IND vs SA T20 2024: Tilak Varma’s maiden ton hands India victory over South Africa in third match
India posted 219/6 on the board batting first before restricting the hosts to 208/7 to lead the series 2-1. The fourth and final match of the series will be played on Friday.
Cricket
The Indian men’s cricket team re-established its lead in the ongoing four-match T20 2024 series against South Africa after beating the hosts by 11 runs in the third match at the Centurion on Wednesday.
Sent in to bat first, world No. 1 India rode Tilak Varma’s maiden T20I century (107* off 56) to post 219/6 at the SuperSport Park. The Proteas fell 11 runs short despite Marco Jansen‘s late heroics.
The win helped India take a 2-1 lead against the Proteas heading into the final match of the series, which will be played at the Wanderers on Friday.
Spearheaded by a Sanju Samson century, India won the series opener at the Kingsmead by 61 runs in Durban but the Proteas had drawn level with a victory in a low-scoring thriller in Gqebera on Sunday.
The Indian cricket team suffered an early blow as they lost Samson just two balls in as Marco Jansen rattled the Indian opener’s stumps.
However, Samson’s departure for a duck brought Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma together out in the middle. The duo added 107 runs for the second wicket before Sharma was stumped off Keshav Maharaj in the ninth over just after reaching his half-century.
Varma, however, continued his rampage from the other end and reached his maiden T20I ton in 52 balls.
Though Andile Simelane, who was the pick of the Protea bowlers with figures of 2/34, managed to dismiss Indian T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav (1) and Rinku Singh (8) for cheap, handy cameos by Hardik Pandya (18 off 16) and Ramandeep Singh (15 off 6) helped India post their highest-ever T20I total against South Africa on foreign soil.
The South African response saw their top four batters get starts but fail to convert them into big scores. Arshdeep Singh dealt the first blow by dismissing Ryan Rickelton (20)
Varun Chakravarthy, who scalped a fifer in the second match in a losing cause, sent Reeza Hendricks (21) and South African captain Aiden Markram (29) back to the pavilion.
Tristan Stubbs, South Africa’s match-winner at Gqebera, also failed to replicate his heroics and was trapped LBW by Axar Patel for a run-a-ball 12.
The hosts were reeling for 84/4 before a 58-run stand between Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller. While Klaasen took on the role of the aggressor, Miller batted sensibly to anchor the other end.
However, with the overs running out, Miller, too, started to open up and hit his first six of the match off the fourth ball of the 16th over, bowled by Hardik Pandya. It seemed he was destined for another one off the very next delivery before Axar Patel pulled off a stunning catch at deep midwicket.
Klaasen (41 off 22) also departed in the 18th over while trying to go after Arshdeep to up the scoring rate.
The two wickets seemingly punched the wind out of South Africa’s chase, with the hosts needing 51 to win off the last two overs. Jansen, however, had other ideas and slammed Hardik for 26 in the penultimate over to keep the hosts hoping.
Jansen (54 off 17) was at it again in the final over and brought up his half-century with a six off Arshdeep’s second ball. However, he was trapped LBW off the very next delivery as South Africa eventually finished 11 short of the target.
IND vs SA T20 2024 3rd match brief scores: India 219/6 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 107*; Andile Simelane 2/34) beat South Africa 208/7 in 20 overs (Marco Jansen 54; Arshdeep Singh 3/37) by 11 runs.