Thanks for tuning into Sportstar's live coverage of the third T20I of the five-match series between India and South Africa. This was Nihit Sachdeva taking you through the action as it unfolded at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
India will look to level the series when the two sides meet in Rajkot on Friday.
After the first innings, it felt like India was 30 runs short but its bowlers stepped up to the task and kept picking wickets on a consistent basis. Harshal Patel (four wickets) is the pick of the bowlers in India's 48-run victory.
SA 131 all out in 19.1 overs: WICKET!!! Tabraiz Shamsi provides catching practice to Avesh at long-on. Indian wins by 48 runs and stays alive in the series. Harshal Patel finishes with 25/4, his best figures in T20I cricket.
Harshal Patel to finish things off with the final over of the match.
SA 131/9 in 19 overs: WICKET!!! Finally, a wicket for Bhuvneshwar as a slower leg-cutter draws a top edge off Maharaj's bat for an easy catch at point for Dinesh Karthik. South Africa eight down. FOUR!!! Powerful shot by Parnell as he steps out and hits it over Bhuvneshwar's head. WICKET!!! Anrich Nortje has been run out. Inside edge off Nortje's bat was picked up by Pant while Parnell wanted to get back on strike. Pant's underarm throw reached Bhuvneshwar in time to execute the run out at the non-striker's end.
SA 126/7 in 18 overs: SIX!!! Full toss from Avesh and Keshav Maharaj whacks it over deep extra cover for maximum. Eleven off Avesh's final over.
SA 115/7 in 17 overs: WICKET!!! Seventh wicket goes down for the Proteas as Rabada hits one hard off Harshal's wide ball but finds Chahal at deep backward point. Five singles in the over. Harshal too has taken three wickets tonight.
South Africa needs 70 off the last four overs.
SA 110/6 in 16 overs: FOUR!!! Straight and hit with power by Rabada. Eight off Avesh's third over.
Avesh Khan continues.
SA 102/6 in 15 overs: Parnell looks to go for the big hoick, gets the top edge that evades Pant and Harshal saves a certain boundary with a brilliant drive. WICKET!!! Chahal bowls wide and turns it further away from Klaasen who still goes for the big hit. Top edge goes high into the air and Axar takes a simple catch at cover. Is this the game then? Rabada joins Parnell. WIDE! Chahal sprays one down the leg side. Chahal finishes with match-winning figures of 4-0-20-3.
Chahal to complete his quota of overs.
SA 95/5 in 14 overs: Five singles off the first five deliveries. FOUR!!! Klaasen manages to drive the wide yorker over the point fielder.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns for his second spell.
SA 86/5 in 13 overs: FOUR!! Slightly short from Avesh and Parnell plays a perfect upper cut. Eight off the over.
Avesh Khan to bowl his second over.
SA 78/5 in 12 overs: SIX!!! Klaasen adds insult to injury. After an unsuccessful review from India, Klaasen hits one straight and hard. Axar finishes with figures of 4-0-28-1.
Axar Patel comes on to bowl his final over.
SA 71/5 in 11 overs: FOUR!!! Flicked off the hips by Klaasen and the ball races to the fence beating the fielder at short fine leg. WICKET!!! Harshal draws a false shot from Miller with a slower ball and Gaikwad takes a good one-handed catch at cover.
Harshal Patel back into the attack.
SA 63/4 in 10 overs: FOUR!!! Short and fast from Axar and Klaasen pulls it for a boundary at deep mid-wicket.
New batter and perhaps South Africa's last hope - David Miller is in.
SA 57/4 in 9 overs: FOUR!! Pretorius goes onto the backfoot and hits the ball over Chahal's head for a four. WICKET!!! Pretorius looks to cut but the ball takes the outside edge before Pant pouches it comfortably.
Chahal continues.
SA 48/3 in 8 overs: SIX!!! Dwaine Pretorius goes big. Short ball from Axar, Pretorius went on the backfoot and smacked it way into the stands on the leg side. Tidy over otherwise - eight runs conceded.
SA 40/3 in 7 overs: WICKET!!! Chahal gets the big wicket of RvvD as he gets one to turn away from him while taking the outside edge. Neat catch behind the stumps by Pant. South Africa in a spot of bother. Incredible stuff from the leg-spinner as he gives just two runs in the over and also removes South Africa's hero from the first match. New batter in is Heinrich Klaasen.
New batter is Rassie van der Dussen and he faces Chahal.
SA 38/2 in 6 overs: FOUR!!! Pretorius throws his hands at a wide one from Harshal and the outside edge goes past the keeper for four. SIX!!! Hendricks picks up the slower ball off the pads and flicks it way over deep square leg. WICKET!!! Hendricks goes for a big shot on the last ball of the powerplay but only manages it to provide a high catch to Chahal at mid-off.
Well, we are back to pace. Harshal Patel to bowl to Pretorius.
SA 25/1 in 5 overs: Excellent start for Chahal as he concedes just two singles.
Spin from both ends. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal into the attack.
SA 23/1 in 4 overs: No boundaries and yet, the South African openers manage to take eight off the first five balls. WICKET!!! However, Axar drifts one into the pads of Bavuma on the last ball and the batter hits it right to Pandya who takes a diving catch at mid-on. Dwaine Pretorius is the new batter.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel replaces Avesh.
SA 15/0 in 3 overs: A tight second over from the right-arm pacer. Just five off it.
Bhuvneshwar back for second over.
SA 10/0 in 2 overs: FOUR!!! Avesh begins with a half volley and Hendricks finds the gap between the fielders inside the circle on the off side. FOUR!! Short and wide from Avesh and Hendricks hits it past cover with an lovely backfoot punch.
Avesh Khan to bowl from the other end.
SA 2/0 in 1 over: Bavuma off the mark straight away with a single as he steers the ball down to third man. Two vicious inswingers from Bhuvneshwar beat Hendricks to strike his pads. Hendricks manages to get some bat on ball as the third one comes straight and he nudges it to mid wicket for a single. Another inswinger from Bhuvneshwar takes the inside edge of Bavuma's bat and the ball goes just over the stumps. Great first over.
Reeza Hendricks and Temba Bavuma to begin the chase. Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the ball in hand for India.
South Africa needs 180 runs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead.
IND 179/5 in 20 overs: FOUR!!! Parnell goes for the yorker, misses and gets punished as Pandya strikes it well enough to find the vacant deep mid-wicket region. Parnell nails the yorker this time as Pandya can only take a single. A full toss but no harm as Axar takes one and gives strike back to Pandya. FOUR!!! Parnell misses the full toss yet again and Pandya thrashes the full toss for a boundary wide of long-on. Parnell gets it right this time with the yorker and Pandya does not take a single. One ball to go. A couple off the final ball takes India to 179 but it would have hoped for more considering it was 97 for one after 10 overs.
IND 167/5 in 19 overs: Two singles off the first two. WICKET!! Yorker from Rabada, Karthik goes for the scoop but the ball arrives a bit later to take the top edge and travels straight into Parnell's hands at short third man. FOUR!!! Quick, back of a length from Rabada and Pandya looks to pull. Top edge takes the ball past the keeper and short third man for a boundary. FOUR!!! Axar Patel, facing his first ball, times it beautifully as the ball goes between mid-wicket and long-on.
Rabada to finish his spell.
IND 156/4 in 18 overs: Pandya takes a single on the leg side off Parnell's second ball. South Africa has been spot on so far in the second half of this innings. A mistimed pull by Karthik brings a single that takes India to 150. FOUR!!! Full toss on the off side and Pandya muscles it past extra cover. First boundary in 33 balls for India.
IND 148/4 in 17 overs: Disciplined bowling continues from Proteas. Just four off it.
Rabada is back to bowl the first of his final two overs.
IND 144/4 in 16 overs: WIDE!!! Pretorius starts off by conceding an extra as he continues to keep the ball out of Pant's arc. DROPPED!!! Wide ball again from Pretorius, Pant goes for the big hit and Rassie van der Dussen drops it while sliding to take the catch at deep extra cover. WICKET!!! That missed chance costs South Africa only four runs as Pant mistimes one to provide a simple catch to Bavuma at mid off. Dinesh Karthik is in and off the mark with a single.
Pretorius to bowl first of the final five overs of this innings.
IND 138/3 in 15 overs: DROPPED!!! David Miller of all people drops a sitter at wide long off after Pandya sliced Shamsi's third ball of the over. Five off the over.
IND 133/3 in 14 overs: WICKET!!! Slow and wide from Pretorius, Kishan loses his balance as he tries to reach for it but the shot goes only as far as Hendricks at deep extra cover. Kishan goes for 54. Hardik Pandya joins Pant in the middle. Pretorius concedes jut five, including a wide, and takes an important wicket in his third over.
Captain Rishabh Pant is the new batter.
IND 128/2 in 13 overs: SIX!!! Iyer continues to dominate Shamsi in this series. The chinaman bowled it full and outside off, Iyer managed to get under it and blast it down the ground. Iyer survives!! The umpire had ruled him out LBW but the batter used the DRS and the ultraedge showed that the ball touched his gloves before hitting the pad. WICKET!!! However, Iyer does not last long as he goes down on one knee and looks to lap it only to find Nortje to the right of the square leg umpire.
IND 120/1 in 12 overs: Maharaj gives just two off the first three. FOUR!!! Kishan breaks the shackles with a boundary over deep mid-wicket. SIX!!! Maharaj tries to take the ball away from Kishan who still manages to get the right connection and send it over wide long-off. FOUR!!! Outside edge and it beats the third man to bring Kishan's fifty.
Maharaj continues his spell.
IND 104/1 in 11 overs: SIX!!! Quick bouncer from Nortje, Iyer goes for the pull and gets the top edge which goes over the keeper's head and all the way for a maximum.
Anrich Nortje comes back to bowl his second over. Shreyas Iyer joins Kishan in the middle.
IND 97/1 in 10 overs: FOUR!!! Ruturaj Gaikwad welcomes Keshav Maharaj with an inside-out shot over cover that goes all the way to the boundary rope. WICKET!!! Gaikwad departs for 57 as he looks to play it down to long-on for a single but the ball turns to take the leading edge of his bat and Maharaj takes a stunning catch.
IND 89/0 in 9 overs: A single on the leg side off Shamsi's third ball and Gaikwad reaches his maiden half-century in T20Is. SIX!!! Ishan Kishan bludgeons it over mid-wicket for a flat six. FOUR!! Shamsi errs in the line as he sends one down the leg side and Kishan sweeps it firmly. Expensive over.
IND 76/0 in 8 overs: FOUR!!! Unlucky for Pretorius as Gaikwad's attempted sweep on a slower ball took the top edge and went over the keeper's head for a boundary. Pretorius concedes nine in his second over.
Pretorius to bowl his second over.
IND 67/0 in 7 overs: FOUR!!!! Shamsi had done well to give just six off the first five balls but a bit of improvisation from Kishan made all of it go to waste. Kishan went for the switch hit and executed it brilliantly.
Bavuma brings spin. Chinaman Tabraiz Shamsi to bowl his first over of the match.
IND 57/0 in 6 overs: Two singles off the first three balls bring up fifty for India. SIX!!! Gaikwad flicks it off the pads and the ball sails over Rassie van der Dussen at deep square leg. End of powerplay.
Another change - Right-arm pacer Dwaine Pretorius into the attack.
IND 48/0 in 5 overs: FOUR!! Short and wide from Nortje and Gaikwad cuts it hard. FOUR!!! Another loosener from the tall pacer and Gaikwad hits it wide of mid-on for a boundary. FOUR!!! Short ball from Nortje hits Gaikwad bang on the grill and goes behind for a four. FOUR!!! Fourth consecutive in this over - on the pads from Nortje and Gaikwad times it perfectly in the deep mid-wicket region. FOUR!!! Five in a row - Gaikwad guides it down to short third where the ball goes past a slow Tabraiz Shamsi. Twenty off the over.
First change: Nortje comes on to ball with his express pace.
IND 28/0 in 4 overs: Kishan steps down the track and Parnell follows him to give no room. Kishan pulls hard towards leg side for a couple. Another two, this time towards wide third man. Like his first over, Parnell concedes only six runs in the second.
IND 22/0 in 3 overs: FOUR!!! Rabada bowls it on the fourth stump, Gaikwad stays at the backfoot and throws his hands at it. A big inside edge zips past the fielder at fine leg. SIX!!! Much more convincing from Gaikwad as Rabada bowls one on the pads and the batter flicks it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum.
Rabada back for a second over.
IND 10/0 in 2 overs: FOUR!!! First boundary of the night for India and it comes off Kishan's bat who whacks Parnell's attempted short ball over mid-on. Six off the over.
IND 4/0 in 1 over: Gaikwad opens his account on the second ball with a nudge towards midwicket where Parnell picks up the ball and throws it at the stumps conceding an unnecessary extra run due to overthrow. On the pads from Rabada and Gaikwad plays it towards backward square leg for another two. Decent first over from Rabada.
Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad out in the middle. Pacer Rabada with the ball in hand for the Proteas.
Live action now.
6:45 PM: In other news, the IPL media rights auction has come to an end. While Star India won the broadcast media rights for the 2023-2027 cycle for Rs 23,575 crore, Viacom18 bagged the digital media rights for the same period for Rs 23,758 crore.
6:33 PM: Playing XIxs
India: Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan
South Africa: Heinrich Klaasen, Temba Bavuma (c), Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Reeza Hendricks, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi
6:30 PM: TOSS - South African captain Tembu Bavuma wins the toss for the third game in a row and decides to bowl first.
6:20 PM: Ten minutes to go for the toss. Till then, here's a cracking read on Dinesh Karthik by S Dinakar:
6:10 PM: Head-to-head record: Matches played - 17, Matches won by India - 9, Matches won by South Africa - 8
MATCH PREVIEW
South Africa will be moving in for the kill even as India fights to stay alive. It should be a fascinating game of life and death in the series.
The third Twenty20 international at the ACA-VDCA stadium on Tuesday has all the ingredients of a potboiler.
The Proteas, leading 2-0 in the five match series, could emerge the series winner with a victory here.
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Can the South African juggernaut be stopped? India has to make some tough calls.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was brilliant with his line control, movement and pace variations on a testing Cuttack pitch where a total just short of 150 was defendabe. However, the rest of the attack disappointed.
In the first game, the Indian attack failed to defend a total beyond 200 on a flat deck. The bowling is leaking runs.
Arshdeep Singh, apart from giving India the left-arm variety, can send down incisive yorkers in the end overs. He has pace, heart and skill.
India can also unleash the fast and furious Umran Malik, among the quickest in the world.
Umran could hustle the Proteas, trouble and scalp them. Like Arshdeep he has a potent yorker of speed and accuracy.
Going into the attacking mode, India could play Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal together as a leg-spinning duo. The Proteas can be vulnerable against leg-spin and Bishnoi and Chahal are different in the way they bowl.
The South Africans have been remarkable in the manner they have overcome the odds with situations throwing up heroes.
Key batsman Aiden Markram was ruled out for at least a week with Covid-19 but Rassie van der Dussen stepped up magnificently in the first game.
The decision to promote all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius in the series opener was a masterstroke.
Ace wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock’s hand injury ruled him out of the second game but his replacement, Heinrich Klassen, conjured an innings of some sensational power hitting to enable South Africa reach the target.
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Then, the South Africa has David Miller in the form of his life. The southpaw is not just striking the ball hard and long, but doing so with a calm head, authority and confidence; his shot selection has improved markedly.
The fiery pace attack of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje along with the support seamers and the spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, should probe the Indians on a surface expected to possess good bounce and carry.
With plenty riding on it, the game should test the character of both teams.
WHERE AND WHEN TO WATCH INDIA VS SOUTH AFRICA 3RD T20I LIVE?
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