India beat South Africa to take a lead in the first match in their four-match T20I series, as a 61-run dominant win in Durban’s Kingsmead saw Suryakumar Yadav’s team fire on all cylinders to go up 1-0.

While powerful hitting by centurion Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma helped India set a strong 202 on a slightly tacky wicket, India’s strengths came to the fore as Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi took three wickets each to bowl rings around South Africa’s dangerous middle order.

In particular, southpaw David Miller looked to be in all sorts of trouble against Bishnoi, struggling to attack his stock googly or pick the variations when Bishnoi opted for them.

Former Proteas wicketkeeper Mark Boucher was critical of Miller’s approach and struggle against spin in an interview with India Today. Although Miller has improved against spin recently, his past struggles resurfaced at Kingsmead.

"David Miller wasn't picking a thing at all. I mean, there's one over there where I think he missed four out of the six deliveries he faced,” said Boucher, referencing the 12th over of the chase where Bishnoi only conceded a single.

“So yeah, he was bowled really well tonight, and it just goes to show two quality spinners. There was something there for the bowlers on that wicket. Something that South African bowlers could not exploit," explained the former South Africa player.

‘Especially as a wicket-keeper…’

"I was watching a couple of his balls come out a little bit different and I think what he did really well tonight, especially in the dark, is he changed the seam up,” explained Boucher about why David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen struggled against Bishnoi’s skiddy wrist-spin.

“Sometimes you look at the ball, especially as a wicket-keeper as well. You look at the ball and see if you can see it spinning different ways. But he muddled his seam up very nicely," said Boucher, who holds the record for the most dismissals recorded by any wicketkeeper in Test cricket.

Bishnoi took the wickets of Patrick Kruger, Marco Jansen, and debutant Andile Simelane, while Chakravarthy accounted for the big fish of Ryan Rickleton, Miller, and Klaasen, with the latter two falling in the same over and killing the chase.

The teams will now travel to Gqeberha for the second T20I of their series at St. George’s Park.

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