Ken Borland

To be frank, it was a demolition as South Africa slammed a mighty 333/5 batting first in the opening ODI against England at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, Rassie van der Dussen leading the way with a fabulous century.

Having lost the toss in sweltering, heatwave conditions in Durham, north-east England, the home side were ill-equipped to handle the clinically efficient Proteas batting line-up, a flat pitch and the soaring temperatures which reached in excess of 35°C, necessitating extra drinks breaks.

Quinton de Kock (19) and Janneman Malan produced a solid start, putting on 35 in the first six-and-a-half overs before De Kock misjudged the lower bounce of a Sam Curran cutter and was bowled trying to pull.

That brought Van der Dussen to the crease and he immediately set about his business building an innings of considerable substance. Without ever seemingly being in a rush, he drove beautifully through the covers and used the reverse-sweep to good effect as he brought up his half-century off just 45 balls.

Malan had gone to a composed half-century himself, but began to lose steam in his innings and fell for 57 off 77 balls in the 26^th over, holing out at cow-corner off Moeen Ali.

The real destruction came when Aiden Markram joined Van der Dussen and the pair blasted 151 runs for the third wicket off just 123 balls.

Markram took a little while to find the right tempo to his innings, perhaps going a little too hard at the ball at first, but once he let his class take over, he was near unstoppable as he slammed 77 off 61 balls.

Markram fell in the 46^th over as South Africa looked to ram home their advantage, holing out to spinner Liam Livingstone, and Van der Dussen fell two balls later to the same bowler, bowled by another delivery that skidded through low.

But by then Van der Dussen had plundered 133 off 117 balls, his ODI stats reaching for the heavens as he has now scored 1498 runs in 30 innings at an average of 74.90 and a strike-rate of 90.56.

David Miller scored a rather scratchy 24 not out off 14 balls and there was some reward for the persevering Brydon Carse, who comes from South Africa, as he dismissed Heinrich Klaasen (12).

Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller and Dwaine Pretorius are all past their 32^nd birthdays and it was that experience that gave them the clarity of knowing exactly what they had to do as South Africa chased down a record score in the first T20 against India in Delhi on Thursday night.

South Africa’s previous highest chase was 208 for two against the West Indies at the Wanderers in 2007/8, in the first World T20 tournament. So when India piled on 211 for four, their highest ever score against the Proteas, the pressure was on.

But Pretorius, born March 29 1989, was promoted to No.3 and dominated the powerplay by lashing 29 off 13 balls, before India fought back with a couple of wickets and South Africa needed 120 to win off the last nine overs. Miller, born June 10 1989, then took over, taking the pressure off a struggling Van der Dussen, with the in-form IPL winner blasting 64 not out off 31 deliveries.

Van der Dussen, who was born on February 7 1989, exploded in the latter stages to finish with a fabulous 75 not out off just 46 balls as the Proteas won with five balls to spare.

“Dwaine was brilliant, he had clear instructions to put India under pressure and he did that superbly. He’s an intimidating figure and we know how far he can hit the ball,” Van der Dussen said.

“But it took a while for me to get the pace of the pitch, I was a bit slow with 30 off 31 balls. But David batted really well to get me through that tough patch in the middle.

“I knew if I could just get one or two shots away then the momentum would shift. We had clear plans and communicated well, the lesson is to trust the game-plan and have a clear mind regardless of your score and how many balls faced.

“We trusted each other too and we knew that if David and I were there at the end then we would be close and would probably get over the line. I’m glad we managed to do it in the end,” Van der Dussen said.

The Central Gauteng Lions star, who now averages 42 in T20 internationals with a strike-rate of 132, recognised however that what happened in the first match of the series probably won’t work every time. It was just as well Van der Dussen was dropped on 29 in the 16^th over because that would have brought Tristan Stubbs, exciting but a real baby at this level, in to try and get 63 runs from 28 balls.

“I would like to adapt a little quicker to conditions, you can’t always put yourself under pressure and catch up. It also puts the team under pressure,” Van der Dussen acknowledged.

“I will be looking at my first 15-20 balls to try and get away quicker.”

The second T20 is in Cuttack on Sunday from 3.30pm.

David Miller in demolition mode and Rassie van der Dussen, slowly building his innings to a crescendo, combined to lift South Africa to an extraordinary seven-wicket victory in the first T20 against India in Delhi on Thursday.

Chasing India’s record score of 211/4, Miller continued to grow his reputation as one of the best finishers in world cricket as he battered 64 not out off 31 balls, steering South Africa’s highest ever T20 chase.

But Van der Dussen had taken 31 balls to reach 30 and with South Africa needing 120 from the last nine overs, the pressure just seemed to be mounting inexorably on the Proteas.

But Van der Dussen showed great composure to put aside his earlier struggles, hitting three sixes and a four off Harshal Patel in the 17^th over and hammering 45 off his last 15 balls to finish with a powerful 75 not out off 46 balls.

That left South Africa needing 34 off the last three overs to win and the boundaries continued to flow as the Proteas won with five balls to spare, the experienced pair of Miller and Van der Dussen adding 131 off 63 balls.

Dwaine Pretorius had earlier struck a fiery 29 off 13 balls as he was elevated to No.3 in the order and ensured the Proteas made a brisk start in the powerplay, reaching 60/1 in the first five overs.

On a small field which took South Africa’s ace spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi out the game – they conceded 70 runs in five overs – India were put on course for a big score by openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (23) and Ishan Kishan after being sent in to bat.

They added 57 in 6.2 overs and even after Kishan was dismissed for a hard-hitting 76 off 48 balls, India ploughed on through Shreyas Iyer (36 off 27) and Rishabh Pant (29 off 16).

Hardik Pandya then put the cherry on top with a blazing 31 not out off just 12 deliveries.

Wayne Parnell, on his return to the T20 side for the first time since 2017 due to Aiden Markram withdrawing with Covid, was the best of the bowlers with 1/32 in his four overs.

Kagiso Rabada was unfortunate to end his four-over stint without a wicket and conceding 35 runs.

Rassie van der Dussen had to weather a torrid start to his innings and then a spiteful burst of short-pitched bowling from former team-mate Neil Wagner, but the phlegmatic 33-year-old still managed to top-score for South Africa on another gripping day of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.

Van der Dussen’s 45 helped shore up the middle-order after Tim Southee had dismissed both openers with just 23 runs on the board, adding 65 for the fourth wicket with Temba Bavuma (23). The Proteas ended the third day on 140/5, a lead of 211.

“We went out with a useful lead and tried to play on the front foot, looking to score, but New Zealand have a world-class attack and they really don’t give you much,” Van der Dussen said.

“I myself was a bit more streaky than I usually am at the start of my innings and Neil then bowled a brilliant spell of short ones, which unfortunately got me out.

“Fourteen years back, when I made my first-class debut for Northerns, we were in the same team. I knew his plan and he knew that I was not going to leave any short balls, there were runs there to be had.

“So it was me or him and I just needed to last one or two overs more and I would have won the battle. But he has a big tank and well done to him. I’m sure it was entertaining to watch,” Van der Dussen said.

Colin de Grandhomme’s brilliant 120 not out had earlier kept the Black Caps in the game as he lifted them to 293 all out. Kagiso Rabada, who took 5/60, and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj were the only bowlers to keep him contained for long though, and Van der Dussen said they would be the pair the Proteas will probably be calling on in the fourth innings to win the game and level the series for South Africa.

“It would be really encouraging if we can strike early again in their second innings, and the way they played Kesh in the first innings, I think he is really going to come into it in the fourth innings.

“If we can bat through the first session tomorrow [Monday], then we will be in a great position and any lead above 270 we would be reasonably happy with.

“We’ve got to give Kesh the chance to really get into the game and hopefully the pitch will deteriorate. KG also plays a big role for us. He doesn’t miss his lines and lengths much.

“KG asks lots of questions, he can swing the ball and he has a good bouncer and a good yorker. The team looks to him to win matches for us and he knows it. He takes responsibility, he knows that if he takes wickets then we win Tests,” Van der Dussen said.