Riding on Varun Chakaravarthy’s four-for and Jasprit Bumrah’s match-winning spell, India sealed the five-match T20I series 3-1 with a 30-run win over South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.
Chasing 232, South Africa looked well placed to reach the target after being at 118/1 at the halfway mark, with Quinton de Kock and Dewald Brevis in full flow. But the introduction of Bumrah in the 11th over turned the contest on its head as he dismissed de Kock for 63 by taking a sharp return catch.
From 120/1, South Africa slipped to 135/5, as Chakaravarthy tightened the screws with his variations to finish with 4-53. Bumrah’s 2-17 stood out on a night when more than 400 runs were scored - his slower balls accounting for de Kock and Marco Jansen.
It meant South Africa eventually ended up at 201/8, handing India a comfortable victory. The result marked India’s eighth consecutive T20I series win, a streak starting from to December 2023.
South Africa’s chase began in explosive fashion as de Kock tore into Arshdeep Singh with a hat-trick of boundaries in the opening over, before adding a six and more fours off him to keep the asking rate in check. Reeza Hendricks struggled at the other end but the pair still carried the score to 67/0 at the end of the powerplay, with de Kock racing to 47 off 26 balls.
The breakthrough came in the seventh over when Hendricks chipped off Chakravarthy to midwicket, where Shivam Dube took a one-handed brilliant catch. De Kock pressed on to reach his 18th T20I fifty, adding momentum alongside Brevis in a 51-run stand as South Africa surged to 118 for one after 10 overs.
But Bumrah’s return changed the contest direction, as he dismissed de Kock with a sharp return catch. Pandya then removed Brevis with a slower bouncer, and Chakaravarthy struck to dismiss Aiden Markram lbw, before castling Donovan Ferreira.
David Miller’s dismissal to Arshdeep and George Linde being castled by Chakaravarthy left South Africa reeling at 163/7. Marco Jansen briefly threatened with back-to-back sixes off Chakaravarthy, but Bumrah’s off-cutter accounted for him in the 17th over, effectively sealing the match in India’s favour and continue the hosts perfect build-up in their quest to retain the T20 World Cup trophy next year at home.
Brief Scores: India 231/5 (Tilak Varma 73, Hardik Pandya 63; Corbin Bosch 2-44, Ottniel Baartman 1-39) beat South Africa 201/8 (Quinton de Kock 65, Dewald Brevis 31; Varun Chakaravarthy 4-53, Jasprit Bumrah 2-17) by 30 runs.
Picture Courtesy: X/ICC