Led by glorious batting, India defeated South Africa by 16 runs to win the 3-match T20I series with a game to go on Sunday. It is the 1st time that India have won a T20I series vs South Africa on home-soil.
South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl. Rohit Sharma (43 off 37 balls) and KL Rahul (57 off 28 balls) started it before Suryakumar Yadav (61 off 22 balls), Virat Kohli (49 not out) and Dinesh Karthik (17 not out) finished it off in style.
Replying to his critics, Rahul (57) was back at his aggressive best, slamming a 24-ball fifty, his second in a row, as he and Rohit put on 96 runs for the opening wicket that came off just 59 balls. Yadav then continued to raise his standards higher with a third successive half-century that came off just 18 deliveries and India crossed the 200-mark in the 18th over.
Also Read: IND vs SA, 2nd T20: Decoding Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav's record-breaking partnership
With the top-four doing the bulk of the scoring, India's designated finisher Karthik got just seven balls but he made the most of the opportunity, smashing two sixes and one four in his quickfire 17 not out. India eventually finished with a monstrous 237 after 20 overs.
Chasing 238, it was Deja Vu for South Africa as they lost 2 wickets inside the first 2 overs and looked like going down the same path as the 1st T20I. Calmness prevailed, Markram raced away to 33 off 19 balls before Axar bowled him over.
De Kock and Miller then took their time to settle things down a bit. They both played considerable balls and the team needed over 16 runs an over after 10 overs. Needless to say, it was a horrendous ask. while Miller kept the hopes alive and fought like a champion on his way to a fifty off 25 balls. QDK made a late dash and got to his fifty in 39 balls. David Miller carried on the good work and got to his 100 in the last over of the match, but it was all in vain.
But in the end, it was too much of an ask for the Proteas and they succumbed to a 16-run defeat. The caravan now moves to Indore where the teams will meet for the third and final T20I on October 4.
(Inputs PTI)
