Centurion, Nov13 (UNI) Tilak Varma’s scintillating maiden T20I century, coupled with a blistering half-century from Abhishek Sharma, helped India post a formidable 219/6 in their 20 overs against South Africa in the third T20I at SuperSport Park on Wednesday.
South Africa, after winning the toss and opting to bowl, faced an onslaught from the Indian batsmen, who made the most of the short boundaries and challenging conditions.
India got off to a rocky start with Sanju Samson departing for a duck in the second over, bowled by Marco Jansen. The dismissal was a repeat of the previous game, as Jansen cleaned up Samson with a well-directed good-length delivery. However, this only seemed to galvanise Tilak Varma, who produced an innings to remember.
Varma, coming in at No. 3, played a brilliant knock, taking the attack to the South African bowlers from the word go. After a few initial sighters, he launched into the South African bowlers, using the pace of the ball to his advantage.
In the 18th over, Varma reached his maiden T20I century off the bowling of Sipamla, sending the spectators into raptures with a lofted shot down the ground for four. He celebrated by blowing a kiss to the Indian dugout, acknowledging the support of his teammates.
The Mumbai Indians’ star batsman was particularly strong in the square-leg region, effortlessly finding the boundary with a series of sixes and fours. His unbeaten knock was a composed blend of aggressive stroke play and calculated risk, with the Indian batting star hitting 8 boundaries and 7 sixes during his 56-ball innings.
At the other end, Sharma played a blistering knock to support Varma’s anchoring role.
After an early reprieve, when a drop catch went his way, Sharma capitalised on the free opportunities, scoring at a rapid rate. The left-hander struck 5 sixes and three boundaries during his explosive 25-ball 50.
Sharma started his innings with a four and a two boundaries off Gerald Coetzee. His attacking style was evident as he quickly shifted gears, taking full advantage of the short square boundaries at SuperSport Park.
However, his aggressive innings came to a sudden end when he was stumped by Klaasen off the bowling of Keshav Maharaj for 50. Nevertheless, Sharma’s knock had already given India the platform they needed, propelling the team past the 100-run mark in just the 10th over, with India at 110/3 at the halfway point.
While India’s batting onslaught continued, South Africa’s bowlers fought back with key wickets in the middle overs.
Maharaj was particularly effective, extracting some turn and bounce from the pitch. He claimed the crucial wickets of Hardik Pandya (18 off 16) and Sharma. Pandya's dismissal came in the 12th over when he was trapped LBW by Maharaj, and Suryakumar fell to a similar tactic in the following over, caught by Jansen after an ill-timed shot off Andile Simelane.
Maharaj, who had been instrumental in slowing down the Indian scoring, was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets for 34 runs. Simelane, Sipamla, and Jansen were also used in a bid to contain the explosive Indian batting lineup, but each faced the brunt of Varma and Sharma’s aggressive stroke play.
India’s lower order contributed with some quickfire runs towards the end. Ramandeep Singh, on debut, made an impact with a quick cameo of 15 not out from just 6 balls. His aggressive shots helped India finish strongly, with Varma adding a few more boundaries in the closing stages. In the final over, the Indians could manage a few runs and set a challenging target for South Africa.
South Africa will need to score at nearly 11 runs per over if they are to chase down this formidable target, with India’s bowlers confident of defending the total. The game remains finely poised as both teams look to gain an upper hand in this crucial T20I.
Brief Scores
India: 219/6 (Tilak Varma 107*, Abhishek Sharma 50); South Africa: Keshav Maharaj 2/36, Andile Simelane 2/34.
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