indian stars Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik made an international comeback on Thursday when the side took on South Africa in the first T20I of the five-match series in Delhi. While Pandya returned to the Indian XI for the first time since the last year’s T20 World Cup, Karthik had earned an India call-up after almost three years, thanks to his consistent performances from him in the 2022 Indian Premier League.
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During the first T20I, India posted a strong total of 211/4 in 20 overs and Karthik had joined Pandya at the crease during the final over of the game, bowled by Anrich Nortje. After a swing-and-a-miss on his first ball, Karthik managed to get a single on a yorker-length ball from the South Africa speedster, bringing Pandya to the strike. The all-rounder, then, slammed a six off the fourth ball of the over.
On the fifth ball, Hardik smashed a flick towards deep midwicket but surprisingly denied a run, opting to retain the strike. His call from him was met with criticism on social media, particularly considering Dinesh Karthik’s exploits during the final overs for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the recently-concluded IPL 2022.
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The 28-year-old Pandya eventually scored two on the final ball of the innings to take India’s score to 211. However, it wasn’t enough as South Africa, riding on David Miller’s brilliant unbeaten 64 (off 31 balls) and Rassie van der Dussen’s 75* (off 46 balls), chased down the target with five balls remaining.
Earlier in Indian innings, Ishan Kishan top-scored with 76 off 48 balls, while Shreyas Iyer (36 off 27 balls) and captain Rishabh Pant (29 off 16 balls) also made key contributions. Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten on 31 off 12 deliveries.
Both sides will return to action for the second T20I of the series on June 12, which takes place at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
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