So, that’s it. Bhuvneshwar Kumar holds his nerve at the end and Jonker effort goes in vain, SA will be disappointed with the way they fielded. India win this one by 7 runs and take the series 2-1! They take two trophies on what will be termed as a successful SA tour!
WICKET! Terrific from Bumrah, and he is elated with joy. Straight and fast, Morris misses that one and it goes onto clatter the middle stump. It goes for a cartwheel. SA 114/5
WICKET! Thakur gets the big wicket, JP Duminy skys that one and Rohit Sharma completes a simple catch. That might well be the match here for India. SA 109/4 after 16 overs.
50! JP Duminy reaches his half-century off 38 balls, he is the key wicket here. SA’s required run rate keeps on climbing and they really need a miracle from Duminy if they are to win this one.
100 is up for South Africa, Duminy has been fighting a lone battle for South Africa here and he continues to do so. Smashing Bumraj for a six and picking up 10 runs from the over. Still a lot more required, SA need 72 from the final 5 overs.
WICKET! Pandya strikes, big breakthrough for India, The dangerous Klaasen departs. It was hit hard but Bhuvneshwar takes a good catch at mid-off. Klaasen departs 7, SA 79/3.
South Africa really struggling on this pitch here, 10 overs gone and they are 53/2, they need big final 10 overs if they are to win this series.
WICKET! Raina strikes, David Miller’s appalling stay at the crease comes to an end. He departs for 24 off 22 balls, but this might well be a blessing in disguise for SA. They are 45/2
Another quite over, again just 7 runs coming off it despite Miller getting a maximum. SA 45/1 after 9 overs and they are really struggling here.
WICKET! Bhuvneshwar strikes, slower ball that one and Hendricks can only manage to sky that one, Dhawan completes a simple catch in the inner ring. Big wicket for India as Hendricks departs for 7. SA 10/1
India finish at 172/7 in their 20 overs. Raina and Dhawan again contributing with the bat. Karthik also playing a little cameo towards the end. The pitch is a tad slow, so India certainly have an above par total. Do join us soon for the chase!
Cape Town: India posted 172/7 in the the third and final Twenty20 International (T20I) against South Africa here on Saturday.
Rookie pacer Junior Dala came up with an excellent performance in what was the second T20I of his fledgling career with figures of 3/35.
Fellow pacer Chris Morris returned 2/43 while left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi also got a wicket.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan was the highest scorer for India with 47 runs off 40 balls. Suresh Raina also batted well, producing a quick fire 43.
The two of them added 65 runs between them off 49 deliveries which provided a strong platform to the visitors’ innings.
Asked to bat first, the Indians started their innings on a promising note with Rohit Sharma smashing two back to back boundaries off Chris Morris in the opening over.
But Dala dismissed him early for the second consecutive match when excellent off the the pitch movement and some poor footwork saw the Indian stand-in captain being trapped leg before in the second over.
Raina brought the innings back on track with a power packed 27-ball innings which included five boundaries and a six. He fell in the 10th over to Shamsi when he failed to clear the long-on boundary and was caught by Farhaan Behardien.
The in-form Manish Pandey did not last long, falling to a short-pitched delivery from Dala which cramped him for space and his mistimed pull holed out to David Miller at long-on.
Dhawan also fell soon after when an accurate throw by Dala from deep mid-wicket caught him short of his crease.
The visitors kept on losing wickets at regular intervals as the South African bowlers restricted them to a manageable total.
Brief scores:
India: 172/7 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 47, Suresh Raina 43; Junior Dala 3/35) vs South Africa.
