The passion of youth in India team

Few gave them any chance of mixing it with the big boys when they arrived in South Africa, but in two successive days, India, all of one game old in this format when they arrived for the ICC World Twenty20, have put it across two teams with the most experience at this version. If yesterday's win against England was built around an awesome batting display, today's was a result of significant performances in all aspects - the batting recovery from 33 for 3 was remarkable, the bowling was fiery, if sometimes erratic, while the fielding was simply sensational.

Almost the entire team played a part, but the most significant contribution came from a 20-year-old making his international debut. Rohit Sharma was a revelation. He has been spoken of highly in domestic circles, but to come out for the first time on an international stage and play with the poise and composure he did was quite remarkable. It shows he possesses an excellent temperament and isn't fazed by the big stage, qualities that are as important for an international cricketer as skill.

The skill aspect shone through as well. The conditions at Kingsmead meant this wasn't a normal Twenty20 knock: a batsman coming in at No. 5 in this format would usually be expected to be on fourth gear from the start, but with India at 33 for 3 and the ball seaming around, it was essential that the batsmen rethought their strategy. Rohit was smart enough to do that.

Add his outstanding fielding, and India seem to have found a long-term middle-order batsman who should eventually make a mark in all forms of the game

Of his first 14 balls, he only scored four runs, and was often hurried by the sheer pace of Morne Morkel - who consistently bowled at around 142 to 145 kph - and Johan van der Wath. However, the bowler-friendly conditions also demonstrated that he has the technique to cut it at this level: the stance is upright and relaxed, he doesn't commit onto the front foot too early - a quality that should help him on bouncy tracks - and he defends with a straight bat and close to his body.

In his first 20 minutes at the crease, there was evidence that he had the ability to make the grade in the longer version, but with the ball zipping around, could he transform defence into the kind of strokeplay that would give India a fighting chance in this game? The next 45 minutes answered that too, and quite emphatically.

His first two fours weren't entirely convincing, but then he played three strokes of sheer class: Albie Morkel pitched it on a good length just outside off, and Rohit leaned forward, rode the bounce, and square-drove it past backward point. Soon after that, Makhaya Ntini was elegantly flicked away, the ball bisecting quite perfectly the fielders at fine leg and square leg. Next up, when Ntini pitched it up outside off, Rohit eased into a classical cover-drive, again placing it just right. The pace of the pitch had been a problem earlier, but now that he had gauged it, the runs flowed far more freely, with his favourite shot being the cut over point, a stroke he executed more than once with flourish. Add his outstanding fielding, and India seem to have found a long-term middle-order batsman who should eventually make a mark in all forms of the game.

RP Singh impressed again with a lively spell of swing bowling With Mahendra Singh Dhoni getting into his stride too, it ensured India had a competitive total in the end, but few would have expected such an intense and high-quality performance in the field. If Pakistan had outdone Australia in the field earlier in the tournament, India did the same to South Africa today. While the South Africans missed a couple of sitters and fumbled in the field, the Indians were dervishes. Dinesh Karthik's sensational catch to dismiss Graeme Smith, and Rohit's Jonty Rhodes-like dive to run out the dangerous Justin Kemp were obviously the highlights, but there were other less noticeable moments too, when the fielders attacked the ball, picked it up cleanly, and threw quickly, and reasonably accurately.

Among the bowlers, RP Singh, with the ability to move the ball both ways and get disconcerting bounce, showed once again just how much he has developed over the last six months. Four for 13 in four overs were outstanding returns, and they didn't flatter the way he bowled. Sreesanth, when he got his direction right, was a handful, while Irfan Pathan showed once again that he has got back his rhythm and swing.

The one aspect that was a black mark on an otherwise impeccable performance was the indiscipline in bowling: the Indians gave away 15 runs in wides, and bowled 11 extra deliveries. Their excellence in other areas - and South Africa's uncanny ability to play at their worst at the big stages - allowed them to get away with it, but on Saturday against Australia such profligacy might not go unpunished.