Hardik Pandya marked his return from injury with a stunning half-century as India thrashed South Africa by 101 runs to win the first match of their T20I series.
Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah all took two wickets each, with the latter surpassing 100 dismissals in the format in Cuttack on Tuesday.
After losing their three-match ODI series earlier this month, the Proteas were dealt more misery here as they slumped from 40-3 to 74 all out with just under eight overs remaining.
India lost the toss and were put in to bat, a decision that looked to have hindered them when Shubman Gill (four) fell on just the third ball of their innings from Lungi Ngidi (3-13).
Abhishek Sharma (17) and Tilak Varma (26) got the hosts
through the powerplay at 40-2, with Suryakumar Yadav registering a knock of 12 after being caught by Aiden Markram.
But Hardik was able to steady the ship with his unbeaten 59, leading India to a score of 175-6 after contributions from Shivam Dube (11) and Jitesh Sharma (10 not out).
And South Africa made a poor start to their chase as Quinton de Kock fell for a duck on just the second ball of their innings, but it got even worse for the tourists.
Tristan Stubbs (14) and Aiden Markram (14) fell soon after, and despite Dewald Brevis' 22 from 14 deliveries, the wickets continued to tumble around him.
South Africa's Marco Jansen (12) was the only player to reach double figures after Brevis was bowled out in the 11th over by Bumrah, who finished with figures of 2-17.
Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje and Lutho Sipamla all fell in quick succession, with Dube getting in on the act to seal an emphatic win ahead of the second match on Thursday.
An emphatic win in the #INDvSA T20I series opener #TeamIndia register a-run victory in Cuttack to go -up
Scorecard https://t.co/tiemfwcNPh@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/mw3oxC5AHw— BCCI (@BCCI) December 9, 2025
Data Debrief: Milestone moments for Hardik and Bumrah
India are predicted to go all the way at the T20 World Cup next year, and if this performance is anything to go by, then it will take something special to stop them.
They had brilliance with both bat and ball, with Bumrah becoming only the second Indian, after team-mate Arshdeep (107), to reach a century of T20I wickets. He is also now one of only five players to have taken 100 wickets in all three international formats.
Hardik, meanwhile, became only the fourth batter to hit 100 sixes in the shortest format for India, following in the footsteps of Virat Kohli (124), Yadav (155) and Rohit Sharma (205).
But for South Africa, their collapse brought unwanted history. Indeed, they were bowled out for their lowest total in a T20I match, which was 13 runs fewer than their previous lowest tally, also against India, back in June 2022.
