India vs South Africa 2nd T20I: Heinrich Klaasen's brilliance knocked out the hosts in the second clash

Proteas' strategy dominated the Indian batting line-up.

Temba Bavuma, knowing Indian soil conditions well, without any hesitation, looked to ball first on winning the toss. Backing the decision, Kagiso Rabada dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad (1) in the very first over of the match. Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer looked to steer the game by anchoring the batting unit as they stitched 45-run off 35 balls, but Anrich Nortje trapped Ishan Kishan for a slower one. Despite Shreyas and Ishan giving a launch to the batting unit, every new batter looked to struggle in front of the bowlers. Shreyas Iyer, though, scored 40, but Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Axar Patel lost wickets, scoring 5, 9, and 10 runs, respectively. Dinesh Karthik also started slow but played a cameo to fetch 30 off 21 and take the scoreboard to 148 at the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's four-fer in vain against Heinrich Klaasen's 81

From what the Indian total looked like in middle-order; they were somehow able to fetch a defendable score. Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave a desired start reducing South Africa to 29/3 in the powerplay as he took Reeza Hendricks (4), Dwaine Pretorius (4), and Rassie van der Dussen (1). However, skipper Temba Bavuma built a match-winning partnership of 64 off 41 alongside Heinrich Klaasen, who got a chance due to Quinton de Kock being ruled out. After settling on the crease, Klaasen took the match from India's hands, especially against spinners, as Chahal conceded 49 runs in his 4-over spell. Even Axar ended up smashing for 19 runs in his over. After Bavuma's dismissal, he continued his stronghold over innings with David Miller playing the supporting role. Harshal Patel dismissed Klaasen (81 off 46), but the visitors had almost sealed the game. Proteas chased down the total to win the match by four wickets and ten balls remaining.

Indian skipper Rishabh Pant on losing, said, "I think batting, we were 10-15 runs short. Bhuvi and all other fast bowlers though bowled very well. We were short in the second half and things did not go our way. The bowlers started well, but after 10-11 overs, we did not bowl well and that's where the game changed. We thought we were going to do similar things (as the South African bowlers). The spinners have to come better into the game. Last three matches, we will look to win."

Is Proteas too strong for young India?

India has already lost the Test and ODI series by 2-0 and 3-0, respectively, in this calendar year. And now they have lost two T20Is on the trot. Tonight, they firstly had an underwhelming performance with the bat by team India, which, when defended well by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Avesh Khan, didn't find support from other bowlers to convert it into a win. Had the total been 160-170 runs, the game might have gone down the wire. It will be difficult for India to put forward a tough fight and win three games on the trot to win the series. Has Proteas genuinely become strong for the young Indian team, or will India be able to bounce back in the third T20I, which will be played on 14th June 2022, Tuesday at Visakhapatnam?