Jasprit Bumrah made the difference between the two sides as India staged a stunning comeback to win the final T20I against South Africa by 30 runs in Ahmedabad
on Friday.
On a wicket where more than 400 runs were scored by both teams, the fast bowler returned figures of 4-0-17-2 which crippled South Africa in their 232-run chase after they got off to a rollicking start. Bumrah dismissed Quinton de Kock and Marco Jansen with slower deliveries.
India thus clinched the T20I series 3-1 after the fourth match was abandoned in Lucknow because of fog. They have now won eight consecutive T20I series.
De Kock and Dewald Brevis took South Africa to 118/1 in 10 overs in the dew, but with a changed, drier ball India took four wickets for 15 to scuttle the chase.
Jansen gave India one final scare with successive sixes in the 16th over, but once he departed, there was no looking back. Playing his 100th T20I, De Kock made 65 off 35 balls.
India's Sanju Samson, left, and Abhishek Sharma interact during the fifth T20 International cricket match of a series between India and South Africa, at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India opened the bowling with Arshdeep Singh and Washington Sundar but the move hardly paid dividends.
Earlier, the Indian innings seemed to follow an identical template since the Asia Cup with Abhishek Sharma providing the momentum at the top and Tilak Varma carrying on the good work in the middle order.
There wasn’t much of a difference on Friday with Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya lending support to the innings at critical stages, spurring the hosts to an imposing total.
Abhishek and Samson — who was included after Shubman Gill was ruled out following a foot injury while batting in the nets in Lucknow — provided a strong start with a partnership of 63 off 34 balls.
Samson (37 off 22) matched Abhishek (34 off 21) shot for shot in the early stages and never showed any signs of playing his first match in the series. He got a lifeline when a powerful hit straight back to the bowler Donovan Ferreira burst through his hands and hit the umpire near the knee roll.
The early dismissal of skipper Suryakumar Yadav did little to disturb the run-rate as Varma and Pandya then took centerstage.
A 105-run partnership off 44 balls provided the impetus as South Africa struggled to check the flow of runs. Their association turned around an innings that had begun to stagnate at one stage.
Pandya raced to a 16-ball half-century with fives sixes and four boundaries, the second fastest for India after Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball record against England at Kingsmead in 2007.
Pandya (63 off 25) seemed to be in a different league. George Linde didn’t really bowl a bad ball to him but Pandya couldn’t be restricted on the day. He was step-hitting sixes against bowling that couldn’t be termed bad. If he continues this touch going into the T20 World Cup, it could spell doom for the bowlers.
Amid the mayhem, Jansen bowled a good 16th over, conceding no boundary. Some of the balls Pandya hit didn’t deserve such treatment.
Even Varma’s 73 off 42 paled in comparison. He provided the assurance with a second half-century of the series, mixing aggression with rotation of strike first with Samson (37) and then Pandya.
The only one missing out on a belter was Surya. The captain’s lean run continues to bother the team management.