RSA VS IND - 3rd T20I, India tour of South Africa, 2023-24

India would be very happy with this massive win. SA won the toss and put India to bat. India wanted to bat first and made great use of the wicket. They tallied more than 200 and defended it with aplomb. The T20I series stays level at 1-1. SA had their moments in the last game but just didn't come to party today. The Trophy is shared but more importantly great work out for the two teams to play such a competitive series ahead of the T20 WC, which isn't too far away. Surya's pristine form in this format, Jaiswal's rising stocks, Shamsi's control from the first game, Kuldeep's fifer in this game, Rinku's finishing prowess, Coetzee's three-fer in the previous game. We had some good moments in this series after the first game was washed out. The T20s do come thick and fast and we have more to offer. Switch tabs and follow the Windies vs England game. This is KAD signing off on behalf of Anurag, Abhinand and Venky.

Stats courtesy Roshan Gede

Highest defeat margins for SA in T20Is (by runs)
111 vs Australia, Durban, 2023
107 vs Australia, Johannesburg, 2023
106 vs India, Johannesburg, 2023
97 vs Australia, Cape Town, 2020
95 vs Pakistan, Centurion, 2023

Best bowling returns on Birthdays in Men’s T20Is
5/17 - Kuldeep Yadav (IND) vs SA, Johannesburg, 2023
4/9 - Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) vs IND, Colombo (RPS), 2021
4/21 - Imran Tahir (SA) vs NED, Chittagong, 2014
4/25 - Karthik Meiyappan (UAE) vs IRE, Dubai (ICCA), 2021
Three bowlers have bowled for India in T20Is on their birthdays. Before Kuldeep, Yuvraj Singh bagged 3/23 against Sri Lanka in Mohali in 2009 and Ravindra Jadeja returned 1/30 against West Indies in Hyderabad in 2020 - all left-arm spinners, born in December.

Five-fors for India in Men’s T20Is
6/7 - Deepak Chahar vs Bangladesh, Nagpur, 2019
6/25 - Yuzvendra Chahal vs England, Bengaluru, 2017
5/4 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Afghanistan, Dubai, 2022
5/17 - Kuldeep Yadav vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2023
5/24 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2018
5/24 - Kuldeep Yadav vs England, Manchester, 2018

Lowest all-out scores for South Africa in T20Is
89 vs AUS, Johannesburg, 2020
95 vs IND, Johannesburg, 2023
96 vs AUS, Cape Town, 2020
98 vs SL, Colombo (RPS), 2018
100 vs PAK, Centurion, 2013

Highest victory margins for India in T20Is (by runs)
168 vs NZ, Ahmedabad, 2023
143 vs IRE, Dublin (Malahide), 2023
106 vs SA, Johannesburg, 2023
101 vs AFG, Dubai, 2022
93 vs SL, Cuttack, 2017

Suryakumar Yadav, Player of the Match and Player of the Series: I am good. I am walking, so good. Always a good feeling. When it comes in a winning cause, it makes me happier. We wanted to play some fearless brand of cricket. The idea was to bat first, put some runs on the board and defend. The boys work day in and day out. Happy that they showed some character. He(Kuldeep) is never happy. He is always hungry. It is a nice self gift on his birthday. I mean it is important to know your game. I just go out there and enjoy myself. The balance is important.

Aiden Markram: Wasn't too unhappy with chasing 200. Felt we could have chased it down. Was chaseable. It was slightly on the lower side. When we were fielding, it seemed batters could hit it everywhere. Would have been nice to do better. There are some positives that we can take forward. Couple of good things and couple of things we can work on.

20:20 Local Time, 18:20 GMT, 23:50 IST: India have annihilated SA. They have hammered SA by 106 runs. SA won the second T20I but India have comeback in some style. SKY set it up with his scintillating ton. But the spinners put the final nail in the coffin with Kuldeep picking up a fifer on his birthday. Only Miller and Markram added a few valubale runs and the others just kept falling one by one. Huge win for India. India might still be fretting over the ankle injury of SKY but they would take this huge win any day. SA were never in the chase as India kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. Only a handful of T20Is left for both teams before the T20 WC in the Caribbean and India would be more elated for sure. They now have multiple options for a few spots and that is a happy problem indeed.

Kuldeep Yadav to Miller, out Bowled!! And bowled! Fifer for the birthday boy. That's how you celebrate. He has gifted India a huge win and India have levelled the series. That was a fuller ball, quicker, Miller went for the slog sweep and missed the line of the delivery to be clean bowled. The batter had gone across his sticks a little but missed the ball to be bowled round the legs. Kuldeep Yadav has registered his best figures in a T20I. Miller b Kuldeep Yadav 35(25) [4s-2 6s-2]

Kuldeep Yadav to Miller, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Kuldeep Yadav to Shamsi, 1 run, turns the ball away on to the on-side for a single

Tabraiz Shamsi, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Kuldeep Yadav to Williams, out Lbw!! Kuldeep is in splits. He is laughing. The entire Indian unit is elated. Kuldeep has his fourth. That was dropped short, Williams went for the reverse and missed the line of the ball. India were hesitant to take the review. But Jadeja wanted his wards to take the review as he is standing in for SKY. That was a superb review. Williams lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 0(2)

Kuldeep Yadav to Williams, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!

India thought of a review and have taken it at the last second. That was a tossed up delivery and the batter tried to reverse it but missed the contact. Kuldeep is laughing a lot looking at the replays. That seemed to be a little high. There is no bat on it. Three Reds! Kuldeep has his fourth. The words were 'le lo le lo'(take the review) and India have their ninth wicket.

Kuldeep Yadav to Williams, no run, stabs it back to the bowler

Lizaad Williams, left handed bat, comes to the crease

Kuldeep Yadav to Nandre Burger, out Lbw!! And gone. Given by the umpire. The batter looked to prod forward but missed the line of the ball. Was an easy call for the umpire. Kuldeep Yadav is on a hat-trick. Lovely delivery and it spun in sharply. Nandre Burger lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 1(3)

Kuldeep Yadav to Nandre Burger, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!

Siraj to Miller, no run, slower delivery, well outside off, Miller slaps it off the front foot and finds the man at cover. Was hit hard by Miller

Siraj to Miller, no run, jumps down the track, drags it down to mid-wicket as that went off the cue-end of the bat

Siraj to Miller, 2 runs, tucks the ball away off the pads into the on-side for a couple of runs. That angled on to the pads of the batter