Team India registered a memorable 8-wicket win against South Africa in the 1st T20I on Wednesday at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. With this win, the Rohit Sharma-led side has gained a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. Put to bat first, South Africa was restricted at 106/8, to the courtesy of the three-wicket and two-wicket haul by Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar, respectively. In the chase, KL Rahul (51*) and Suryakumar Yadav (50*) smashed half centuries as Team India chased down the target in 16.4 overs and with eight wickets in hands.
After the game, the fans got to witness a very heartfelt moment, which left everyone in awe. When the Team India bus was leaving the stadium, it came across a huge crowd, cheering for the team. It was then that star batter Virat Kohli, who was engaged in a video call with his wife Anushka Sharma, turned the screen of his phone to the crowd and gave a glimpse of the fans support to Anushka.
This move by Kohli, left the fans overjoyed as they began jumping and shouting with happiness.
Coming to the match, Kohli failed to give a fiery performance and was dismissed on 3 by Anrich Nortje, soon after the dismissal of skipper Rohit Sharma.
Rahul played the anchor's role, while Suryakumar Yadav came in after the wickets of Rohit and Kohli and went on to put the pressure back on South Africa's bowlers, smashing an unbeaten 50 off 33 deliveries.
That South Africa scored 106/8 was a remarkable feat in itself after they found themselves at 9/5 after 2.3 overs as Arshdeep and Chahar ran riot with the new ball.
But knocks from Aiden Markram (25), Wayne Parnell (24) and Keshav Maharaj (41) helped the visitors recover from the early collapse and put a respectable total on the board.
South Africa also started well with the ball as Kagiso Rabada snared India captain Rohit Sharma for a duck before Anrich Nortje sent Virat Kohli packing for 3.
However, Rahul and Suryakumar hit half-centuries to take India home in 16.4 overs.