South Africa defeated India by 5 wickets in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series to take a 1-0 lead. The opening game was washed out due to persistent rain.

India put a good total of 180/7 in 19.3 overs before a downpour stopped their march. South Africa were given a revised target of 152 in 15 overs.

They completed the chase in 13.5 overs with Reeza Hendricks slamming a well compiled 49 runs off 27 balls.

The Proteas raced to 42 in 2.5 overs and 96 in 7.5 overs. India captain Suryakumar Yadav felt that South Africa openers Reeza and Matthew Breetzke batted beautifully and then Hendricks’ partnership with captain Aiden Markram ended his team’s hopes.

“They batted brilliantly at the start and took the game away from us. South Africa were at 70 in no time,” he said.

SKY and Rinku Singh were the top performers for India. They hit fifties to take the visiting team to a strong position.