South Africa vs India 2018, 2nd T20I: Things which went wrong for the visitors

The fifties from Heinrich Klaasen and JP Duminy helped South Africa beat India by six wickets in the second T20I of the three-match series at Centurion on Wednesday.

After losing the first T20I at the Wanderers by 28 runs, the Proteas produced a spirited performance to level the series 1-1 and stay alive in the competition.

Put in to bat by Duminy, India posted 188/4 in 20 overs courtesy of a late assault from Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni.

Junior Dala was the pick of the South African bowlers taking 2 for 28 in his four overs.

Klaasen and Duminy then chased down India's total with 8 balls to spare as Yuzvendra Chahal finished with 0/64, the worst figures by an Indian in this format.

The final match of the tour will be played in Cape Town on Saturday, February 24.

Now, let us have a look at the factors that led to India's loss at the SuperSport Park.

#5 Captain's knock from JP Duminy

South Africa lost openers Reeza Hendricks and JJ Smuts inside the first 5 overs and then the onus was on stand-in skipper JP Duminy and Heinrich Klassen to win the game for the hosts.

Chasing a target of 189 with a rain threat looming large over Pretoria, the Proteas were required to keep their wickets intact while accelerating their scoring rate at the same time.

Klassen blasted 69 off 30 balls and powered South Africa to 131 inside 14 overs before he was undone by a slower one from Jaydev Unadkat.

David Miller was sent back 10 runs later by Hardik Pandya, then Duminy brought out his A-game to finish off the match in style by hitting two consecutive sixes in the 19th over off Unadkat.

The skipper led from the front hitting an unbeaten 64 off 40 balls as South Africa chased down 189 in the 19th over to draw level in the T20I series.

Great character shown by a young protea team.well batted @jpduminy21 and @Heini22 .enjoyed @JDala3 bowling aswell.bring on the series decider 🇿🇦🔥

— Faf Du Plessis (@faf1307) February 21, 2018

#4 Top-order failure

South Africa's stand-in skipper JP Duminy won the toss and opted to field first at the SuperSport Park on Wednesday. Junior Dala got rid of Rohit Sharma for nought before dismissing India's in-form skipper Virat Kohli for 1.

Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina also could not produce anything exceptional and the visitors were struggling at 90/4 after 11 overs.

Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni then put on an unbroken 98-run alliance in 9.2 overs for the fifth wicket to power India to 188/4.

Pandey surpassed his unbeaten 51 struck against Sri Lanka in Colombo and brought up a career-best 79 not out from just 48 deliveries. He enjoyed solid support from the world's best finisher Dhoni, who scored a brisk 52 off 28 balls.

As compared to 85 runs scored in the first 10 overs, India scored 103 runs in the last 10 losing just one wicket in the process.

Although India looked quite happy with 188, as at one point they were struggling to get past 150, South Africa chased it down with 8 balls to spare.

#3 Constant rain threat

Centurion was expected to remain cloudy with some thundershowers expected later in the day. When South Africa came out to chase down India's total of 188/4, it started to drizzle.

After the first five overs of the hosts' innings were completed, D/L calculations were being made every over to ensure both the teams had a fair idea about their actual targets.

Although it was expected that over by over target would help India, it actually ended up helping the Proteas as they accelerated their scoring rate to remain ahead of the D/L par score.

Moreover, a steady drizzle dulled the threat of India's lone specialist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who endured a difficult night, going for 64 in his four overs.

The 93-run explosive partnership between Heinrich Klaasen and JP Duminy ensured that the hosts remained ahead of the required score in case the game gets called off due to rain anytime.

However, the match was not cut short but owing to their high scoring rate, South Africa comfortably chased down 189 with 8 balls remaining.

#2 The annihilation of Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal, who was the chief tormentor as India crushed South Africa 5-1 in the recently-concluded six-match ODI series, cut a sorry figure with a disastrous outing at Centurion on Wednesday.

India paid the penalty for a lack of bowling options as the leg-spinner struggled to control the wet ball and was hit for 64 runs in four overs, the most by an India bowler in a T20I.

The 13th over of South Africa's innings and Chahal's 3rd went for 23 runs as he became the first Indian bowler to concede 7 sixes in a T20I and 5th overall.

Heinrich Klaasen hit him for 6, 6 and 4 before turning the strike over to JP Duminy, slammed him for another six.

"It was a tough one for the bowlers. We were looking at 175 with the loss of early wickets. Manish and Raina batted well and then Manish and MS got us to 190. I thought it was a winning total. Then the weather made it hard for the bowlers. Till the 12th over it was fine but the drizzle made it bad. South Africa took calculated risks, credit to them. [About the conditions] We didn't really have problems with the conditions, it was a constant drizzle, was fine to play. We expect them to show a fight and show some heart and they deserved to win tonight," Kohli said after the match.

#1 Heinrich Klaasen's heroics

Heinrich Klaasen, the hero of South Africa's pink ODI win against India, was promoted up in the batting order as the hosts lost openers Reeza Hendricks and JJ Smuts inside first 5 overs

Chasing a stiff target of 189 with rain threat looming large, the Proteas needed an explosive innings from Klaasen to keep them ahead of the D/L par score and for the second time in his short career the wicket-keeper stood and delivered.

Klaasen brought up his maiden half-century off just 20 balls as he hit 7 sixes and 3 fours while scoring his runs at a whopping strike rate of 230.

The Indian bowlers looked shell-shocked against South Africa's find of the tour as he blasted 69 off 30 balls leaving the Proteas with a sniff of victory as light rain tumbled down in Pretoria.

"It's really special, at my home ground - it was something I dreamt of as a kid. [About his various sweeps] Not a wicketkeeper thing, you just gotta put the bowler under pressure and show them your skills. I've got a cool, calm head at the moment and I'm pleased with my cricket over the last year and a half", Man of the Match Klaasen said at the post-match ceremony.

Pure Klaas in just his second T20I! @Heini22 picks up the Player of the Match award for his part in a vital win for South Africa! #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/arnVatHRsm

— ICC (@ICC) February 21, 2018