Cuttack, Dec. 9 -- India's Hardik Pandya marked a memorable return from injury with a match-winning innings of 59 not out off just 28 balls, leading India to a dominant 101-run victory over South Africa in the first T20I at the Barabati stadium here on Tuesday.
India had started cautiously, reduced to 78 for four in the 12th over. Tilak Varma's laboured 26 off 32 balls had absorbed deliveries without threatening the scoreboard, while the pace of Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, and Anrich Nortje kept India tethered. The Barabati spectators, usually vocal, settled into a tense quiet. That was until Hardik strode to the crease.
What followed was a display of audacity, timing, and sheer intent. Hardik's first shot, a powerful six over long-on off ...