India vs South Africa, T20 World Cup: From Kohli’s costly drop to Rohit’s missed run-outs, where India lost the game

After opening their Super 12 campaign of the T20 World Cup with two wins in two matches (Against Pakistan and Netherlands), India suffered their first defeat of the tournament, as South Africa got the better of Men in Blue with a five-wicket win in Perth on Sunday.

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The win took Proteas to top spot in Group 2 of the Super 12s with five points, while India (Four points) slipped to second spot.

However, a dropped catch and missed run-out opportunities hurt India against South Africa, and those few errors from the Men in Blue eventually led to India’s defeat.

Opting to bat first, India were restricted to 133/9 from 20 overs, and South Africa could manage just 40/3 at the end of the first 10 overs.

David Miller and Aiden Markram, however, forged a 76-run stand for the fourth wicket and that changed the script of the game, paving way for South Africa’s victory.

In the ninth over of the South African chase that was bowled by Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma missed out on a direct hit to get rid of Aiden Markram. Pandya had unleashed a length ball and David Miller, on strike, had tapped this one towards the right of cover. Miller had initially called Markram for a single, but eventually sent his batting partner back, which then led Rohit Sharma to collect the ball but the Indian skipper eventually failed to hit the stumps.

Another major opportunity came in the 12^th over. R Ashwin was bowling to Markram, in the fifth ball of the 12^th over. Markram had gone for the pull over towards deep midwicket, and Virat Kohli, the fielder there, fumbled with the ball before eventually dropping it. Had that catch been taken, it would have been a major turning point in the game, and it’s safe to say that it was a blessing in disguise for Markram as he went onto score a match-winning 52.

Another opportunity to inflict a run-out went downhill for Rohit Sharma and Team India. The incident happened in the fifth ball of the 13^th over that Mohammed Shami was bowling.

A length ball from Shami, David Miller was facing the delivery and managed to fend it towards cover region and proceeded running in towards the other end. However, Rohit ran in from cover and proceeded with an underarm throw towards the striker’s end, but eventually missed the stumps. That was another golden opportunity lost for Team India.

India will next look to return to winning ways when they face Bangladesh on 2 November, while South Africa face Pakistan (3 November), who are in danger of missing out on the semi-finals

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