South Africa managed to take a consolation victory in the third T20I against India having lost the first two games. Rilee Rossouw smashed 100 not-out off 48 balls to guide the visitors to a 49-rin win in the third T20I at Indore on October 4.
Rossouw blasted his maiden T20I century off just 48 balls as South Africa posted 227/3 in 20 overs. Kagiso Rabada then picked 1 for 24 in four overs, whereas Keshav Maharaj bagged 2 for 34 to restrict the hosts to 178.
As it happened, Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first while going into the match with five specialist bowlers and an all-rounder. Deepak Chahar was pretty good with the new ball yet again but runs flowed from the other end as Quinton de Kock started to look aggressive from the beginning, unlike the previous outing.
The South African skipper struggled yet again as pressure continues to mount on him ahead of the World Cup. He was dismissed for 3 off 7, caught at short midwicket with the scoreboard reading 30 in four overs. De Kock and Rossouw then joined hands and put on a blistering partnership with some luck and poor fielding from India.
The pair added 90 runs for the second wicket in just eight overs before de Kock was run out trying to push for the second. The opening batter scored 68 off 43 with six fours and four maximums. Rossouw continued his onslaught from his end while the visitors promoted young Tristan Stubbs ahead of an in-form David Miller to give him some crucial game time.
Rossouw completed his fifty off 27 balls and was even better in the second half of his innings, knocking off 100 in 48 balls. He smashed seven fours and eight maximums in his innings. Stubbs struggled to get going and could only manage 23 off 18 before he mistimed a scoop to short third. Miller came out to bat with four balls remaining. He missed the first ball but clobbered a waist-high full toss by Chahar for a six, followed by two more sixes to give South Africa a great finish.
India were pegged back early in their run-chase as Kagiso Rabada knocked over the Indian captain for a second-ball duck. Shreyas Iyer could not grab his opportunity in the absence of a few first-choice players, getting pinned lbw by Wayne Parnell in the second over.
Rishabh Pant, opening the innings in the absence of KL Rahul, smashed Lungi Ngidi for a couple of fours and as many sixes in an over before spooning a slower ball to cover point for a 14-ball 27. Dinesh Karthik was sent at two-down to give him some time in the middle and did he sparkle. Karthik struck four fours and four maximums in his knock of 46 off 20 before he tried a reverse sweep to Maharaj and had his off stump clatter.
Suryakumar Yadav could only hit one six before Stubbs grabbed an incredible running and diving catch. India were soon reduced to 120 for 8 in 12.2 overs but Chahar hadn’t given up yet. He slammed 31 off 17 with two fours and three sixes, making a strong case to be the replacement of Jasprit Bumrah in the World Cup squad.
India were eventually bowled out for 178, with Dwaine Pretorius picking the most 3 for 26 off 3.3 overs. Parnell, Ngidi and Maharaj bagged two scalps each, while Rabada made the biggest impact with 1 off 24 in four overs.
South Africa will next take on a second-string Indian side in a three-match ODI series, starting from October 6 at Lucknow.
Brief scores
South Africa 227/3 in 20 overs (Rossouw 100*, De Kock 68; Ashwin 0/35, Umesh Yadav 1/34) defeated India 178 in 20 overs (Karthik 46, Chahar 31; Rabada 1/24, Pretorius 3/26) by 49 runs.
