India 201 for 7 (Suryakumar 100, Jaiswal 60, Maharaj 2-26) beat South Africa 95 all out (Miller 35, Kuldeep 5-17) by 106 runs
A
record-equalling fourth T20I hundred from
Suryakumar Yadav, contributed a shave under half of India's total at the Wanderers and ensured they shared the series with South Africa. Suryakumar's innings was backed up by a brilliant all-round performance from India's attack, whose seamers challenged South Africa on both the inside and outside edge and whose spinners found grip and turn.
Kuldeep Yadav, on his 29th birthday, finished with a career-best 5 for 17, he took all his wickets in the space of 12 balls, and subjected South Africa to their
third biggest T20I defeat while batting second. By the time Kuldeep was introduced into the attack, in the 10th over, South Africa's chase was all but over. They were 66 for 4 with only one specialist batter left in David Miller and had to score at more than 12 runs an over.
That their task was that daunting was thanks to Suryakymar, who shared in a 112-run third wicket partnership with
Yashasvi Jaiswal, and played an audacious innings at a high-altitude ground. He hit eight of India's 12 sixes, and seven fours while Jaiswal contributed 60 off 41 balls, his third half-century in 14 T20I innings. The pair laid the platform for India to go well above 200, though they did not need that much.
India were off to a flier with 29 runs from the first two overs and Aiden Markram had to turn to his most reliable bowler -
Keshav Maharaj - in the Powerplay. The left-arm spinner delivered exactly what the captain wanted with his second ball, that beat Shubman Gill in flight as it drifted in. Gill missed his sweep and was struck on the front pad and given out. He took some time to consider a review and decided against it but will be unhappy with that choice. Replays showed the ball was missing leg. By then, Maharaj had also removed Tilak Varma, who hit a full ball straight to Markram at mid-off. Suryakumar faced the hat-trick ball and played it along the ground to cover as Maharaj closed out his opening over by conceding only one run. His final analysis of 2 for 24 off four overs was the most economical of the South African attack.
Jaiswal came back from his duck at St George's Park with an entertaining fifty off 34 balls and was outpacing his captain until the 13th over. With pace proving too tempting for the batters, Andile Phehlukwayo opted for a slower ball but Suryakumar picked it up early and sent it over long-on for six. He sent the next delivery through short third for four and then hit Phehlukwayo for back-to-back sixes over wide long-on and midwicket to bring up fifty in 32 balls - fewer than Jaiswal - and demonstrated his ability to take advantage of scoring regions other than his favoured one over the 'keeper's head. His next fifty runs came off 23 balls as he joined Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell as the only batters to score four hundreds in T20Is.
Mohammed Siraj started with two slips as he went searching for Reeza Hendricks' outside edge and sent down four terrific outswingers in pursuit. Hendricks was beaten on each occasion and, sensing he was getting closer and perhaps remembering what happened in Gqeberha when he didn't have enough protection, Siraj put a third slip in. His fifth ball also teased Hendricks as he defended and missed again. Then came another plan: an extra fielder on the off side with a massive gap through mid-wicket, inviting Hendricks to try and pull. Siraj bowled length outside off, Hendricks half-attempted the shot and the ball snuck under the blade of the bat to end a perfect over from Siraj. In his next over, Siraj beat Hendricks' inside-edge before he finally got bat on ball and pushed one into covers and then got off the mark, off the ninth ball he faced, when he hit Siraj over mid-off. But Siraj had the last laugh. He was stationed at mid-on, when Hendricks hit the ball to him, was called through for a single and was caught short of his ground when Siraj's direct hit broke the stumps.
All but over either side of the Powerplay
Markram and Heinrich Klaasen are the kind of batters who could score at more than 10 runs an over to win a T20I match but needed to navigate through a wily Indian attack. Arshdeep Singh's slower ball had Klaasen sweeping hard but not well enough to get past deep midwicket and he was caught by Rinku Singh on the boundary. Arshdeep now has 26 T20I wickets this year, the joint-most among Full Member bowlers alongside Mark Adair. Ravindra Jadeja, leading the team Suryakumar off the field nursing a bruised leg, brought himself on immediately after the Powerplay, his first ball gripped in the surface and Markram top-edged a pull to Jaiswal. South Africa were 42 for 4 in the seventh over and their challenge was all but complete.
Jadeja should have had David Miller in his next over, when he found the outside edge with a delivery that went straight on and Jitesh Sharma took the catch behind the wicket but Miller was given not out on-field and DRS was not working at the time. Replays later showed Miller had hit the ball and should have been out for 18. He went on to score 35 but India got their revenge with the other batters. Donovan Ferreira, Phehlukwayo and Maharaj were dismissed in each of the next three overs as Miller could only watch the series win move further away. He was the last batter dismissed, in the 14th over.
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