India’s long tour ends with a victory

● David Miller opened the batting. JP Duminy shared the new ball. Virat Kohli didn’t even play.

Rumours of the demise of the unpredictability of T20 cricket are exaggerated.

At least, they were at Newlands yesterday, when India’s long and winding tour of South Africa ended in victory for the visitors by seven runs.

They put up what looked like a middling 172/2. Until South Africa replied with a mediocre 165/6 that would have weighed in far lighter were it not for a ballsy but belated stand of 51 between debutant Christiaan Jonker — who clubbed 49 off 24 balls — and Farhaan Behardien.

That meant India won twice as many matches on this tour than South Africa and claimed two of the three series. But South Africa’s success in the tests will count for disproportionately more.

There wasn’t a lot to India’s innings besides the 65 that Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina shared from the second to the 10th overs.

The rest came in bits and bobs. Hardik Pandya made 21, and Rohit Sharma, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik all fell for between 11 and 13.

Tabraiz Shamsi dropped Dhawan twice, but he found a way to end the major partnership when Raina holed out to long-on for 43.

Dhawan advanced India’s cause until the 16th over, when he was run out for 47 by a stirring direct hit from deep midwicket.

The man who delivered that fine throw also took 3/35 in four impressively focused, aggressive overs. His name? Junior “Million” Dala.

What with Dala, Andile Phehlukwayo and Shamsi limiting the damage to 25 runs from the 14th to the 17th overs and Chris Morris taking two wickets in the 20th, South Africa avoided chasing 200 to win.

Kohli, whose sore back made this the only game of the tour he didn’t play, looked antsy in the dressing room.

But there was an unflattering flatness about South Africa’s batting, a malaise that would have been described as a case of “one foot on the plane” syndrome had they not been the home side.

Duminy, who had pulled a half-century straight out of the Boy’s Own Annual to help level the series in Centurion on Wednesday, lit another fire within to score a fine 55 and feature in three partnerships of more than 30. But he found even less significant support than the Indians had mustered.

Jonker and Duminy together might have pulled it off. Give that man another game.