IND vs SA 2022: Hits and flops as South Africa go 2-0 up in series 

The second match of the ongoing India vs South Africa T20I series, on Sunday at Cuttack, saw a four-wicket victory for the visitors. With this win, the South African team doubled their lead in the series to 2-0.

Put in to bat first, the Indian camp endured regular blows to slump to 98 for five on a tacky surface. Ishan Kishan hit an attacking 34 and Shreyas Iyer gathered 40 but both failed to convert their starts into big scores. Courtesy of a late blitz by Dinesh Karthik, India registered an under-par total of 148 runs.

In reply, South Africa had a dodgy start, losing three of their wickets inside the powerplay. However, an inspired batting effort by Henrich Klassen (81 off 46) led his team to a rather convincing victory in the end.

Winning the game with 10 balls to spare, South Africa need just one more win to seal the five-match series in their favor. On that note, let's look at the hits and flops from the second India vs South Africa T20I.

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#4 Flop - Ruturaj Gaikwad (India)

With the unavailability of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad was handed a big opportunity to showcase his talent in the blues of India. However, the talented batter has thus far failed to impress.

After making a scratchy 23 in the first game, Gaikwad was dismissed for just one off four on Sunday.

In the very first over against Kagiso Rabada, the right-hander aimed to play a loose drive away from his body. However, he could only slice the ball to point and gave away his wicket on a delivery that was there to be put away. Gaikwad's dismissal jolted India early in the game.

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#3 Hit - Bhuvneshwar Kumar (India)

Barring veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the rest of the Indian bowlers have looked mediocre in the last couple of matches.

The right-arm pacer was also India's best player on show in the second T20I. He created havoc in the Proteas batting lineup with his tight lines and swing.

Defending 148, India needed to get off to a good start in the second innings. Bhuvneshwar took the onus of delivering right from the word go.

He clean bowled opener Reeza Hendricks in the first over before outfoxing floater Dwaine Pretorius. Rishabh Pant made the right decision by giving the 32-year-old a third over in the powerplay as Bhuvneshwar delivered another wicket, of Rassie van der Dussen.

He finished his quota of four overs with another wicket of Wayne Parnell in the 18th over. The Meerut-born bowler ended the game with fabulous figures of 4-0-13-4.

#2 Flop - Hardik Pandya (India)

Hardik Pandya was dismissed on 9 in the 2nd T20I vs South Africa [P.C: BCCI]

After making a strong comeback to the Indian team in the first game, Hardik Pandya had an off day in Cuttack. The flamboyant all-rounder failed to impress with either bat or ball.

Coming in during the halfway mark of the innings, Pandya needed to stay at the crease in order to take India's total high. However, he was cleaned up by Parnell three overs later.

While attempting to make room for himself, Pandya was beaten by the inward movement of the delivery. He was dismissed after scoring just nine runs in 14 balls.

The 28-year-old didn't do much with the ball as well. In the three overs he bowled, Pandya went wicketless and gave away 31 runs at an economy of 10.3. The medium pacer conceded at least one boundary in all three of his overs.

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#1 Hit - Heinrich Klassen (South Africa)

Had Quinton de Kock not injured his wrists, Heinrich Klassen wouldn't have played in the second T20I. The right-handed wicket-keeper made full use of his opportunity and marshaled the Proteas to a famous victory.

After walking in to bat inside the powerplay, Klassen took a couple of overs to get his eye in. However, once he was set, he proved to be severely punitive, especially against spinners. He hit 13 runs in Yuzvendra Chahal's second over before clobbering Axar Patel for 19 runs in his only over.

Klassen played a match-winning knock of 81 runs off 46 balls, including seven boundaries and five sixes. If David Miller and van der Dussen were the heroes of the first game, Klassen stood out and single-handedly won the second for the visitors.

With this immaculate innings, the 30-year-old has now scored 173 runs in four games at a strike rate of 184.04 against India.