Riding on Varun Chakaravarthy’s impressive four wickets and Jasprit Bumrah’s match-winning spell, India clinched the five-match T20I series 3-1 with a 30-run victory over South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
South Africa’s Chase
Chasing a daunting target of 232, South Africa started strongly, reaching 118/1 at the halfway mark, thanks to Quinton de Kock and Dewald Brevis. However, the introduction of Bumrah in the 11th over shifted the momentum as he took a sharp return catch to dismiss de Kock for 63.
The South African innings lost momentum quickly, slipping from 120/1 to 135/5. Chakaravarthy bowled excellently, finishing with figures of 4-53, while Bumrah’s 2-17 highlighted his effectiveness, taking out both de Kock and Marco Jansen with his slower deliveries.
Ultimately, South Africa managed only 201/8, handing India a comfortable victory. This result marked India’s eighth consecutive T20I series win, a streak that began in December 2023.
Explosive Start for South Africa
South Africa’s chase began explosively as de Kock hammered a hat-trick of boundaries off Arshdeep Singh in the opening over. He followed that up with a six and additional fours to maintain the asking rate. Despite Reeza Hendricks struggling at the other end, the duo propelled the score to 67/0 at the end of the powerplay, with de Kock racing to 47 off 26 balls.
The first breakthrough came in the seventh over when Hendricks chipped a ball from Chakaravarthy to midwicket, where Shivam Dube took an outstanding one-handed catch. De Kock continued to march on, reaching his 18th T20I fifty, forming a 51-run partnership with Brevis as South Africa surged to 118 for one after 10 overs.
Bumrah’s entry into the game was decisive, as he dismissed de Kock with a sharp return catch. Hardik Pandya followed up by removing Brevis with a slower bouncer, while Chakaravarthy struck again, dismissing Aiden Markram lbw and then castling Donovan Ferreira.
Arshdeep dismissed David Miller, and Chakaravarthy clean-bowled George Linde, leaving South Africa reeling at 163/7. Marco Jansen briefly threatened with back-to-back sixes off Chakaravarthy, but Bumrah’s off-cutter ended his innings in the 17th over, effectively sealing the match for India. This win solidifies 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 1-28) beat South Africa 201/8 (Quinton de Kock 65, Dewald Brevis 31; Varun Chakaravarthy 4-53, Jasprit Bumrah 2-17) by 30 runs.