Tilak Varma hit a maiden international century as India held their nerve to beat South Africa by 11 runs in the third T20 International in Centurion on Wednesday and take an unassailable lead in the four-match series.
Varma, 22, smashed an unbeaten 107 off just 56 balls as India posted a massive score of 219-6. The world champions reached the score despite losing in-form opener Sanju Samson for a second-ball duck. Fellow opener Abhishek Sharma maintained the tempo by hitting 50 from 25 balls.
Varma and Abhishek put on 107 from 50 balls for the second wicket to lay the platform for the visitors as South Africa lacked discipline with the ball, conceding 10 wides and three no balls in the innings.
Varma reached his century from 51 deliveries as he struck eight fours and seven sixes.
South Africa were always behind in their chase in the face of some excellent spin bowling from Axar Patel (1-29 in four overs) and the wiles of seamer Arshdeep Singh (3-37), but a late flurry of runs got them close.
They managed 208-7 in reply. The hosts trail India 2-1 in the four-match series with the final game to be played in Johannesburg on Friday.
With the result, India maintained their superb run in T20 series this year. The team in blue have remained unbeaten in all series and tournaments this year, including their victorious campaign at the T20 World Cup where they did not lose a single match.
Under Rohit Sharma and now Suryakumar Yadav, India have lost just two out of 25 T20 matches played in 2024.
"I was waiting for this for a long time, coming back after injury," Varma told host broadcaster SuperSport, referring to a hand injury which restricted his playing time in 2024.
"I was just thinking I have got an opportunity to bat at number three and I just wanted to express myself. It was my dream and it was the right time to score a hundred for my team. A kind of a decider in the series. Under the pressure, it was a good knock."
In reply, South Africa struggled to get going. Ryan Rickelton was out bowled for 20 – playing onto his stumps off Arshdeep.
Early in the chase, play was stopped for an odd reason – flying ants. The game resumed 20 minutes later with no overs lost.
Reeza Hendricks scored 21 off 13 before he was out stumped off spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
The wrist spinner struck again as skipper Aiden Markram scored 29 off 18 – including two sixes – before he was out caught in the deep.
India had a firm grip on the game when Tristan Stubbs (12) was out lbw, before Heinrich Klaasen tried to turn the game around.
He hit four powerful sixes – three coming in a row against Chakravarthy. When he was caught on 41 at deep point off Arshdeep, the equation looked impossible for South Africa.
But all-rounder Marco Jansen struck five sixes and four fours in his first T20 half-century to bring the hosts close to the finish line.
Arshdeep trapped Jansen lbw in the final over to pull off a hard-fought win for the world champions.
The T20 series result comes at an opportune time for India who had recently been blanked 3-0 at home in a Test series by New Zealand. Their next assignment will be the five-Test series in Australia which starts later this month.
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
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TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
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Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: Dh898,000
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
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Groom and Two Brides
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Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
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FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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if you go
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
A meeting of young minds
The 3,494 entries for the 2019 Sharjah Children Biennial come from:
435 – UAE
2,000 – China
808 – United Kingdom
165 – Argentina
38 – Lebanon
16 – Saudi Arabia
16 – Bangladesh
6 – Ireland
3 – Egypt
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2 – Sudan
1 – Kuwait
1 – Australia
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Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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