India vs South Africa, 1st T20I at Cuttack: Full Match Analysis

India Crushes South Africa in 1st T20I at Cuttack

India totally dominated South Africa in the first T20I at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium on December 9, 2025. They hammered South Africa by 101 runs and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. It was a fantastic all-around showing, with some explosive batting at the end, tight bowling, and South Africa just folding under pressure. Hardik Pandya was the clear star, deservedly winning **Player of the Match** and Cricinfo’s MVP for his awesome all-round game.

India’s Solid Start After Early Wobbles

After being asked to bat, India had a tough start, losing Shubman Gill early and then Suryakumar Yadav soon after. It put them at 17 for 2 pretty quickly. But Abhishek Sharma chipped in with a quickfire 17 off 12 to get things moving again. Then, Tilak Varma played a steadying role with 26 off 32, but they needed a boost to get to a good score.

Axar Patel kept things ticking over with 23 off 21, rotating the strike well. At 78 for 4, it looked like India might only get a low score until Hardik Pandya stepped up and changed everything.

Hardik Pandya’s Game-Changing Innings

Hardik Pandya smashed it, scoring a brilliant unbeaten 59 off just 28 balls, including six fours and four sixes. His hitting in the last few overs took India from a decent score to a really competitive one. He was striking at over 210, showing how confident he was. With a quick 10 off 5 from Jitesh Sharma, India finished strong at 175 for 6.

His innings was worth 104.18 batting impact points, according to Cricinfo’s MVP thingy. That late hitting gave India the edge they needed to put South Africa under pressure.

South Africa’s Bowling – A Few Bright Spots

Despite getting hammered, Lungi Ngidi bowled well for South Africa. He took three wickets for 31 runs in his four overs, getting some important guys out. Lutho Sipamla got a couple of wickets too but was a bit pricey, going for 38. Anrich Nortje had a bad day, going for 41 without a wicket, and Keshav Maharaj got hit all over the park in his short spell.

Marco Jansen kept it pretty tight but didn’t really threaten. Donovan Ferreira got a wicket, but overall, South Africa struggled to control things at the end, especially against Pandya.

South Africa’s Batting Falls Apart

Chasing 176, South Africa just couldn’t handle the Indian bowlers. Arshdeep Singh got Quinton de Kock for a duck early on and then got rid of Tristan Stubbs soon after. Aiden Markram tried to steady the ship with 14 off 14, and Dewald Brevis showed some aggression with 22 off 14. But once Brevis fell to Jasprit Bumrah, the whole innings just collapsed.

Hardik Pandya got in on the action with the ball, getting David Miller out cheaply. Varun Chakravarthy bowled a great spell, taking two important wickets and ripping through South Africa’s middle order. Axar Patel was also good, taking two wickets for just seven runs in his two overs. Shivam Dube finished things off, taking the final wicket as South Africa crumbled to just 74 runs in 12.3 overs.

South Africa’s batters couldn’t build any partnerships, played some poor shots when the pressure was on, and struggled against India’s tight bowling. There were a bunch of single-digit scores, and apart from Brevis and Jansen, no one really put up a fight.

India’s Bowling Shines

The Indian bowlers were brilliant as a unit. Arshdeep Singh set the tone with his early wickets. Jasprit Bumrah was super accurate, giving away just 17 runs in his three overs and taking two wickets. Varun Chakravarthy’s spin caused problems for the middle order, and he picked up two wickets too. Axar Patel bowled really well, not giving away a single boundary while taking two wickets.

Hardik Pandya capped off his great game by taking a key wicket in his two overs. Shivam Dube wrapped things up with a wicket in his short spell. India’s bowlers just didn’t let South Africa get away at any point.

Hardik Pandya: The Clear MVP

There’s no question who the star of the match was. Hardik Pandya scored 59* off 28 and took 1 for 16 with the ball. His total MVP score of **122.67 points** shows how much he bossed the game in both batting and bowling.

Lungi Ngidi, with 83.4 points, was the only South African player who came close, mainly because of his bowling.

To Sum Up

India’s 101-run win was a statement. They batted well at the end thanks to Hardik Pandya and then bowled brilliantly. South Africa needs to make some big changes to compete with India in the rest of the series.