IND vs SA 2022-23, Indore T20I: Rossouw's century enough to hand Proteas 49-run win; netizens commend
South Africa has defeated India by 49 runs in the final Indore T20I on Tuesday. The Proteas have still lost the series, but Rilee Rossouw ensured that his side did not suffer a clean sweep.
FollowIt was an entertaining cricketing tie between India and South Africa in the third and final Twenty20 International (T2OI) at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Tuesday. The visitors have managed to win the tie by 49 runs, thus avoiding a whitewash, having lost the series 1-2. The match star was Proteas' Rilee Rossouw, who slammed his maiden T20I ton to set the stage on fire. Also, the hosts did put a strong fightback in the tie, but experimentation and scoreboard pressure led to their downfall. In the meantime, netizens commended the strong show by SA to cap off the series.
Winning the toss, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field on a flat-looking surface while he made three changes to his playing XI. The South Africans started steadily as Quinton de Kock (68) and skipper Temba Bavuma (3) put on 30 before pacer Umesh Yadav dismissed the latter in the fifth.
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Thereon, De Kock and Rossouw put on an impressive 90-run stand for the second wicket, as the former hit his 13th T20I half-century before falling to an unfortunate run-out in the 13th. Subsequently, the latter and Tristan Stubbs (23) took charge and hammered 87 for the third wicket before seamer Deepak Chahar removed the latter in the final over at 207.
As Rossouw struck his maiden T20I century, the Proteas finished on a challenging total of 227/3, which was its highest against the side, while India was handed the task of pulling off its record chase. For the Indians, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the most economical bowler. In reply, the Men in Blue started shakily.
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The hosts lost a couple for just four within the second over. Rishabh Pant (27) and Dinesh Karthik (46) added 41 for the third wicket, as the latter looked in a deadly shape. The former fell to pacer Lungi Ngidi in the fifth. It was followed by a 33-run partnership between Karthik and Suryakumar Yadav (8) before the former was cleaned up by orthodox spinner Keshav Maharaj in the seventh, at 78.
The Indians lost wickets regularly in every 20-odd runs and were down to 120/8 by the 13th. Thereon, Chahar (31) and Umesh (20*) added 48 for the ninth wicket, giving India a slim ray of hope. However, the former fell to pacer Dwayne Pretorius in the 17th and India was eventually bundled out for 178 by the 19th.
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For the visitors, Pretorius clasped three, while pacer Kagiso Rabada was economical. Also, it was India's sixth T20I loss while chasing at home, whereas the Men in Blue remain unbeaten in the bilateral T20I series under Rohit.
Brief scores: SA 227/3 (De Kock- 68, Rossouw- 100*; Umesh- 1/34) defeated IND 178 in 18.3 overs (Karthik- 46, Chahar- 31; Pretorius- 3/26) by 49 runs.
