Ahmedabad, February 22 David Miller and Dewald Brevis launched a powerful counter-attack, helping South Africa reach 84/3 after 10 overs in their T20 World Cup Super Eights match here on Sunday.
At the halfway mark, Brevis had scored 24 from 18 balls (2x4, 1x6), while Miller was on 40 with five fours and two sixes.
Jasprit Bumrah's double strike, combined with Arshdeep Singh's early breakthrough, had reduced the defending champions to 20/3 after four overs, putting them in a difficult position after they had opted to bat.
Miller then turned the game around, taking on mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy in his first over with consecutive fours.
He continued the aggressive approach against Arshdeep, first pulling a slightly short delivery between mid-wicket and mid-on and then hitting a back-of-a-length ball through extra cover.
This aggressive batting fetched 21 runs in the final two overs of the powerplay, helping South Africa reach 41/3 despite a difficult start.
Washington Sundar also proved to be expensive, with Brevis hitting a four through extra cover before Miller added another boundary to push the run rate past seven per over.
The two batsmen put on a rapid half-century stand, focusing on attacking India's spinners.
After a quiet four-run over from Hardik Pandya, Miller hit a 95-meter six over long-on to further gain the upper hand.
Brevis joined the attack with a boundary through point and then a straight six, backing away from a full delivery and clearing it cleanly over the bowler's head, as South Africa firmly regained control.
