SA bowlers restrict India to paltry 124/6 on a bouncy pitch in second T20I
Gqeberha, Nov 10: Indian top-order suffered a collective meltdown against disciplined South African bowlers on a bouncy pitch, managing a way below par 124 for six in the second T20I here on Sunday.
SA skipper Aiden Markram had little hesitation in selecting to bowl once he won the toss, and the bowlers vindicated his call with a stellar effort.
The Proteas bowlers hit the back of length line and the natural bounce on the pitch did the rest. Abhishek Sharma’s dismissal was an example for this.
The left-hander’s underwhelming outings in T20Is continued as his miscued pull off a climbing delivery from Gerald Coetzee ended in the hands of Marco Jansen, who made the first strike dismissing Sanju Samson (0, 3b).
Samson, who had become the first Indian batsman to score back-to-back T20I hundreds, gave himself space to heave Jansen over mid-off, but the opener paid a heavy price for needless pre-meditation to get bowled.
Jansen started off with a wicket maiden and the rest of the SA bowlers hardly offered any freebies for Indian batters to shake off the pressure.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who shuffled across a tad too much, missed a fuller delivery from Andile Simelane to get trapped in front of the stumps, and it was the pacer’s maiden international wicket.
India ended the Power Play segment on a poor 34 for three.
Axar Patel (27, 21b), who was moved up the order played a couple of delectable shots including a punch through the covers off Keshav Maharaj for a four, was India’s most assured batter on the night.
But the left-hander backed up a bit too far as Hardik Pandya’s straight drive took a deflection off spinner Peter Nqabayomzi’s hand before rattling the stumps. Axar did not even wait for the review to walk away from the field.
In the interim, India went through a boundary-less period between the 10th and 16th over, which was ended when Arshdeep Singh mowed leg-spinner Peter for a six.
Even an accomplished hitter like Hardik Pandya (39, 45 balls), who found some late steam, had to wait till his 28th delivery to find a boundary, underscoring India's struggles on the night.
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Rocket from Yemen strikes Tel Aviv, injuring 16, as Palestinians mourn 19 dead in Gaza
Tel Aviv, Dec 21: A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians.
A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 am Saturday, the military said.
The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.
The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.
The Israeli military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won't stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports “that will lead to the immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The port at Hodeida has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides' attacks risk further escalation in the region and undermine UN mediation efforts.
