WATCH: Aiden Markram stuns Abhishek Sharma with backward running catch during first T20I

South Africa and India got down to action to play the first T20I game on Friday. Abhishek Sharma, who had created a huge buzz with the bat during the IPL 2024 season, has seen his batting form face a huge slump. The 24-year-old was out to a terrific catch taken by Proteas skipper Aiden Markram. 

The incident happened in the first ball of the fourth over with Gerald Coetzee bowling his first over. Abhishek Sharma went for a huge shot but didn’t time the ball well as the ball was in the air for a long time. Markram was seen making the run and judged the ball well to hold on to the catch to dismiss Sharma for just 7 runs. 

A brilliant catch by Markram to get rid off Abhishek Sharma #INDvSApic.twitter.com/a7Jc2vxsyi

— pro_poetic (@SiRaEHoou) November 8, 2024

Earlier in the day, South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl first. Suryakumar Yadav went into the game with two pacers and three spinners. The last time India had toured South Africa for a T20I series was in late 2023 as the series ended 1-1. Durban was supposed to host the first game but the game was abandoned due to rain. 

Sanju Samson starts strong in Durban

Just weeks after scoring his first T20I ton for India, Sanju Samson continued from where he left off. The 29-year-old began with a terrific boundary before hitting Keshav Maharaj for ten runs from two balls. The stand-out shot of the day was when Samson whipped Marco Jansen for a huge six. 

Suryakumar Yadav came out with aggressive intent in his mind as he hit two fours and a six. Indian skipper hit former Mumbai Indians teammate Gerald Coetzee for a huge six over the fine leg region. 

Samson hit a third six to take India past the fifty mark in the 6th over as the Indian wicketkeeper pulled Coetzee over the ropes. With the pitch aiding the pacers and the outfield patchy due to the heavy downpour, chasing might be a bit difficult for South Africa. The second T20I game is to be played on Sunday with the final two games on Wednesday and Friday. At the time of writing, India had scored 56/1 from 6 overs.