IND VS SA 3RD T20I

Right then! The series stands in South Africa's favour right now but India have finally put on a collective effort. We move to the western side of India as Rajkot will host the 4th T20I on Friday, 17th June. The match will commence at 7 pm IST (1.30 pm GMT). But, you can join us early for the build-up. Till then, goodbye and cheers!

Yuzvendra Chahal is the Man of the Match for his impressive spell of 4-0-20-3. He says that in the previous game he was bowling quick and was bowling sliders, but in this game, he changed his seaming positions. Mentions that his strength is to turn the ball and dip the ball, in the previous game it was easy for the batters to pick his bowling up. Says that today he stuck to his strength, and focused on that. Further adds the pitch in the previous game was also good but he did not bowl well then, today he stuck to his plans and bowled to his strength. On being asked about his plans for the match in Rajkot, he chuckles and says that the ground is bigger thankfully.

Rishabh Pant, the skipper of India says they were a little off the execution in the past two games but they did right here. Adds that they are not thinking too much and working around the scores they have. Shares that in India, the spinners play a big role, there is pressure on them but they are match-winners as well. Tells that it's hard to ride the momentum as they lost too many wickets in the middle but they'll improve. He hopes they finish the game by a bigger margin.

The skipper of South Africa, Temba Bavuma says it was not their best effort, India were the better team in this game, with the ball they leaked too many runs in the start but they did well to restrict them to 180. Mentions that while coming to bat, they tried to assess the conditions in the first two overs, but unfortunately, they could not do that and they lost three quick wickets, and then it was always going to be tough for the middle order to chase this down. On Quinton de Kock, he says that they have missed his services and his knowledge in the field. But Reeza Hendricks has been terrific and they will back him because they have seen how dangerous he can be at the domestic level.

Stay tuned for the presentation...

Harshal Patel is down for a chat. He says they wanted to execute a certain plan which did not work for them earlier, but this was a must-win game for them, and he is pretty happy that they stuck to their plans. Adds that they have a certain goal as a bowling group. Mentions that it's about adapting to each game, in the first game he was aiming to bowl yorkers, but in the last two games, he stuck to bowling his hard length deliveries. Says that the pitch was not as quick as the Delhi one so it was easier to bowl hard lengths here. On being asked if he will carry his good form, he says that he will like to take it one game at a time.

Earlier in the day, India were off to a flier but lost the momentum at the halfway mark. South Africa dropped a couple of catches including the one of Pandya who was relatively new at the crease. He went on to play a cameo, which guided India to a total of 179. Things could have turned out differently if they had taken his catch. In reply, South Africa's batting never took off and lost by a big margin in the end.

The way Bhuvneshwar Kumar started the proceedings, there was some extra effort already seen from India who were playing a do-or-die. His spell set the tone for the others and it was well followed by Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel who were absolutely brilliant in this crunch game. India did really well to take wickets at regular intervals and they will be really happy and elated after this performance.

The pitch just got a bit tougher after the first innings and it needed someone from South Africa to anchor which they failed miserably. The Proteas were two down inside the Powerplay and were behind the 8-ball in this chase since then. Reeza Hendricks and Dwaine Pretorius got a start but the strike rate was not good enough. They were clearly struggling to go big. Once they departed, Miller and Klaasen were their last hope. However, they too didn't have had a good outing and their wickets were the final nail in the coffin for South Africa.

The series is alive! That's what the Indian team must be saying after their splendid performance. Still, the five-match series stands 2-1 favoring the visitors but Rishabh Pant will be happy to get a win under his belt as a captain.

Finally, India achieved a win against South Africa in the year 2022 after suffering seven defeats across formats (2 Tests, three ODIs and 2 T20Is).

OUT! TAKEN! Harshal Patel finishes things off! He grabs his fourth wicket of the match! An off-cutter this time, around middle, on a length. Tabraiz Shamsi makes room and tries to smash this over long on. But the ball goes off the top of the bat and he gets more height than distance. Avesh Khan at long on takes a good catch. India win by 48 runs!

Harshal Patel to bowl the final over!

Shorter ball, wide of off. Wayne Parnell slashes at it and misses. Another good spell from Bhuvneshwar Kumar!

Tabraiz Shamsi is the last man in.

OUT! RUN OUT! A mix-up in the middle and Anrich Nortje has to depart now and India are one wicket away. A length ball, around middle and leg. Anrich Nortje swings his bat and gets a slight inside edge. The ball rolls towards the keeper. Anrich Nortje did not want a run there, but Wayne Parnell leaves his crease from the other end and Anrich Nortje runs across late. Rishabh Pant collects the ball and throws it to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who then grabs the ball and runs towards the wicket at the non-striker's end and shatters the stumps. Anrich Nortje has to walk back!

Shorter ball, around off. Wayne Parnell pushes it towards extra-cover for a single.