Suryakumar Yadav scored a century of exceptional brilliance and Kuldeep Yadav worked his trademark sorcery with a fifer as India defeated South Africa by 106 runs.
Suryakumar Yadav scored a century of uncommon brilliance and Kuldeep Yadav performed his unique voodoo with a fifer as India defeated South Africa by 106 runs in the third and final T20I in Johannesburg on Thursday. Suryakumar’s 100 off 56 balls, which included seven fours and eight sixes, and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s smooth 60 off 41 balls propelled India to 201 for 7 after the visitors were given the opportunity to bat first. Indian bowlers, particularly left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (5/17), who turned 29 on Thursday, nailed better lengths to dismiss South Africa for 95 in 13.5 overs.
However, India must express its gratitude to Suryakumar. The 33-year-old took advantage of the opportunity to bat on a bone-dry track, scoring his fourth T20I century, joining teammate Rohit Sharma and Australian Glenn Maxwell as the only batsmen in the shortest format with that many three-figure scores.
Suryakumar and Jaiswal put on 112 runs for an entertaining fourth-wicket partnership, trusting the genuine character of the Wanderers’ surface to unleash strokes of the finest quality.
Their partnership also helped India get out of a bind after losing Shubman Gill (8) and Tilak Varma (0) to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj off successive deliveries in the third over. At the time, India was 29 for 2.
But the Suryakumar-Jaiswal protest wasn’t just about showing off a gun. They got off to a good start, scoring 33 runs in the final four overs of the Power Play and another 25 runs between overs seven and ten.
However, after the 10th over, the two, particularly Suryakumar, went into overdrive, scoring 114 runs in the back-10.
Suryakumar, who initially offered his lesser partner all of the room, quickly assumed the role of principal aggressor.
He pulled those ‘360’ shots off the shelf to punish the South African bowlers, who didn’t have much variety to control Suryakumar on a flat pitch.
In this style, pacer Andile Phehlukwayo felt the brunt of Suryakumar’s incredible skill sets.
The Indian captain blasted Phehlukwayo for 22 runs in the 13th over with a sequence of 6, 4, 6, 6, an over in which he also reached fifty runs.
Jaiswal had his own special moments, like as a magnificent pull off bowler Lizaad Williams that gave him six runs over mid-wicket.
However, the left-hander’s attempt to clear long-off off left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was intercepted by Reeza Hendricks.
Suryakumar, on the other hand, continued to cart the Proteas bowlers around with his quick feet and extremely manipulating wrists.
Off 55 balls, the 33-year-old quickly fetched a well-deserved hundred in a remarkably calm manner — with a two off Williams.
He couldn’t make it to the end, yielding a catch to Matthew Breetzke at the edge of the ropes off Williams.
But by then, he’d done enough to propel India to a competitive total.
The Indians needed to put in a stronger effort with the ball than they did in the last encounter, and they achieved just that.
The Johannesburg deck, which altered the character dramatically under the light, also aided their cause. In the second half, the surface provided some aid to spinners in the shape of turn, which Jadeja and Kuldeep eagerly exploited.
Kuldeep’s delivery from outside the off-stump to rattle Dononvan Ferreira’s stumps was outstanding, exposing SA batsmen’ vulnerability to high-quality spin.
But, in truth, South Africa’s pursuit never truly took off. Pacer Mohammed Siraj laid the groundwork for India’s defense by delivering a maiden in the opening over, and they never let the Proteas off the hook after that.
When skipper Aiden Markram and big-hitting Heinrich Klaasen were out in the first seven overs, reducing South Africa to 42 for four, their destiny was determined.
The rest of the lineup disintegrated like a whole-meal biscuit when it came to reading Kuldeep off the hand or off the pitch.
The one jarring point for India was the absence of Suryakumar, who had to walk off the field in the third over of South Africa’s innings due to an ankle injury sustained while attempting to stop a shot from Reeza Hendricks.
Suryakumar was replaced by Jadeja for the remainder of the SA innings.
