Riding on a late 98-run✃ fifth-wicket partnersh🐽ip between Manish Pandey (79 off 48 balls) and former skipper MS Dhoni (52 off 28 balls), India reached 188/4 against South Africa in the second T20I.
I🌠t was again a story of inconsistent and poor bowling from the Proteas as they allowed India to get to t൲heir eventual total even after finding the formula of restricting them.
When Suresh Raina was dismissed, India were 90 for four in the 11th over. It looked like the home side would finally restrict the visitors to a modest total. But what followed was a mess for them as poor field placements, some lucky as well as brilliant shots got India to their eventual scoಌre.
Dhoni scored a half-century at a strike rate of over 185, proving once again that he still has in him to get the boundaries going towards the end while Manish Pandey kept the scoreboard ticking while Dhoni was finding his feet. Pandey hammered South Africa’s most successful bowler from the last match, Tabraiz Shamsi whereas Dhoni took 17 runs off Dane Paterson’s last over. Paterson is known to be the death-overs specialist but he had no clue how to contain the unorthodox Dhoni.
Here is how Twitter reacted to India’s innings in the second T20I:
Dhoni's innings:
First 19 balls – 24 runs, 1×4, 1×6
Last 9 balls – 28 runs, 3×4, 2×6— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath)
on 🔥. ♐Watching a t 20 after long let’s gooo indiaaaaa
— VarunDhawan (@Varun_dvn)
Last 4 overs 55 . Hathyar chalana nahi bhoolein, Special hit📖s from a special player , Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Great effort from Pandey as well. Best wishes to the bowlers to defend 188
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag)
Manish Pandey highest score
T20I: 79* vs SA at Centurion
T20: 114* vs DC at Centurion
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket)
This is the ground of course✨ where Manish Pandey made the first hundred in the IPL by an Indian
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75)
Waah ! Dhoni , kya maara. Great innings from Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni and 188 is a🦋 very compet﷽itive score
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif)
Back foot over cover for 6🦩! O🎃ff a fast bowler! Shot of the day from Dhoni. Guess last over is his territory!!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha)
A modified version of "When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less." When MS doesn't perform speak less, when he performs say none coz his Willow does the talking !!!
— Prabhu (@Cricprabhu)
MS Dhoni scored his 2nd T20I fifty today
— betvisa68.com (@CricketTimesHQ)
In South Afri♔ca, crowd chanting Dhoni Dhoni, what a Legend
— V (@ShivaAboveALL)
Rarely is as intense and agitated. Wel🥃l played both and what a fꦓinish for India. Think enough.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar)
Dhoni & Last Over
6, 4, 4, 2, 1
— Anant Upadhay (@im__anant)
Mahi maar raha hai.. The finished Dhoni finishܫes off the innings with some flurry..
— Abhinav kaka (@kabhinav08)
Bowling the final over when MS Dhoni is batting still is one of the mo😼st difꦫficult jobs in world cricket. He will make sure you walk back disappointed.
— Moulin (@Moulinparikh)
It's M 'n M show in Centurion as well. 😋
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL)
