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3rd T20I: Clinical India edge South Africa in a nail-biter; clinch series 2-1 to end tour on high

Bhuvneshwar Kumar proved his brilliance in the death overs and ensured India beat South Africa by 7 runs in a nail-biting third T20I and clinch the series, here on Saturday (February 24).

3rd T20I: Clinical India edge South Africa in a nail-biter; clinch series 2-1 to end tour on high

Cape Town, Feb 24: Bhuvneshwar Kumar proved his brilliance in the death overs and ensured India beat South Africa by 7 runs in a nail-biting third T20I and clinch the series, here on Saturday (February 24).

Match Scorecard; Series Results

The 28-year-old once again proved why he's considered the best in the business as he ensured the hosts fell short of their target despite the pyrotechnics of debutant Christiaan Jonkers, who had almost taken the match away from the visitors' hands.

With this win, India won the series by 2-1 to wrap up the challenging tour of South Africa by winning both the limited-overs series. Virat Kohli and his boys had claimed the ODI series 5-1 after losing the Test series 2-1.

This is the first occasion when India have registered two series wins on the South African soil. What makes this win even more special is the fact that Kohli and his boys showed a lot of character and skill by coming back strongly after losing the Test series 2-1.

India looked in control of the game till the 15th over of South Africa's innings but Jonker (49 off 24 balls) shifted gears and launched an assault in the final five overs and brought the hosts close to a sensational win.

With 18 and 16 runs from the 18th and 19th over bowled by Shardul Thakur and Jasprit Bumrah, respectively, almost took the game away from India's grip. With 18 needed from the final over that was to be bowled by India's most experienced bowler i.e. Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvneshwar ensured the hosts never reach home.

India Vs South Africa, 3rd T20I: David Miller departs for 24; SA two down in run chase

However, Jonker won everyone's heart with his explosive cameo as he targetted the pacers in the death overs. He along with Farhaan Behardien brought the hosts very close to victory after their skipper JP Duminy departed for 55.

Bhuvneshwar, who ended the series with seven wickets from three games, was named the man of the series while Suresh Raina was named the man of the match for his brilliant outing with the bat (43 off 27) and ball (1/27). Hardik Pandya also bowled with discipline as he finished his quota of four overs with 1/22.

Earlier, the visitors were asked to bat after Duminy won the third consecutive toss. India posted 172/7 in 20 overs as no other batsman, except Suresh Raina played with aggression in the deciding T20I.

India Vs South Africa, 3rd T20I: Visitors post 172/7 in absence of Kohli; Dala shines with 3/35

In the absence of their skipper Virat Kohli, India fell some 15-20 runs short of what could have been a respectable total. Junior Dala emerged as the pick of the bowlers for the hosts with 3/35 from his quota of 4 overs. The youngster bagged the wickets of Rohit Sharma (11), Manish Pandey (13) and MS Dhoni (12) at crucial stages and prevented visitors from scoring big.

Shikhar Dhawan, however, was the highest scorer for the visitors with his knock of 47 off 40 balls, but he never looked comfortable all his innings.

The visitors had suffered a massive setback in the series decider as their skipper Virat Kohli was ruled out of the game due to a stiffened back.

Story first published: Sunday, February 25, 2018, 2:38 [IST]
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