IND vs SA: 3rd T20I Review – Rossouw and Pretorius shine in SA’s big win
South Africa won the third and last T20I match against India after an impressive all-round display in Indore. Rilee Rossouw smashed unbeaten 100 runs off just 48 balls to guide South Africa to a big 227/3 total while batting first. Then bowlers put impressive spells to bowl out India on 178 runs to register a big 49-run win.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss at Holkar Cricket Stadium and decided to bowl first. Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant came in the place of in-form batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul who rested for this match and Mohammed Siraj replaced injured Arshdeep Singh. The bowling all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius replaced speedster Anrich Nortje for the only change for South Africa.
South African captain Temba Bavuma continued to struggle for the big knocks as he was dismissed on just three runs. But Indian bowlers failed to convert that good start and struggled for wickets throughout the innings. Rossouw and de Kock dominated Indian bowlers with a 90-run partnership for the second wicket. De Kock smashed 68 runs off 43 balls before getting run-out on Shreyas Iyer’s throw.
Rossouw, who was bowled out on ducks in the first two matches in this series, scored his first-ever T20I century and remained unbeaten. Last match’s centurion David Miller smashed three back-to-back sixes in the last over to guide visitors to a big total of 227/3 in 20 overs.
The star pacer Kagiso Rabada dismissed Rohit on duck on innings’ second delivery to give South Africa a big start. India lost Shreyas in the next delivery and the hosts were struggling on 4/2 in just ten balls. Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant then formed a quick 41-run partnership for the third wicket to keep India alive in the chase.
But both the wicketkeeper batters failed to convert a good start to big knocks and gave away wickets while trying to hit big shots. Indian batters failed to make any impact and lost their wickets early but lower-order managed to get some runs. Chahar and Umesh put a quick 48 runs off 25 balls partnership for the ninth wicket to avoid an embarrassing defeat. India’s innings collapsed on 178 runs in 18.3 overs to concede a big 49-run defeat.
Best performances from the match:
Rilee Rossouw:
The left-handed batter ended his poor run of form with a big unbeaten 100-run knock. He smashed his first T20I hundred off just 48 balls with the help of seven fours and eight sixes.
Dwaine Pretorius:
The bowling all-rounder was not included in the starting eleven for the first two matches but he proved his worth in the third match. He took three wickets, including Suryakumar’s valuable wicket, while conceding only 26 runs in 3.3 overs.
What’s next for both teams?
Both India and South Africa will continue their encounter in a three-match ODI series starting from October 6 at The Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
