Team India all-rounder Axar Patel struck on the first ball he bowled during the opening T20I against South Africa at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Tuesday, December 9. The left-arm spinner left Aiden Markram puzzled, castling him for 14 to give the home side a massive breakthrough in the contest.The dismissal occurred in the final over of the powerplay as Suryakumar Yadav turned to the Gujarat-born cricketer. The ball from the southpaw skidded on, and the South African captain stayed back. He completely missed the ball, only to see the leg stump get flattened. It reduced the Proteas to 40/3 in 5.1 overs in pursuit of a daunting 176.Here's the dismissal affected by the 31-year-old:Before the spin-bowling all-rounder struck, Arshdeep Singh took the two wickets to fall, dismissing Quinton de Kock (0) and Tristan Stubbs (10) to dent the tourists early in their run-chase.Axar Patel chipped in with 23 runs on a tricky surface after South Africa put India into batAxar Patel. (Image Credits: Getty)With the bat, Axar made a crucial contribution of 23 off 21 deliveries as the Men in Blue pushed their total to 175/6 in 20 overs. After Markram put Team India into bat due to the dew factor, the hosts got off to a poor start, losing Abhishek Sharma (17), Shubman Gill (4), and Suryakumar Yadav (12), with two perishing inside the powerplay.Hardik Pandya, playing international cricket for the first time since the Asia Cup 2025, starred with the bat, hammering an unbeaten 59 off 28 deliveries to give the home side a match-winning total. Tilak Varma also chipped in with 26, albeit off 32 deliveries.At the time of writing, the Proteas had slumped to 72/9 as Team India had put themselves on track for a crushing win and a 1-0 series lead in the five-game rubber. Axar claimed another wicket in his second over. South Africa had blanked India 2-0 in Tests, but India bounced back to win the ODI series 2-1.