South Africa vs India: Suryakumar Yadav stars as India win 1st T20I by 8 wickets

Suryakumar Yadav's magnificent half-century and a disciplined bowling performance helped India beat South Africa by 8 wickets in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

Chasing a modest target of 107, India rode on Yadav's unbeaten 50 off 33 balls, laced with five fours and three sixes, to overhaul the target with 8 balls to spare.

India lost opener KL Rahul early, but Yadav and skipper Rohit Sharma (21) added 52 runs for the second wicket to set the platform for the chase.

Yadav continued his onslaught after Sharma's dismissal, finding boundaries at regular intervals and bringing up his fifty in just 28 balls.

Dinesh Karthik (16*) provided the finishing touches, hitting a six off Wayne Parnell in the 19th over to seal the win.

Earlier, South Africa were off to a slow start, losing openers Quinton de Kock (1) and Rilee Rossouw (0) cheaply.

Reeza Hendricks (23) and Aiden Markram (25) steadied the innings with a 43-run stand, but both fell in quick succession to Deepak Chahar (2/24) and Arshdeep Singh (2/32), respectively.

Heinrich Klaasen (18) and David Miller (24) provided some late impetus, but India's bowlers kept them in check, restricting them to a below-par total.

Chahar and Singh were the pick of the bowlers for India, while Mohammed Siraj (1/19) and Axar Patel (1/14) also chipped in with wickets.

The second T20I of the series will be played in Guwahati on Sunday.