India vs South Africa T20 2023: Series ends in 1-1 tie after Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav heroics

Suryakumar Yadav played a captain’s knock as the Indian men’s cricket team defeated South Africa by 106 runs in the final game of the three-match T20 series at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday.

With India’s victory, the T20 series ended in a draw with both teams winning a match each. The first T20 was washed out before South Africa beat India by five wickets in a rain-curtailed second match. 

In the third match on Thursday, India posted 201/7 but South Africa’s challenge was bundled out for just 95 in 13.5 overs courtesy of Kuldeep Yadav’s career-best 5/17.

Indian T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav was declared the player of the match for his 56-ball 100. Yadav’s fourth century in the T20 Internationals (T20I) included eight sixes and seven fours. The ton also helped the Indian captain equal the record for most T20 tons in international cricket held jointly with Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell.

Put into bat first by South Africa captain Aiden Markram, Yashasvi Jaiswal helped India get off to a brisk start. Despite South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj reducing India to 29/2 in the third over with wickets of Shubman Gill (8) and Tilak Varma on back-to-back deliveries, Yashasvi Jaiswal continued to fight in the middle with Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav at the other end. 

The third-wicket pair helped India reach 87/2 in 10 overs. Suryakumar Yadav, who took 24 balls to make 26, joined the act with Yashasvi Jaiswal and the duo plundered 54 runs in the next four overs. Suryakumar Yadav hit Andile Phehlukwayo for 22 runs (6,4,6,6) in the 13th over as the momentum shifted towards India.

Tabraiz Shamsi dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal (60 off 41) on the last ball of the 14th over and broke the 112-run partnership. However, Suryakumar Yadav’s presence till the final over helped India reach 201/7.

Meanwhile, Indian bowlers set the tone early with Mohammed Siraj bowling a maiden in the first over. South African openers looked to target Mukesh Kumar at the other end but Matthew Breetzke lost his wicket in the process. 

A couple of boundaries from captain Aiden Markram got the run chase going. However, a direct hit by Mohammed Siraj sent Reeza Hendricks back in the fourth over. Loss of wickets regularly meant South Africa never looked comfortable in the run chase. 

Arshdeep Singh dismissed a dangerous Heinrich Klaasen in the final over of the powerplay to make it 42/3. Leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav then ran through the remaining South African batting lineup which also included the wicket of South Africa’s top-scorer David Miller, to seal the contest early in the 14th over.

The Indian cricket team will face South Africa in the three-match ODI series which starts on Sunday.

India vs South Africa 3rd T20 brief scores: India 201/7 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 100, Yashasvi Jaiswal 60; Keshav Maharaj 2/26) beat South Africa 95/10 in 13.5 overs (David Miller 35, Kuldeep Yadav 5/17) by 106 runs.