De Kock ensures it's a comprehensive win for South Africa. His 79 coupled with a disciplined effort from his bowlers has helped the visitor make it 1-1 in the three-match T20I series. South Africa share the spoils with a thumping nine-wicket victory.
De Kock is in a hurry. He's got stuck into the Pandya brothers; hammers Krunal for a four and a six. He moves to 75. 14 runs off the over. SA 127/1 after 15 overs.
De Kock toying with the bowlers now: hammers Hardik for a six and a four to further erase the deficit. 13 runs from the over. Jaddu meanwhile bowls a four-run over. SA 113/1 after 14 overs.
Nothing's going India's way, really. Saini returns into the attack and dishes out another expensive over - 10 runs with Bavuma hitting two consecutive fours. SA 96/1 after 12 overs. South Africa needs 39 runs in 48 balls
GONE! Hardik Pandya gets the breakthrough and he has his captain Kohli to thank for it; VK pulls off a diving catch to get rid of Hendricks. Temba Bavuma joins QDK. The South African skipper, meanwhile, continues his run-glut with yet another bodunary. Well played, skip! Brings up his 50 with a sublime hit over cover for four. SA 86/1 after 11 overs.
Krunal continues. Six singles from that over - a good one for India considering how the chase has panned out so far for South Africa.
Sundar to bowl out. De Kock hammers one over deep mid-wicket for six. The match is slipping out of India's hands - they need a wicket here. 10 runs from the over. SA 70/0 after 9 overs.
Krunal Pandya into the attack. QDK takes SA to 50 with a single off the first ball. Hendricks gets a boundary ... flat delivery outside off and has been put away. QDK brings out the reverse sweep now -- batsmen growing in confidence. 11 from the over. SA 60/0 after 8 overs. South Africa needs 75 runs in 72 balls.
Sundar back into the attack. Starts with a short ball and Hendricks has enough time to pierce the gap for four. Six runs from it. SA 49/0 after 7 Overs.
Chahar into his third over. A back of a length delivery from Chahar and Hendricks pulls it off the back foot for four. Nine off the over. SA 43/0 after 6 overs.
SIX! QDK welcomes Navdeep Saini into the attack with a maximum over square-leg. Another six, and this one goes a very long way. Runs now coming thick and fast for the Protean skipper and the visitors. 15 off the over. SA 34/0 after 5 overs.
Chahar was bowling a perfectly fine over before Hendricks brought out a delightful drive for four. Six runs from that Chahar over . SA 19/0 after 4 overs.
Sundar continues. He is getting the ball to turn but runs continue to flow for the Proteas with QDK dispatching a full delivery to sweeper-cover for four. SA 13/0 after 3 overs.
Deepak Chahar to share the new ball. Kohli at first slip. Chahar's making the ball swing here but is yet to induce an edge. Excellent start from the seamer; just one from it in the end. SA 7/0 after 2 overs .
Washington Sundar to open the attack. Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock to start the chase. A slip in place. QDK has got one away for four. Six from the over. SA 6/0 after 1 over.
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Rabada gets rid of Jadeja with the first ball off his last over. Indian slip further. Flurry of wickets here as Washington Sundar and Hardik Pandya depart off consecutive deliveries. Brilliant comeback from South Africa after that breezy start from Dhawan and Rohit. India has been restricted to 134/9. South Africa needs 135 to make it 1-1.
WHAM! Stand and deliver from Jaddu, as he launches Rabada over the sight-screen for six. Nine off the over. Phehlukwayo ends his spell with a nine-run over. IND 127/6 after 19 overs.
Hendricks and Phehlukwayo tighten the screws in the death overs. Hardik and Jadeja dealing in singles at the moment... the boundaries have dried up and the sluggish nature of the pitch is not helping the batsmen either. IND 109/6 after 17 overs.
Hendricks is back into the attack. Strikes straightaway and Krunal Pandya is out caught behind. South African bowlers all over the opposition at the moment. Jaddu joins Hardik. IND 99/6 after 15 overs.
Shamsi is back into the attack. Krunal joins Hardik. Another good over from Shamsi - only four runs coming from it. IND 97/5 after 14 overs.
Fortuin back into the attack. GONE! Yet again, Rishabh Pant perishes trying to play a big shot. More disappointment for the youngster, who seems to be stuck in some sort of a rut at the moment. Hardik Pandya comes to the crease. GONE! Another one bites the dust: Iyer has been stumped and India are struggling. What a game Fortuin is having. IND 92/5 after 13 overs.
Pretorius comes into the attack. What a shot that from Pant. Gets down on one knee and hoists that over fine-leg for a maximum. That was a slower delivery from Pretorius. Eight runs from the over. IND 87/3 after 12 overs.
Shamsi and Phehlukwayo slip in two quiet overs. Can Pant answer his critics in style or will the pressure build further on the young keeper-batsman? Six runs in total from the 10th and the 11th overs. IND 79/3 after 11 overs.
Rabada returns into the attack. GONE! Rabada gets the better of Kohli, but it was a fantastic catch by Phehlukwayo that does the trick. Big wicket. India three down. Shreyas Iyer joins Rishabh Pant in the middle. This, you've got to say, is a phase on which the match could pivot for either team. IND 73/3 after 9 overs.
Shamsi to roll his arm. He gets the breakthrough , does Shamsi! Dhawan plays one attacking shot too many and is caught in the process. End of an entertaining innings, nonetheless. He is gone for 36. Rishabh Pant is in at 4. Pant opens his account with a single. Four runs from the over. IND 66/2 after 8 overs.
Fortuin back into the attack. Dhawan's in the mood tonight as he sweeps this one to fine leg for four more. Kohli will retain strike with that single. Eight from it. IND 62/1 after 7 overs.
SIX! Dhawan welcomes Tabraiz Shamsi, left-arm chinaman, into the attack with a maximum over long-on. ANOTHER SIX - this time over long-off. Dhawan's in ominous touch. 13 runs from the over. IND 54/1 after the Powerplay.
Hendricks to continue. Starts by conceding 3wides. Good comeback though - just one run off the next three deliveries. A single to end the over. Six from it. IND 41/1 after 5 overs.
Andile Phehlukwayo, right-arm medium pacer, has been introduced into the attack. SHOT ! Dhawan gets a boundary, in rather cheeky fashion. Another boundary, this time through third-man. 11 from the over. IND 35/1 after 4 overs.
Beuran Hendricks, left-arm fast medium, comes into the attack. OUT! He strikes and Rohit Sharma departs, having been caught in the cordon. Kohli joins Dhawan . The skipper's off the mark with a single. End of a top over. Just two runs and a wicket. IND 24/1 after 3 overs.
Here comes Rabada. Dhawan on strike. He has a slip. Rabada starts off with a wide. Another wide and this one will deflect off Quinton de Kock's gloves and race away for four. Sloppy start from KG. We've a hat-trick of wides! GLORIOUS! Rohit Sharma carves a wide delivery over point for four before drilling another one through the covers. Expensive over: 17 from it. IND 22/0 after 2 overs.
FOUR! First ball, Fortuin strays down the leg-side and Dhawan helps it past fine-leg for four. Now a huge shout for lbw against Rohit. Not given and the Proteas don't review. IND 5/0 after 1 over.
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan stride out to the middle. Left-arm orthodox Bjorn Fortuin with the new ball. Dhawan on strike.
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TOSS UPDATE: India has won the toss and elected to bat.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini
South Africa (Playing XI): Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock(w/c), Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Kagiso Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi
Kohli : "Going to bat. Looks like a nice wicket. I know it's a ground where teams chase well. Heading into the World T20 though, we need to improve areas as a team. We're a good chasing team. Results are always a priority, but we need to get out of our comfort zone also. Have a few plans in mind, will be looking to executing those."
de Kock: " Will be a good wicket anyway, whether we batted or bowled. Just will have to try and compete, be the best players we can be. Last match was up and down for the team. Will try and come out and learn from our mistakes. One change - Hendricks comes in for Nortje."
PITCH REPORT| Looks like a dry surface; the cracks suggest the spinners could come into play. It lacks the usual sheen which helps the quick bowlers, reckons Sunil Gavaskar.
Seven IPL matches were played in Bengaluru last season, with teams batting first winning three and teams batting second, too, winning three. The average score is 180.
Our correspondent Anjana Senthil pings from Bengaluru: "It rained in the morning. Last two days have actually been hot. Afternoon has been clear as well... Only morning rains. Rains however are predicted from 6 pm. There are stray grey clouds en route the stadium."
The ongoing series against South Africa and matches scheduled in the near future will be the perfect platform for youngsters such as Washington Sundar and Deepak Chahar to build their confidence, says Shikhar Dhawan| Dhawan: New Indian players will be given a long run
PREVIEW
After a resounding victory against South Africa in Mohali, India will go into the third and final T20I at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday as the firm favourite to clinch the series 2-0. The first match in Dharamsala was abandoned due to rain.
The policy of rotating the bowlers has worked well for India so far. Bowlers like Washington Sundar and Deepak Chahar have performed exceptionally well. Their credible performances have added to the strengths of this growingly dominant Indian side which hasn’t missed the services of Jasprit Bumrah or the spin pair of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
READ | Shikhar Dhawan: New Indian players will be given a long run
Virat Kohli is showing no signs of a dip in form, overtaking Rohit Sharma as the world’s highest run-getter in T20I during his classy unbeaten 72 in the second T20I in Mohali. Only seven runs separate the two batsmen at the moment and much oscillation in the roll of honours can be expected with both the players in fine nick.
Dhawan came up with a knock of 40 to return to form after his untimely injury during the World Cup. Shreyas Iyer has done well in the opportunities provided in the limited overs set-up including a brilliant run with the 'A' team -- everything seems to be going according to the plan for India at the moment, except of course for the form of wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant.
With stern words of caution from the likes of Kohli, batting coach Vikram Rathour and coach Ravi Shastri, Pant is under tremendous pressure to prove his worth in the team. The third and final T20I in Bengaluru on Sunday, is a make-or-break game for the 21-year-old wicketkeeper.
South Africa was outplayed by a clearly superior Indian team in the second T20I, with pacers Kagiso Rabada and Andile Phehlukwayo largely made ineffective by the slow nature of the wicket at Mohali. The pitch at Chinnaswamy stadium will offer true bounce and help speedsters, but shorter boundaries mean it’s again going to be a challenge for the pace-dependent South African team to contain a line-up where the top three alone boast of a combined run-aggregate of 6,252.
Only David Miller has a run-aggregate of more than 1000 in the away line-up and only two more (captain Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks have scored more than 500 runs). The team is certainly still smarting from the retirement of explosive batsman AB de Villiers.
South Africa vice-captain Rassie van der Dussen dissected the team’s performance for lessons for the upcoming challenge. “Mohali game was a bit disappointing for us. We started so well having lost the toss and being put in to bat. After a good ten overs, it was the perfect platform for batsmen like myself, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius to come in and do some damage at the back.We know we didn’t execute our plans as well as we wanted to. I obviously got out early, Miller got in and got out at the wrong time. We didn’t do enough to get runs in the last five overs.
“In hindsight, 165 would have been a good score for us to get. But we were 10-15 runs short. Virat played well, but we didn’t score enough to put a lot of pressure,” he admitted.
READ | Shamsi: ‘It's been an up-and-down journey but I wouldn't change it for anything’
He, however, spoke of the need to go with an intent to win despite the odds stacked against his team. “Under the new coach Enoch Nkwe, the emphasis has been to win. We are coming here to compete in the traditional South African way: we train hard, we play hard...Even though we have a young squad, we are not going to stand back for anyone. We knew it was going to be tough, India is one of the strongest teams in the world and we are embracing that challenge. Unfortunately, the first game got rained out, but we have one more chance to level the series here,” he said, showing optimism.
India, meanwhile, took full advantage of preparing in Bengaluru with Rahul Dravid, currently the head of National Cricket Academy, sharing his inputs with the team, including Test players Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Jasprit Bumrah, who were in attendance at the nets.
The match will be streamed live on Hotstar.
Hello and welcome to Sportstar 's live coverage of the third and final T20I between India and South Africa at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
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