IND vs SA Highlights 3rd T20I: South Africa wins by 49 runs; India clinches series 2-1

Rilee Rossouw’s unbeaten 48-ball 100 was too much for India in the end as South Africa clinched a consolation win in Indore on Tuesday. The Proteas gave India a taste of its own medicine as it gathered a mammoth 227 for three in 20 overs after India had struck 237 for three in the last game. South Africa gave a good account of itself in that chase, falling short by just 16 runs. However, India failed to replicate that when faced with a huge target today, as it folded for 178. There were flashes of brilliance that held promise - Dinesh Karthik’s 21-ball 46, Deepak Chahar’s 17-ball 31 and Rishabh Pant’s 14-ball 27 - but nothing that could take India all the way home. The final dress rehearsal ahead of the T20 World Cup is over as India now prepares for its trip Down Under in its bid to reclaim the T20 world title after 15 years.

Pretorius continues. Starts off with a wide outside off. Another one next ball. This is also outside off but inside the tramline and Umesh drills it for a single. OUT! Siraj whips this down the ground but Miller takes this skier at the long-on boundary. South Africa wins by 49 runs and India takes the series 2-1.

Rabada darts that between Umesh’s legs as the batter backs away far outside leg stump and Rabada follows him. FOUR! Tactfully done by Siraj. Yorker on middle stump and Siraj makes room, jams his bat and guides that to the third-man boundary. A wild swing and a miss to end the over.

Pretorius returns. Starts off with a wide outside off. One more beyond the tramline and two consecutive wide balls now. Umesh heaves this down the ground for a single at long-off. SIX! Full and wide outside off again and Chahar presses forward and clears the point boundary for a maximum. OUT! Slower one this time, Chahar wants to clear the straight boundary but ends up slicing it to Miller at long-off. A breezy cameo comes to an end. Siraj the last man in. Another pace-off delivery, wide outside off and Siraj pushes it for a single behind point. Umesh swings and misses outside off.

Ngidi to bowl. Starts off with a full toss that Umesh heaves this down the ground for a single. It is called no-ball. SIX! Chahar hammers this full toss over deep midwicket with a sweet sound of bat on ball and capitalises on the free hit. FOUR! Low full toss this time and Umesh has drilled this through the covers for a boundary. A couple more at long-on next ball. Ngidi a bit wayward here as he darts it in wide outside off - called wide. Width and room outside off and Umesh flays that for a single.

Maharaj bowls out. Two dots to start with. One leg-bye as Chahar misses the paddle and the ball goes off the pads and behind the keeper. FOUR! Chahar connects the paddle this time as this one is slightly shorter outside off and collects four at fine-leg. SIX! Full toss and Chahar muscles this over long-on for a maximum.

Here comes Rabada. Umesh to face. Pushes it on the off-side for a single. Yorker to Chahar and he digs it out for one at long-on. Slower one and Umesh swings and misses. FOUR! Umesh drills this down the ground for a boundary.

Maharaj with the ball. OUT! Ashwin charges down the ground and tries to clear the straight boundary but is caught at long-on. Umesh in at No. 10. He is off the mark with a single at deep midwicket.

Parnell bowls out. Wide outside off and Ashwin pushes it the cover fielder for a dot. Sliced through cover and point this time for a single. FOUR! Full and Axar drives it down the ground and to the long-off boundary. OUT! Axar walks. Wide outside off, just inside the tramline, and Axar gets an edge to the keeper as he looks to squeeze that on the off-side. FOUR! Chahar comes in and starts off with a boundary. Room outside off and Chahar runs it down with an open face to the deep backward square leg boundary. Single in the same region to end the over.

Ngidi comes back. FOUR! Harshal muscles this one past mid-off for a boundary. Risky single and 100 up for India in 10.2 overs. Slower one on off-stump and tucked away by Axar for one more. SIX! Harshal smashes this slot delivery over wide long-on for a maximum. OUT! Slower one and Harshal ends up slicing this to the long-off fielder. Ashwin comes next. Another slower one and flicked by Ashwin for a single at long-on.

Pretorius continues. Gets one to seam away from Harshal and the ball goes off his thigh pad and to the keeper. Four runs from the over.

Maharaj continues. Pretorius drops Harshal at short midwicket and then misses a run out chance as Harshal is far from his crease. FOUR! Harshal smashes a boundary at deep midwicket next ball, rocking back and pulling it.

Here comes Pretorius. Slow and good length and the ball shoots up unexpectedly and surprises Suryakumar. Axar on strike. He flicks this off the backfoot for a single at square leg. SIX! Suryakumar just doing Suryakumar things. Shortish outside off-stump and SKY walks across and scoops it over fine-leg for a maximum. OUT! An absolute stunner by Stubbs as he dives forward at deep point to take this. Suryakumar has to go after slicing that one to Stubbs.

End of the PowerPlay and here comes Maharaj. Karthik goes inside his crease and whips this flat one on the stumps to long-on for a single. Suryakumar drives the next one down the ground for one more. SIX! DK sweeps this full toss over square leg for a maximum. SIX! Consecutive maximums for DK as he rocks back and clears the midwicket boundary this time. OUT! DK is bowled. Goes for the reverse scoop shot and misses and Maharaj gets his revenge!

Suryakumar comes in at No. 5. Parnell with the ball. He swings it into Karthik’s pads and the batter swings and misses. SIX! Karthik shuffles across this time and scoops this over fine-leg for a maximum. Fifty runs up for India in 5.2 overs FOUR! Glorious cover-drive by Karthik as he leans into the drive to collect four more. SIX! Full on the pads and whipped away by DK over fine-leg for six more. A couple more for him next ball as he slashes this through covers but Stubbs gets a hand to it, which prevents the ball from running away to the boundary. Single to end the over.

FOUR! Ngidi into the attack and Pant finds the gap between the bowler and the non-striker to collect a boundary down the ground. Pant goes for the sweep next ball and fails to connect. SIX! Full and Pant has hammered this over long-on for a maximum.​​

Parnell continues. Another length ball on leg and Karthik misses the pull. Pushed to short third man next ball for another dot. FOUR! Full on the pads and Karthik flicks this over short fine to the fine-leg boundary. Karthik is beaten again trying to pull this good length delivery on leg-stump. Going down leg this time and wide ball called. Two very tight singles to end the over.

Rabada continues. Pant starts off with a single at midwicket. Karthik gets an outside edge prodding a good length ball outside off and falls short of slip fielder. FOUR! Another outside edge as Karthik jabs at this length ball and this goes over the short third man fielder for a boundary. Low full toss to Pant and whips it straight to mid-on for a dot ball. FOUR! Pant stands and slashes this to the point boundary.

Parnell to bowl the second over. Short ball outside off first ball and Pant lets it go. Pulls the next one to square leg for a single. Good length ball going down leg-side and called wide. Angling away outside off and Shreyas swings and misses. OUT! Another good length ball on leg and Shreyas misses the flick off the backfoot. Parnell appeals and given LBW by the umpire. Shreyas reviews the decision. He has to walk back as this is hitting top of leg-stump. India two down. Dinesh Karthik comes in at No. 4. FOUR! First ball boundary for DK as he pulls this one away through midwicket. Beaten! This one moves away outside off and DK plays and misses.

OUT! Rohit is clean bowled second ball of the innings. He gets an inside edge onto his stumps. Shreyas Iyer walks in at number three. A single each for Shreyas and Pant. Shreyas is almost gone last ball of the over as Rabada gets one to bounce unexpectedly and take the outside edge but it falls just short of the slip fielder.

Chahar to bowl the final over. Starts with a wide down leg-side and the batters run two as Pant can’t stop it. Single at deep midwicket and 100 for Rossouw off 48 balls. OUT! Stubbs goes as he tries to scoop and Ashwin takes it at short-third. Miller comes in next. Misses the first ball as it skids on. SIX! Next ball is out of stadium as Miller hammers this full-toss over deep midwicket and it is also called a no-ball for height. SIX Consecutive sixes as Miller pulls this one flat over deep midwicket. SIX! Taken by Siraj at square leg but he steps on the boundary cushion and that is six more. Good yorker to end things and just a single. Twenty four runs from the last over.

FOUR! Low full toss and Rossouw scythes this behind point for a boundary. Single to deep backward point and Rossouw moves to 98 now. FOUR! Stubbs doesn’t relent from the other end. Full toss outside off and Stubbs clubs it to the long-on boundary for a one-bounce four. 200 runs up for South Africa in 18.4 overs. Heaved away on the leg-side for one more. Pulled away by Rossouw for a single off the last ball and he moves to 99.

Harshal bowls his last. Good start of the over with just four runs coming off the first three deliveries. SIX! Rossouw scoops this with nonchalance over the keeper for a maximum. FOUR! This is pummelled down the ground for a boundary as Rossouw capitalises on a low full toss. Muscled down the ground this time for a single off the last ball of the over.

Siraj with the ball. Full and wide outside off and Stubbs drills this straight to cover. Brilliant wide yorker and Stubbs cannot dig it out. Another good yorker and dug out this time by Stubbs for a single at midwicket. Umesh takes a catch at third man but Stubbs will survive as it is called no-ball for a over-the-waist full toss. Rossouw steps on his stumps as he looks to use his crease for the free-hit and Siraj pulls out of his run-up. Free-hit continues and Rossouw cuts this to deep point for a couple and DK with a brilliant save in the deep. Yorker to end the over and just one leg-bye.

Chahar is back. He caught Stubbs out of his crease at the non-striker’s end but refrained from getting him out. SIX! Rossouw shows no mercy and clubs this one over deep midwicket. A flurry of full tosses from Chahar but the batters mistime the big hits and settle for a series of singles. FOUR! Rossouw ends the over with a boundary, puts away another low full toss at the midwicket boundary.

Here comes Harshal. Full toss, Rossouw heaves this to wide long-on for just a single. Stubbs takes one more with a flick to deep midwicket. SIX! Slow and short and Rossouw pulls this and it’s just over Umesh at deep backward square leg. LBW appeal as Harshal nails the yorker and Stubbs fails to dig it out but was probably missing leg. Umpire turns it down and Rohit doesn’t review.

Axar finally into the attack. Rossouw clears midwicket with a slog-sweep and brings up his fifty off 27 balls. FOUR! Stubbs unleashes a reverse sweep and beats backward point. Another big over for South Africa.

Umesh returns. OUT! de Kock is gone run out trying to steal a second and a brilliant throw from Shreyas Iyer from deep midwicket spells his doom. FOUR! Rossouw guides this wide outside off delivery behind point for a boundary. SIX! Outrageous shot from Stubbs. He gives Umesh the charge and pulls this over deep midwicket for a huge six.

Ashwin bowls out. Three singles to start the over. Rossouw revere sweeps and misses and Ashwin appeals for LBW but turned down. Rohit goes upstairs for the review. Rossouw survives as the ball was missing leg-stump. India loses a review. Just five runs from the over

Harshal bowls his second over. FOUR! Sprayed down leg and de Kock pulls this away to the fine-leg boundary. FOUR! Consecutive boundaries as de Kock opens the face of the bat and finds the gap behind point. SIX! Rossouw reaches out to connect this one wide outside off after backing away on leg and connects well enough for the ball to sail over point.

Umesh with the ball. SIX! Short on leg stump and de Kock pulls this over square leg and brings up his fifty off 33 balls. FOUR! Rossouw ends the over with a boundary as he swings this past short fine-leg.

Ashwin bowls his third. SIX! de Kock reverse-sweeps this over point for a maximum. SIX! Dropped! Siraj spills this one at fine-leg and it goes over the rope for a maximum. Rossouw gets down one knee and sweeps this over the boundary.

Harshal Patel with the ball. FOUR! de Kock flays this full one outside off over mid-off for a boundary. Harshal makes a good comeback with three dot balls. He changes his pace and nails a yorker. Single for de Kock to end the over.

Siraj comes back and Rossouw almost plays on first ball trying to defend. SIX! Rossouw pulls this flat and over deep midwicket for a maximum. Stung him! That would have hurt de Kock. Slower one, de Kock doesn’t connect the pull and cops one on the box. FOUR!

Ashwin bowls his second in the PowerPlay. Turning into de Kock, who misses the flick, and one leg-bye. Flicked with the inside half of the bat by Rossouw for a single behind square leg. de Kock reverse-sweeps and connects well but Chahar puts in a brilliant dive at short third man to keep it down to a single. SIX! Rossouw gets going finally and clears the deep midwicket boundary with a maximum.

Umesh into the attack. OUT! Umesh strikes first ball and Bavuma is gone, caught at short midwicket. Three runs in three matches for the captain. Rossouw comes in next and defends the first ball solidly. He is also coming off two ducks in the first two games. Going down leg, Rossouw misses the flick and not called wide as it looks like it brushed his thigh pad on the way to Pant. He pulls and misses next ball. FOUR! Rossouw gets his first runs of the series as he flicks this loose ball on the pads behind square and to the boundary. FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries for the left-hander to end the over.

Ashwin into the attack in the PowerPlay! Bavuma starts off with a single. Turning down leg and de Kock pushes it to midwicket for no run. Going down leg again again and de Kock sweeps but the short fine-leg fielder stops it. FOUR! de Kock gets an outside edge trying to go inside out and the ball flies over the slips and to the boundary.

Chahar continues. SIX! de Kock swipes across the line and clears square leg for his second six of the night. WIDE! Slower bounce but called wide for height. Slower one to Bavuma, who is beaten and gets hit on the waist attempting to pull and collects one leg-bye.

Mohammed Siraj from the other end. Over the wicket to de Kock. Full on the stumps and de Kock punches this straight to mid-on. SIX! Fullish on leg and de Kock swings this behind square for a maximum. Pushed to point for a single next ball. Bavuma is off the mark in the series. Punches it to mid-on for a quick one. FOUR! Loose ball down leg and de Kock flicks this behind to the fine-leg boundary. Single for him off the last ball and de Kock keeps strike.

Chahar to de Kock from over the wicket. Run out first ball! de Kock pushes this to mid-off and hares for a single and Bavuma sends him back. Direct-hit and de Kock was gone by a mile. Three dots to start and de Kock pushes all three deliveries to Shreyas Iyer at mid-off. South Africa and de Kock finally off the mark with a single as the batter defends the ball on the off and steals a quick one. Bavuma on strike. Still to get off the mark in this series. Swinging in and it raps Bavuma high on the pad. Flicked to midwicket to end the over with a dot. Just a single from the first over.

Team India in a huddle. Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma come out to open the batting. Deepak Chahar with the new ball.

Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.

Rohit Sharma says that Arshdeep Singh is out due to a back issue but confirms that it is only a precautionary measure.

India wins the toss and elects to bowl. Shreyas Iyer, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj in the Playing XI in place of KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Arshdeep Singh.

The boundaries are 63m and 60m square of the wicket. Straight boundaries are 68m. Some cracks on the wicket which could help spinners but otherwise it is a batting paradise at the Holkar Stadium. The average first innings winning score here is 180 so expect another high-scoring affair today.

We are minutes away from the toss in Indore. It will be interesting to see who gets a game in the absence of Kohli and Rahul. Shreyas Iyer is likely to be in the XI. Will Shahbaz Ahmed make his debut?

ndia will play its 32nd T20I of 2022 when it takes on South Africa in the third T20I at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Tuesday. This is the highest number of T20Is played by a team in a calendar year, surpassing Pakistan’s tally of 29 in 2021.

The Men in Blue have enjoyed considerable success too in the shortest format this year, winning 23 and losing seven out of the 30 completed T20Is they have played in 2022.

India may have already clinched the three-match T20I series against South Africa, but encounters in the lead up to a World Cup are about more than just results. They are iterative exercises towards yielding the ideal team combination.

Tuesday’s third and final T20I at the Holkar Stadium here will be India’s final such official attempt before the marquee ICC T20 World Cup begins in Australia later this month.

Of particular concern is the side’s bowling, with Jasprit Bumrah now ruled out of the World Cup and the need to find his replacement of paramount importance.

In Guwahati, every bowler’s figures, except Deepak Chahar’s, went north. The match was admittedly a high-scoring affair (458 runs), with both sets of bowlers chasing leather for much of the hot and humid evening, but the think tank is sure to feel the unease.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, after starting with two wickets in his opening over, went on to concede 62 runs. Worryingly, he bowled three no-balls, and got hit for 13 runs off the resultant free-hits, including two sixes.

While skipper Rohit Sharma would hope for better returns from Arshdeep, Mohammed Siraj, a potential candidate to replace Bumrah – along with Chahar – will do well with an outing.

Vice-captain KL Rahul, though, seemed unperturbed by the bowlers’ travails.

“In this format, both batters and bowlers will have such [tough] days,” he said.

“It’s high-intensity and high-risk. The conditions were tough and we have played a lot of cricket on the go. Certain times the bodies are tired. [But] yes, it [bowling] is something we have to get better at and that will never stop.”

The batting, however, clicked perfectly. Rahul rediscovered his attacking mojo; Virat Kohli continued to present his rejuvenated self and Suryakumar Yadav enthralled yet again with his seemingly boundless energy and limitless stroke-making ability. Rahul and Kohli are set to be rested, but the jigsaw appears complete.

For South Africa, its top-order batting has to come good, lest the brilliant David Miller, who scored his second T20I century on Sunday, is left to do all of the heavy-lifting. For the second straight game, Temba Bavuma and Rilee Rossouw were out for ducks.

Bavuma’s in particular is a curious case. While he leads his national T20 team, he went unsold in the inaugural SA20 auction recently. The inspirational captain will hope for a statement innings.

Quinton de Kock’s half-century would have soothed a few nerves, for he had accumulated a paltry 68 runs from the previous eight innings.

South Africa’s bowling was ordinary on Sunday, with the exception of Keshav Maharaj. But the expectation is for the well-rounded attack to come good.

Wicketkeepers: Quinton de Kock, Dinesh Karthik Batters: Rohit Sharma, David Miller (vc), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shreyas Iyer All-rounders: Axar Patel, Aiden Markram Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh Team Composition: IND 7:4 SA Credits Left: 14.5

KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have been rested for the third T20I between India and South Africa to be held on Tuesday at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

While Rahul was adjudged Player-of-the-Match for his 28-ball 57 in the second T20I in Guwahati on Sunday, Kohli scored an unbeaten 28-ball 49 as India posted 237 for three - its fourth-highest T20I total.

Shreyas Iyer, who was drafted in the squad for the injured Deepak Hooda, is likely to replace Kohli for Tuesday’s game.

Rahul is the second-highest run-scorer in the ongoing series with 108 runs in two matches while Kohli has scored 52 runs in two innings.

India has already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series after registering wins in Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati in the first and second T20Is, respectively.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.