 "India's Tilak Varma smashed eight fours and seven sixes during the third T20I against South Africa in Centurion. Reuters")
India returned to winning ways in the T20I series against South Africa with an 11-run victory in the third match in Centurion on Wednesday. Tilak Varma led the way with a majestic century after being promoted to the No 3 slot and together with a blazing half-century from opener Abhishek Sharma, ensured the Men in Blue recovered from a shaky start to post a commanding 219/6 on the board after they were invited to bat.
Pacer Arshdeep Singh, who was hammered all over St George’s Park in the second T20I in Gqeberha on Sunday, made a fine comeback with some tidy death bowling at the SuperSport Park on Wednesday to ensure the Men in Blue ended up on the winning side of a thriller.
India would have collected a much bigger win had it not been for bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen’s blazing knock of 54 off 17 balls along with Heinrich Klaasen’s 41 off 22 deliveries.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHere are some of the statistical highlights from the high-scoring match in Centurion:
– Tilak Varma became the second-youngest Indian to score a T20I century, achieving the feat at the age of 22 years and 5 days. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal holds the record, having scored a century against Nepal in last year’s Asian Games at the age of 21 years and 279 days.
– Marco Jansen’s 16-ball fifty is the second-fastest T20I half-century by a South African batter after Quinton de Kock, who has brought up the milestone in 15 balls against West Indies last year.
– Jansen’s fifty is also the quickest in T20Is against India, bettering Australian all-rounder Cameron Green’s 19-ball half-century in Hyderabad in 2022.
– India posted their eighth 200-plus total this year, the most by a team in a calendar year in the T20 format.
– Sanju Samson became only the second batter from a Full Member nation to be dismissed for a duck five times in a calendar year after Zimbabwe’s Regis Chakabva in 2022.