Following their exciting triumph in Centurion, Team India created history on Wednesday by recording their seventh T20 total of 200 or more, the most by a team in a calendar year.When India played South Africa in the third Twenty20 International at Centurion, they accomplished this accomplishment.
Proteas won the toss and put India to bat first. India reached 219/6 in their 20 overs thanks to a half-century from Abhishek Sharma (50 in 25 balls, with three fours and five sixes) and Tilak Varma’s first T20I century (107* in 56 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes).
This is India’s eighth 200-plus score in T20 cricket this year; the Birmingham Bears in 2022, India in 2023, and Japan in 2024 all had scores higher than seven. This year, India’s greatest performance as a T20I team was on October 12, when they crushed Bangladesh by 297/6. With Zimbabwe’s 344/4 against Gambia being the highest, it is the third-highest T20I total and the highest by a full-fledged ICC nation.
India reached 297 runs thanks to the efforts of Hardik Pandya (47 in 18 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes), Suryakumar Yadav (75 in 35 balls, with eight fours and five sixes), and Sanju Samson (111 in 47 balls, with 11 fours and eight sixes). India won the game hands down.
Along with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016 and India in 2023, Tilak Varma’s first T20I century was the fifth individual century for India in 2024 and the joint most by a team in a calendar year. Abhishek Sharma (one), Rohit Sharma (one), and Sanju Samson (two centuries) have all scored hundreds for India this year.
Now for the match: Proteas won the toss and put India to bat first. India reached 219/6 in their 20 overs thanks to a half-century from Abhishek Sharma (50 in 25 balls, with three fours and five sixes) and Tilak Varma’s first T20I century (107* in 56 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes).
Andile Simelane (2/34) and Keshav Maharaj (2/36) were two of Proteas’ best bowlers. Marco Jansen (54 runs from 17 balls, 4 fours, and 5 sixes) and Heinrich Klaasen (41 runs from 22 balls, 1 four, and 4 sixes) performed a blitzkrieg knock during the run chase, keeping the Proteas in the match. But in the end, India was the one who grinned thanks to Arshdeep.
With three vital wickets and 37 runs in his four-over performance, Arshdeep Singh performed admirably both with the new ball and in the last overs. In his four overs, Varun Chakaravarthy claimed two wickets.
India presently leads the four-match series 2-1 with one game remaining after Tilak Varma’s incredible batting effort earned him the title of “Player of the Match.” (ANI)