India vs SA first T20I | Hardik back with a bang as India goes one up in style

Hardik Pandya’s splendid effort left both the analysts and fans wondering if he overcame difficult conditions or made the most of a surface which got better. The proof was in the Protean pudding, with them succumbing to a 101-run defeat in the first T20I at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, on Tuesday (December 9, 2025).

South Africa’s collapse put extra shine on comeback man Hardik’s half-century, the all-rounder helping India recover from a spot of bother to set a 176-run target. The visitor was eventually bundled out for 74 in 12.3 overs, its lowest total in the format.

Arshdeep Singh made early inroads with the new ball, his wide outswinger drawing an edge off Quinton de Kock. Abhishek Sharma made no mistake at second slip.

An inside edge was Tristan Stubbs’ undoing, Arshdeep deceiving him with the wobble seam and Jitesh Sharma taking a low catch — a well-taken review sending him on the long walk back.

The introduction of spin further piled misery on the visitor, Axar Patel knocking back Aiden Markram’s leg stump and ramping up the decibel levels. After that, it was a procession to the pavilion, David Miller and Donovan Ferreira falling in consecutive overs to leave South Africa five wickets down for just 50 runs.

A googly from Varun Chakaravarthy then ended Marco Jansen’s time in the middle while Jasprit Bumrah sent the dangerous Dewald Brevis and Keshav Maharaj back, crossing the 100-wicket milestone in T20Is in the process, as India cleaned up the lower-order to wrap up a comprehensive win.

Earlier, Jansen proved to be a troublesome firewall for India as the Proteas put the host under the pump to clinch early momentum. Lungi Ngidi made the most of the pace-friendly red soil pitch, sending back Shubman Gill and captain Suryakumar Yadav.

Abhishek and Tilak Varma understandably dialled down cautiously. The former tried to swivel the ball fine for four, but Jansen covered 11 meters in just five strides to take a brilliant catch off Lutho Sipamla’s bowling to leave Abhishek and the Indian faithful picking their jaws off the floor.

With three wickets gone and the temperature dropping to 19°C, the partisan crowd needed something special to warm up to the fixture again, and Tilak duly obliged. He picked a slower delivery from Anrich Nortje and walloped it over deep square leg, the ball sailing out of the stadium and into the night sky.

Just when India looked to be building momentum, Jansen slammed the brakes, sending back Tilak with an excellent catch at deep fine leg, backtracking and plucking the ball, just inches away from the ropes.

Pressure brings the best out of Hardik and India looked to him once more. He smacked two sixes off Maharaj to increase the run rate and ease frayed nerves. After losing Axar and Shivam Dube, Hardik and Jitesh drew 18 runs from the penultimate over.

Hardik’s 100th career T20I six brought up his half-century, off just 25 balls, a quintessentially resilient blitz that set India up for a thumping win.