After two dismal outings in the five-match T20I series, India turned things around in Vizag and defeated the South African team by 48 runs. With the series on line, every game is now a must-win for the men in blue. With heavy criticism piling on, India had no option but to play out of their skin and stay alive in the series. The team will take loads of positives from this encounter as IPL superstars Harshal Patel, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Yuzvendra Chahal all performed and led the team to victory.
One of the talking points before this game was Gaikwad's dismal run in the India colors. The orange cap winner in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League debuted for India in 2021 against Sri Lanka but never delivered as per promise. Ruturaj's bad run continued in the 15th edition of the IPL too where he failed to give good starts to his franchise Chennai Super Kings which made things pretty difficult for them. Just when people thought that the Mumbai batsman is still not good for the international stage, Gaikwad came out and did what he does best in the third T20I against South Africa. He played a quickfire 57 off 35 deliveries which eventually helped India reach 179-5 at the end of 20 overs.
While addressing his knock Gaikwad said "Last year I had a really good year so people come with a lot of expectations when you have a great year even in IPL and domestic. In the IPL, the wicket was slightly bowler-friendly. There was no flat wicket, it was two-paced, the ball was turning, and there was some swing. So 3-4 games in IPL, I got out to good balls where in some dismissals, some good shots went to the fielder's hand, it is part of T20 cricket. You will have off days and really bad days. It is a matter of staying consistent mentally, trusting your process".
India takes on the Proteas in the fourth T20I this Friday and the team will look to keep the winning momentum and level the series which can make up for a series decider to be played on Sunday.
(Inputs from PTI)
