South Africa vs India 2018, 2nd T20I - 5 things we learnt from the match

Spurred on by an exceptional knock from Heinrich Klaasen, South Africa levelled the three-match T20I series with a convincing win at Centurion. Opting to bowl first, the Proteas dismissed Rohit Sharma for a golden duck and sent back Virat Kohli for 1 - both wickets falling to Junior Dala - to reduce the visitors to 45/3. A spectacular 98 run stand from MS Dhoni and a rampant Manish Pandey, both of whom made half-centuries, took India to 188.

South Africa got off to a poor start but the intermittent rain helped the middle-order batsmen. JP Duminy donned the role of a guide while Heinrich Klaasen slammed 69 in 30 balls, taking on Yuzvendra Chahal who was struggling to grip the wet ball. He conceded 64 in his four overs as the Proteas romped home comfortably with Duminy leading the way post-Klaasen's dismissal.

#5 Junior Dala walks the talk

Junior Dala picked up two vital wickets early on

The two most important wickets in the Indian side these days has to be that of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The sizzling captain - opener combo has worked wonders for India and it is this very bond that teams have struggled to break. While Rohit hasn't been as prolific, Kohli has been exemplary.

Dala had spoken about how South Africa had stuck to their plans in the first T20I despite it yielding little results but felt confident that it was the right way going forward. He started off by trapping Rohit in front with a superb inswinger and followed it up soon with the big scalp of Virat Kohli eking out an outside edge from the skipper.

#4 Manish Pandey slams powerful half-century

Pandey slammed a magnificent half-century from no.5

Manish Pandey brought his Kolkata Knight Riders avatar to Centurion on Wednesday, helping India out of a hole with a flamboyant, eye-catching innings. The no.5 batsman walked in with India having lost their top three and most reliable three of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli.

He dug into Tabraiz Shamsi after a sedate start, taking him on for a four and back to back sixes to get himself going. With Dhoni joining him mid-way, Pandey gathered even more confidence and went berserk, hitting the fence six times and tonking over it a further three times. He finished with an unbeaten 48 ball 79.

#3 MS Dhoni gets into the act

Dhoni overcame a slow start to accelerate towards the end

MS Dhoni's effectiveness in T20s have been discussed at length in recent times particularly with a young Rishabh Pant garnering huge attention back home in India. However, dousing the fire, Dhoni blasted his way to a second T20I half-century after starting off pretty slowly by T20 standards.

Even as Manish Pandey was unfurling his vast array of shots, Dhoni appeared stuck in a rut. However, with two overs remaining, Dhoni decided to throw caution to the wind and went after the bowlers. The result? 3 fours and two sixes in 9 balls off Morris and Paterson.

The wicket-keeper batsman raced from 24 off 19 balls to 52 in the next 9 balls and the impetus he provided helped India rack up a daunting 188 on board.

#2 Heinrich Klaasen is the fearless competitor South African cricket needs

Klaasen has been a thorn in India's flesh this tour

With several senior players nursing injuries and the few others in the team struggling for form, the onus of helping South Africa tackle a polished Indian side rested on young shoulders. One such guy, the wicket-keeper batsman, Heinrich Klaasen, stood out in the One-Dayers with his exceptional temperament, winning one game for the Proteas with his outrageously cool head at the death.

At Centurion, he gathered his de Villiers instincts and got stuck into the Indians, Yuzvendra Chahal in particular. The wicket-keeper batsman blitzed his way to a half-century, his first in T20Is, spurred on by a need to keep up with the Duckworth-Lewis target. Once things kept going his way, Klaasen continued to attack and ended up with a 30 ball 69 including seven hits over the ropes. He couldn't quite get Proteas over the line as he was dismissed off a Jaydev Unadkat slower ball.

#1 JP Duminy joins the party in favourite format

JP Duminy played the sheet anchor role in South Africa's successful run chase

Despite scything criticism over his ODI batting, JP Duminy the T20 player is quite a different proposition. The South African stand-in skipper appeared in the groove the moment he strode out and slammed Jaydev Unadkat for a four off the first ball he faced in the game. As Klaasen took the Indian spinners to the cleaners, Duminy played second-fiddle and rotated the strike.

Once Klaasen departed, Duminy controlled his adrenaline rush and focussed on staying at the crease. He nudged and tucked in between launching Chahal's half-tracker over the rope and ensured that the hosts faced no hiccups post-Klaasen's classic knock.