simpala's first over and India would fancy more of these overs and would wish for Axar to step up.

IND 45/3 in 5 overs

Lungi Ngidi continues. Axar plays out the over, gets only a couple and a boundary as he played four dots. Just six from this over.

IND 25/2 in 3 overs

All set for the chase. Local boys Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill walk out in the middle. Lungi Ngidi has the new ball for South Africa. Abhishek gets off the mark instantly with a couple off the first ball. SIX! He gets going! Outside off, back of length and Abhishek uses his backlift and big swing to clear the extra cover fence for a maximum. He takes a single to give strike to his partner, vice captain Gill. OUT! Gill dismissed for a golden duck. Couldn't do much against a good delivery. The ball shaped away for the right-hander and Gill found himself in an awkward position to edge the ball behind to Reeza Hendricks. Gill is quite disappointed as he walks back with a no score. Axar Patel is in at No. 3. Nine comes from the first over.

IND 9/1 in 1 over

Arshdeep Singh returns to the attack. He would like to put behind his last over, which had as many as seven wides. SIX! South Africa doesn't want to end this misery for Arshdeep anytime soon. Another full-toss and Ferreira doesn't miss this. He thumps it over long-on for a big six. TWO BACK-TO-BACK WIDES Arshdeep is repeating his mistake here. SIX! Fifth straight full-toss, fifth straight boundary for South Africa. This clearly indicates the effect of dew. 16 run over.

SA 195/4 in 19 overs

Axar Patel with his third over. OUT! Both set batters fall in quick succession. First it was QDK and now it's Brevis who looked to clear the long-on fence but his flat shot was caught by Tilak Varma at deep. David Miller joins Ferreira. Just four from this over.

SA 164/4 in 17 overs

Shivam Dube continues. Three singles to start the over. 150 up for South Africa. Although Dube was hit for a boundary by Brevis in the previous over, he has done well to nail a few yorkers. SIX! Commentators curse? Brevis goes downtown! Smokes one over long-off where Shubman Gill managed to pull the ball back but he stepped onto the padding, which means Brevis will get his full six runs. Nine from this over as well.

SA 156/2 in 15 overs

Shivam Dube into the attack. New batter Dewald Brevis gets off the mark with a single. FOUR! Wow, a cracking shot. Flat-batted hit over mid-off as Brevis displays his power. Nine runs from this over.

SA 130/2 in 13 overs

Arshdeep Singh is back into the attack. SIX! Another over, another maximum for Quinton de Kock. This has been a knock of the highest quality from the wicket-keeper batter in Mullanpur. He has spared none of the Indian bowlers and started another over with a six. Arshdeep now looks to bowl away from him, targeting the wide off stumps line, but ends up bowling two back-to-back wides. Make it three wides as Arshdeep is looking under evident pressure. FOUR WIDES FROM ARSHDEEP SINGH! This is not looking good for the local boy. MAKE IT FIVE WIDES! SIX WIDES! Gautam Gambhir is furious. Bumrah sees the funny side of things; he is laughing. Finally, Arshdeep darts one straight, QDK pulls for a single. Markram returns the strike and Arshdeep bowls another wide, this time on the leg side. Finally, the never-ending over ends. 13 deliveries in this over.

SA 108/1 in 11 overs

Hardik continues. FOUR! Low full toss on offer for Quinton de Kock, he whips it towards deep mid-wicket and it runs away for a boundary which gets him to his half-century! Attacking knock from the stylish left-hander who has kept South Africa in quite a comfortable position in this game. Another over with nine runs coming from it.

SA 79/1 in 9 overs

Third bowling change in the last three overs. Hardik Pandya has been introduced in the attack by SKY as he replaces Varun Chakaravarthy. Markram takes a single, putting Quinton de Kock in the strike. FOUR! QDK is looking in sublime touch. Slower one from Pandya, easy pickings for QDK who punches through the covers for a boundary. Eight of Pandya's first over.

SA 61/1 in 7 overs

First change, Varun Chakaravarthy comes in for Arshdeep Singh. WICKET! Varun strikes instantly! Starts with a carrom ball, keeps it in the middle, Hendricks rushes his pull and has been cleaned up by the mystery spinner. Skipper Aiden Markram walks out at No. 3 and opens his account with a single off his third delivery after playing a couple of dots. Just three singles from this over.

SA 41/1 in 5 overs

Arshdeep continues. de Kock has the strike, FOUR! What a way to start the over. Banged in short from Arshdeep, QDK reads it early, goes over the top and pulls it over deep mid-wicket for a boundary. SIX! THIS IS HUGEEEE! Length ball on off, in the slot for de Kock, and he pulls it with great authority as the ball goes sailing over backward square leg for a gigantic six. 12 off this over. After being dismissed for a duck in the first T20I by Arshdeep, he is taking his due revenge this time.

SA 22/0 in 3 overs

Suryakumar Yadav: This has always been a wonderful ground. When we played here during franchise cricket, and recently saw a women’s game also happen here, it was wonderful. And the first men’s game, I heard, is happening here - international, so very excited for it. I’m sure the crowd are also excited. It’s really important for the boys to understand their responsibilities and see what the team demands in that situation. They batted perfectly looking at the situation. 175 on that wicket, was a little over par. The way we bowled, I think it was a lovely effort. The balance which he (Hardik Pandya) provides in the team is amazing. The way he batted, the way he keeps calm on the ground when he’s batting, when it’s a pressure situation. And the way he bowled also; I think that’s more important. His overs are also really important for the side. The way he carried himself throughout the game, it didn’t look like he was injured. We go with the same team.

Aiden Markram: We would have done the same. Looked a pretty good wicket to the eye. Not a lot of cricket being played international-wise, so we would have bowled first. But having said that, we can put it up on the board early and hopefully get them under some pressure. There are always lessons to take, but I don’t think you want to dive too deep into things. Make peace with the fact that we can have nights like that, and we unfortunately had that in the first game. But the opportunity is there for us tonight to get it right and make some strides. I think that’s where a lot of the focus is. I haven’t thought of that to be honest. I’m not too sure. We’ll get feedback after the first few balls are over and sort of plan it from there. But yeah, I’m hoping to get off to a good start, build some good partnerships tonight, and it gives us a good chance to put up a good total. Not because of the pitch, but just from a rotation point of view, we’ve got three changes: Stubbs, Maharaj and Nortje are out, Reeza, Linde and Baartman are in.

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh.

South Africa (Playing XI): Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.

Both captains are out there as we wait for the all-important toss.

The Indian side has been quite flexible with their batting order in the white-ball format. Head Coach Gautam Gambhir would even go on to say that batting orders in the white-ball format are overrated. However, former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa warned both the coach and skipper Suryakumar Yadav and said that if things were to go wrong, it would backfire on them.

“If this goes south, it’ll backfire on both Surya and Gautam Gambhir. And people are anyway gunning for his (Gambhir )head. You can’t go into a World Cup as the defending champions with your main batters not in good form. In the first T20I, Hardik saved the skins out of India’s innings. If it wasn’t for him, we would have been 30-40 runs off that total and that’s a 130. Those things concern me,” Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.

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While a lot of focus and attention has been on India’s batting line-up that breathes intent from top to bottom, enabling them to play a brand of cricket that puts you on the edge of your seat, there is something even bigger unravelling in the bowling department. In a format where batters tend to win matches, all successful teams in T20s – international and franchise cricket – have one element in common: the presence of an equally strong bowling attack. For a team that is aspiring to defend the T20 World Cup, India have taken all the possible steps to strengthen the team from the one that won the title in the Caribbean and USA in 2024. For an attack that already had Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav, they have added Varun Chakaravarthy, with Axar Patel already being part of the mix. For a World Cup at home in two months, that’s an attack to be envious of, more so if one factors in the spin resources.

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It will be the first time ever three Punjabi players -- Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh and Shubman Gill -- will turn out for India in their home state. Baljit Kaur, Arshdeep’s mother, shares palpable excitement.

“All three are like brothers; they share a very close bond. And to see them playing for India together is like family members playing for India,” she tells The Indian Express. “We had also met Abhishek in Australia, and both families travelled together and cheered for them. At Mullanpur too, we all will be cheering.”

Left-arm pacers are special for a reason. They tend to be difficult to face, and there is additional pressure when it comes to facing a quality left-armer. Arshdeep Singh is one such quality left-arm pacer who has been the kingpin for India in the shortest format. He became the first (and only, before Jasprit Bumrah joined him during the first IND vs SA T20I in Cuttack) Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in T20 Internationals. Arshdeep is a key figure for India with the new ball, having dismissed Quinton de Kock in the first over and then Tristan Stubbs a few overs later, pushing South Africa completely against the wall. His place in the recent games was in question, as Harshit Rana was given precedence due to his comparatively better slog-hitting skills, but time and again, Arshdeep has proved he should be a fixed starter for India in this format.