Bengaluru, Sep 22: Quinton de Kock led from the front and slammed an unbeaten 79 off 52 deliveries as a clinical South African side hammered India by nine wickets in the third and final Twenty20 International match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday (September 22).
With this win, South Africa levelled the three-match series 1-1 and kept their record of not losing a T20I series against Men In Blue in the latter's backyard. Chasing a modest total of 135, South Africa didn't face much trouble and coasted home in 16.5 overs, with 19 balls to spare.
Reeza Hendricks (28) was the lone wicket the visitors lost but the talented Protea opener gave his team a solid start before getting dismissed by Hardik Pandya. He forged a partnership of 76 runs with skipper De Kock and paved way for an easy run chase.
Temba Bavuma remained unbeaten on 27 and hit the winning six for his team.
Earlier, Indian batsmen made a mess out of their performance and could post 134 for the loss of 9 wickets after skipper Virat Kohli opted to bat first. Shikhar Dhawan (36) was the top scorer for the hosts as no other batsman rose to the occasion. Credit also goes to South African bowlers who were disciplined right from the start. They picked up wickets at regular intervals and also kept the flow of runs in check.
Here's how the match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium panned out:
Quinton de Kock | South African captain | Player of the series: I think we kept it nice and simple with the bowl, hitting the good length. Beuran came in and bowled really well, he read the situation right tonight. We fixed one of two things quickly with the ball from the last game, for them to act to quickly was a positive for me. The intensity and the fielding parts are also things that really impressed me. As long as the boys are hungry, I am perfectly happy with that.
Virat Kohli | Indian captain: Exactly what we wanted to do. This is the template we want to follow before the World T20. We should be able to find the answers. South Africa bowled really well, the pitch suited them really well in the first innings. In T20 cricket chasing is relatively easier because in other formats you need to bat longer and string partnerships, here a decent partnership of 40-50 in no time can take the game away from you. We will try to get the squad composition right as soon as we can. At the moment the guys who have done well in domestic cricket are getting opportunities. It's not like we are playing random people. They have done well to be here and they are good enough. We will have odd games like thess as well, we have got to understand that this is a young side as well. I think we will have to give them a bit of time to come together. We batted till 9 tonight, so that's one area we are looking to strengthen and go into the big tournament with the best possible combination.
Beuran Hendricks | Player of the Match: It was one of those were things worked for me, so used my opportunity well. A lot of hard work put in behind the scene, so happy with that. Normally I don't look at the pitch while warming up. Consistency is the key.
No positives to take from this match from Men In Blue.
India’s poor batting compounded by poor bowling. Length too short, asking for punishment and getting it. Easy peasy for SA
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 22, 2019
It's all over! South Africa crush India by 9 wickets and levelled the series 1-1. Quinton de Kock (79*) leads by example with the bat after bowlers restricted Indian batters to a paltry score.
Scores level
50-run partnership between De Kock and Bavuma. SA - 131/1 in 16 overs and they need 4 more runs to win.
Fewest innings to 1000 runs as Wicketkeeper (T20Is) 31 Brendon McCullum 37 Mohammad Shahzad/ Quinton de Kock * 38 Kumar Sangakkara 42 J Buttler
Fifty! Back-to-back fifties from Quinton de Kock. Captaincy is suiting him. This is his fourth T20I fifty and SA are cruising at the moment in the paltry run chase.
Wicket! Reeza Hendricks (28) departs as Virat Kohli ends his innings with a brilliant catch off Hardik Pandya. SA - 76/1 in 10.1 overs.
After 10 overs, SA reach 70/0
Proteas are 60/0 after 8 overs. Indians desperately need a wicket at the moment else this match will slip away from their grip.
50-partnership between QDK and Hendricks.
Four! Washington Sundar is brought into the attack after the powerplay and Hendricks pulls him towards mid-wicket boundary. He's looking in sublime touch now.
India lose their one and only DRS to review LBW appeal against R Hendricks. The ball was going way down the leg side and missing stumps. #DesperateReviewSystem from the Indian captain and the crowd begins chanting Dhoni Dhoni. SA - 43/0 after 6 overs.
15 runs conceded by Saini from his first over. SA - 34/0 after 5 overs. This is a brilliant start from the tourists in the run chase of 135.
SIX, 0, SIX!! Navdeep Saini comes into the attack and QDK flicks him over square leg for a couple of maximums.
Four! Reeza Hendricks gets a boundary on the final delivery of Deepak Chahar's over. SA - 19/0 after 4 overs.
6 runs conceded by Sundar from his second over and South Africa reach 13/0 in 3 overs. This is a cautious but fine start for the Proteas.
Brilliant start for Deepak Chahar with the new ball as he concedes just a single and kept asking tight questions to the batsmen. SA - 7/0 after 2 overs
6 runs came from the first over bowled by Washington Sundar. Quinton de Kock got a boundary in the first over, he's going to be crucial for the Proteas in this run chase.
6 runs came from the first over bowled by Washington Sundar. Quinton de Kock got a boundary in the first over, he's going to be crucial for the Proteas in this run chase.
Beuran Hendricks on his figures of 4-0-14-2: I was just keeping it simple. There was a bit in the wicket, so tried to make the most of it. There was a bit of swing in the air as well. Things just worked well for us. Guys stuck to it and brought it back nicely and this is a pretty good total to chase. I was a little bit off my game for a period, so I was working on my consistency.
Faf gives a thumbs up to the South African bowlers.
Great bowling effort 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 @Beuran_H13 @shamsi90 @Bjorn_Fortuin @andileluck19
— Faf Du Plessis (@faf1307) September 22, 2019
Not a brilliant batting effort from the Indians.
India’s long batting line up has been tested today. Marks are a bit like my Monday morning surprise tests in school 😲🤓 #INDvSA
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) September 22, 2019
India's batting could be divided into two parts.
Indian innings......
— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) September 22, 2019
First 7 overs: 62/1 (RPO 8.85), 6x4, 2x6
Next 13 overs: 72/8 (RPO 5.53), 4x4, 2x6#INDvSA
India finish their 20 overs at 134/9. South Africa bowlers have bowled magnificently tonight. Their batters need 135 to win this game.
Wicket! Hardik Pandya (14) hits it directly into David Miller's hands. Rabada gets another and India are 133/9 in 19.5 overs.
Out! Sundar is run out for 4 as he tries to sneak a quick single. Rabada's direct-hit ends his innings. India - 133/8 in 19.4 overs.
Wicket! Ravindra Jadeja top-edges Rabada and the bowler takes a skier off his own bowling. Good start to the final over for the Proteas. India - 127/7 in 19.1 overs