Aggressive batting from both openers – Ruturaj Gaikwad (57 in 35 balls) and Ishan Kishan (54 in 35) – helped India beat South Africa by 35 runs in the third T20I, at Visakhapatnam, by 48 runs. Asked to bat, India posted 179/5 before bowling out South Africa for 131. Despite the win, however, India still trail South Africa 1-2 in the five-match series.
The Indian openers added 57/0 in the Powerplay. By the time Gaikwad fell, they had already added 97 in 10 overs in an exhibition of exquisite strokes around the ground. Shreyas Iyer hit two sixes, but India lost him as well as their three wicketkeepers – Kishan, Rishabh Pant, and Dinesh Karthik – in quick succession to be reduced to 143/4. Hardik Pandya (31* in 21) then took India to a reasonable score as Dwaine Pretorius returned 4-0-29-2.
Coming to chase, South Africa struggled against Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-21-1), and lost both openers inside the Powerplay. They never got a partnership going as Yuzvendra Chahal (4-0-20-3) dismissed Rassie van der Dussen, Pretorius, and David Miller. None of their batters made it to 30, while their long tail – they had Wayne Parnell at No. 7 – was exposed once they lost their top six, and Harshal Patel (3.1-0-25-4) ran through.
Brief scores
India 179/5 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 57; Dwaine Pretorius 2-29) beat South Africa 131 in 19.1 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 29; Harshal Patel 4-25) by 48 runs. Player of the Match: Yuzvendra Chahal.