Harshal And Gaikwad Steals The Show, Series Still Alive

Team India got off to a great start. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan together took India to a score of 97 in 10 overs. Meanwhile, in the fifth over of Enrique Nortje, there were five consecutive fours. These five fours came from the bat of Ruturaj. Ruturaj scored the first half-century of his T20 International career in 30 balls.

The third match of the five-match series between India and South Africa was played at the Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first. Batting first, India scored 179 runs in reply, and South Africa’s innings were reduced to 131 runs.

India made a great comeback in the T20 series team India defeated South Africa by 48 runs in the third T20. In the third match of the five-match series, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and decided to bowl first. Batting first, India scored 179 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs. In reply, South Africa’s innings were reduced to 131 runs in 19.1 overs. For India, Harshal Patel took four wickets, while Yuzvendra Chahal got three wickets. Currently, South Africa is leading 2-1 in the series. The fourth match of the series will be played on June 17 in Rajkot.

Harshal Patel took four wickets, while Yuzvendra Chahal got three wickets — image source-news 18

India set a target of 180 runs for South Africa

Batting first India set a target of 180 runs in front of South Africa, India scored 179 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs. Batting first after losing the toss, Team India got off to a great start. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan together took India to a score of 97 in 10 overs. Meanwhile, in the fifth over of Enrique Nortje, there were five consecutive fours. These five fours came from the bat of Ruturaj. Ruturaj scored the first half-century of his T20 International career in 30 balls.

Ruturaj who scored the first half-century of his T20 International career in 30 balls. — image source-BCCI

He along with Ishan Kishan gave the Indian team a quick start. Rituraj lost his wicket on the last ball of the 10th over. He was dismissed off 35 balls with seven fours and two sixes. Team India’s innings faltered after the wicket of Rituraj. Shreyas Iyer could not do much and was caught by Nortje on the last ball of the 13th over off Tabrez Shamsi. Shreyas scored 14 runs in 11 balls. This includes two sixes. Meanwhile, Ishaan also scored a half-century in 31 balls.

Ishaan also scored a half-century in 31 balls. — image source-news walli

This was the fourth half-century of his T20 International career and the second half-century of this series. However, Ishan also lost his wicket in the 14th over. He was dismissed for 54 runs off 35 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes. Ishaan was caught by Pretorius at the hands of Hendricks. After this, the South African fielders gave life to both captain Rishabh Pant and vice-captain Hardik Pandya.

Ishaan was caught by Pretorius at the hands of Hendricks — image source-Aaj tak

In the 15th over, David Miller dropped the catch of Hardik Pandya off the ball of Tabrez Shamsi. After this, Dussen dropped Pant’s catch on the first ball of the 16th over on the ball of Pretorius. However, Pant could not take advantage of this life and lost the wicket after playing a bad shot on the last ball of this over. On the fifth ball of the 16th over, captain Rishabh Pant was caught by Pretorius at the hands of Temba Bavuma. He could score six runs in eight balls.

Pant’s form has been poor in this series. Pant could score 29 runs in 16 balls in the first T20, AND five runs in seven balls in the second T20. Dinesh Karthik could not do much in this match and was dismissed after scoring six runs in eight balls. In the last over, India scored 12 runs and thus Team India could reach the score of 179.

Hardik had 31 runs off 21 balls and Axar Patel remained unbeaten on five runs in two balls. India scored just 51 runs in the last seven overs. Team India could not convert a good start into a big score. Dwayne Pretorius took two wickets for South Africa. At the same time, Kagiso Rabada, Tabrez Shamsi, and Keshav Maharaj got one wicket each. Tuesday’s win keeps alive the hosts’ hopes of success in the five-match series after South Africa won the first two matches.

Records in the match

This match was marked as a very important due to the number of records:-

Largest margin of win for India by runs vs South Africa in T20Is:
48 runs in Visakhapatnam, 2022
37 runs in Durban, 2007
28 runs in Johannesburg, 2018