Gqeberha [South Africa], : Tristan Stubbs tried to control his “breathing” to stay calm and guide South Africa to victory in the second T20I against India, playing in his “favourite place,” Gqeberha.
On a night when established finishers like David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen failed to deliver, young talents Stubbs and Gerald Coetzee stepped up to level the series at 1-1.
As wickets continued to fall at the other end, Stubbs held his composure, picking the right moment to unleash his shots. He took charge of the chase after Gerald Coetzee ignited the fireworks with a towering 103m six.
On his mother’s birthday, with 20 to 30 people watching him at St George’s Park, Stubbs hammered an unbeaten 47* to gude South Africa to a narrow three-wicket win, bringing the series back to level.
“It was always two hits away from being back to run-a-ball. I just tried to breathe. It’s my mom’s birthday, so there were 20-30 people who came to watch the game. This is my favourite place to play cricket,” Stubbs said in the post-match presentation.
Varun Chakaravarthy wreaked havoc with his art in spin, making South Africa’s top stars bite the dust. Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller perished to the mystery spinner’s stroke of genius.
Ravi Bishnoi outclassed Andile Simelane with an inward turn, and South Africa looked down and out after being reduced to 88/7. Coetzee walked in with a sense of sparking a new life in South Africa’s dwindling 125-run chase.
The run rate wasn’t a concern for South Africa. The only thing that was a cause for concern for the hosts was the three wickets left in hand.
Even the slightest error in judgement and the game would have slipped away from South Africa’s hands. When Coetzee walked towards Stubbs, he had only one message for him: ” We can win this.”
“The run rate never got away from us. Coetzee came in and played that inning in the end, and we got over the line. He walked in and said we can win this. I was nervous, so I was trying to control by breathing,” he added.
With 13 needed in the two overs, Stubbs took the chance to finish off the game. With Arshdeep Singh charging down from the bowling end to bowl the penultimate over, Stubbs smashed back-to-back fours to take South Africa closer.
He finished the over just like the way he started it, with successive fours on the final two deliveries to seal a three-wicket victory. Stubbs was adjudged Player of the Match for his brilliance and would be keen to keep his form intact in the third T20I on Wednesday.
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