Virat Kohli's unbeaten 72 off just 52 balls helped India beta South Africa by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 International in Mohali on Wednesday. Chasing a target of 150, the opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma gave India a flying start as they added 30 runs in the first three overs. Rohit fell cheaply inside powerplay for 12 runs. Dhawan, however, stitched over 50-run partnership with the Indian skipper and got India to a strong position. From there on South Africa kept chasing the game. Kohli, in the process also, went past Rohit to become the leading run-scorer in T20Is. India will now take field for the series decided in Bengaluru on Sunday. (SCORECARD)
Highlights Between India vs South Africa 2nd T20I, straight from Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
It was a clinical performance from India and they would look to seal the series when they get on the field for the third and the final T20I on Sunday in Bengaluru. Don't forget to join us then.
Winning runs come off Shreyas Iyer's bat. He came down the track and smashed it past long-on fielder for four runs. India beat South Africa by seven wickets to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Virat Kohli comes down the track and lofts the ball over bowler's head for a six. With this six, Kohli has gone past Rohit Sharma as top run-getter in T20Is.
Kagiso Rabada comes into ball and Virat Kohli greets him with a six. Rabada bowled on the pads and Kohli flicked it off his pads for an elegant six. What a shot that was!
Virat Kohli has now decided to wraps things up quickly for India. Phehlukwayo gave him plenty of width and Kohli smashed it behind point to collect consecutive boundary.
First boundary for Shreyas Iyer. Dwaine Pretorius bowled wide of off and Iyer tapped it it down third man deliberately by opening the face of his bat. That was clever batting from Iyer as he knew that there was no slip.
Bjorn Fortuin bowls on the pads, Rishabh Pant decides to hit it over fine leg but hits straight into the hands of the fielder. Pant once again threw away his wicket and team management will not be happy with that.
One run courtesy a leg bye and with 100 comes up for India. Nortje erred in his line but Pant failed to make full use of it as he failed to get any connection with the bat. India need 50 more runs to win the match and go 1-0 up in the series.
David Miller's super-man effort on the fence spoils Shikhar Dhawan's party. This was one of the best catches you will ever see. Dhawan is smiling at his luck and Kohli can't believe how Miller pulled it off. Dhawan departs for 40.
Shikhar Dhawan ends Bjorn Fortuin's over with a huge six over midwicket. You can't ball such poor balls to a set batsman like Dhawan. Fortuin bowled it right in slot and Dhawan launched his slog sweep with utmost ferocity.
Bjorn Fortuin comes into bowl from the other end. The fast bowlers have leaked runs whereas spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has managed to contain both the batsmen.
Andile Phehlukwayo gets the ball to angle in to Virat Kohli and there was some edge, South Africa players are all up in delight but the umpire takes no heed of that appeal. De Kock goes for a review and replay shows there was not contact between the bat and the ball, instead it hit Kohli's back pad on its way to the keeper. Umpire also check for leg before and that also is in Kohli's favour. So, on-field umpire's decision saves Kohli.
Dwaine Pretorius bowls full and Virat Kohli flicks it with authority towards leg side and collects his first boundary. The timing and class on that shot was just immaculate.
Andile Phehlukwayo bowls a full ball, Rohit Sharma gets beaten by the pace on this occasion and fails to get any bat on the ball and he is out leg before. Change in bowling and pace has done the trick for South Africa. His innings comes to an end on 12.
Shikhar Dhawan welcomes Kagiso Rabada with two back to back boundaries. The first one was struck firmly through extracover while the second one came towards the third man fence.
Short and wide from Kagiso Rabada and Shikhar Dhawan finds the gap on the off side. The fielder in the deep did well at point but failed to keep the ball in play and with that India get their first boundary.
Kagiso Rabada missed his mark on that occasion as he drifted down the leg side. Quinton de Kock failed to cleanly grab that behind the stumps and the Indian openers managed to get an extra run from that miss field.
Good over for South Africa as they accumulate 16 runs in the last over of their innings. Navdeep Saini bowled slow but the length was not quite right as it gave Dwaine Pretorius plenty of time and he smacked it over long-on for massive six.
Andile Phehlukwayo clears his front leg and smashes Navdeep Saini's back of length delivery over midwicket deep into the stands for a massive six. South Africa need a few more of those to put a challenging total on the board.
Hardik Pandya bowls an off-cutter, Miller clears his front leg aiming to clear the fence, gets beaten by the pace and the ball goes on to rattle his middle stump.
Deepak Chahar used his variations to perfection in this over and got the result as he dismissed Temba Bavma for 49 and gave away just three runs. He ended his quota with the figures of 2/22.
Pressure was mounting on Temba Bavuma and he went for a big hit but a slower delivery form Deepak Chahar didn't allow him to get the connection right. Bavuma's debut innings comes to an end on 49.
Navdeep Saini, who conceded three back to back boundaries in his first over, bowled an extraordinary over as he gave away just four runs bowling at the death.
When David Miller gets going, he is unfazed by who the bowler is for he has the ability to hit any bowler out of the park. Sundar gave his ball a little air and Miller went inside out over extracover for six runs.
Krunal Pandya bowling his first over on the night concedes just seven runs. There was a little mix-up between the two batsmen but Jadeja's direct-hit missed the stumps.
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team
Virat Kohli
Quinton de Kock
Rishabh Pant
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali