Centurion, Nov 14: Tilak Varma made his promotion to number three count by hitting a terrific unbeaten 107 off 56 balls – his maiden century in T20Is – while Arshdeep Singh picked a crucial 3-37 as India held their nerve to beat South Africa by 11 runs in the third T20I at SuperSport Park and take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

Coming out to bat in the opening over on a two-paced wicket, Tilak took on the attack from the word go and upped the ante on meeting a favourable match-up to smash eight fours and seven sixes in his 107 not out as India made 219/6. It made Tilak the second youngest Indian batter and 12th overall from the country to score a hundred in men's T20Is.

In reply, South Africa were 142/5 but were kept alive by Henrich Klaasen’s 22-ball 41, where his takedown of Varun Chakaravarthy was a stand-out. After he fell in the 18th over, Marco Jansen took matters up by a notch to hit a 17-ball 54, including 26 runs off the 19th over by Hardik Pandya, and then took a six off Arshdeep's final over. But Arshdeep had him out quickly in the final over to seal the deal in India’s favour.

South Africa’s chase began with a seven-run opening over before flying ants meant there was a slight interruption in the proceedings. Shortly after play resumed, Ryan Rickleton came out swinging with three boundaries, before chopping onto his stumps off Arshdeep Singh. Reeza Hendricks hit three boundaries in the fifth over off Axar Patel, before being stumped off Varun Chakaravarthy. Tristan Stubbs couldn’t do much as he was trapped lbw by Axar Patel, followed by Aiden Markram pulling straight to deep mid-wicket off Chakaravarthy.

After David Miller cut Ravi Bishnoi for four, Heinrich Klaasen gave signs of upping the ante by staying back and pulling Axar for six. Against Chakaravarthy, Klaasen hung back to slam three leg-side sixes, before smashing him through cover for another boundary. But South Africa were dealt a decisive blow when Axar timed his jump to perfection and completed a stunning catch at the deep mid-wicket fence to dismiss Miller off Hardik Pandya’s bowling.

Though Klaasen holed out to deep cover off a wide ball from Arshdeep, Marco Jansen led the charge for South Africa with some quick boundary-hitting, including two fours and as many sixes in a 26-run 19th over off Hardik Pandya. With 25 runs needed off the final over, Jansen got his fifty in just 16 balls by slamming Arshdeep over cover for six, before being trapped lbw by the pacer on the very next ball, as India held their nerve to eke out a narrow win over a fighting South African batting line-up.

Previously, 71 of Tilak’s runs came from the leg-side boundary, as the left-handed batter dazzled with some eye-catching stroke-play while pacing his innings very well. He was ably supported by Abhishek Sharma, who broke his lean run with a 25-ball fifty, as the duo had a 107-run stand for the second wicket, where targeting short square boundaries in power-play stood out.

Pushed into batting first, India didn’t have a great start as Sanju Samson was out for a second successive duck, castled by a slightly nipping-away delivery from Jansen. But from there, Abhishek and Tilak seized the initiative wonderfully to push South Africa on the back foot. Tilak began by slicing Jansen for four and six before Abhishek took his time to smash Gerard Coetzee for two fours and six in a 15-run second over. While Tilak pulled and produced a straight drive to get two fours off Lutho Sipamla, Abhishek pulled and dispatched Simelane for a brace of sixes as India ended the Power-play at 70/1.

The boundaries continued to flow for India after Power-play, as Abhishek danced down the pitch to hit Aiden Markram for four, while Tilak nailed a reverse sweep off him for six and followed it up with a hook off Coetzee going for another maximum on a no-ball. Abhishek danced down the pitch to dispatch Maharaj over long-on for six, before getting his fifty with a single. But the left-arm spinner bounced back by having Abhishek stumped and was followed by Suryakumar Yadav giving a catch to sweeper cover off Simelane.

Hardik Pandya hit three elegant boundaries before being trapped lbw by a straight delivery from Maharaj. Tilak, who had reached his fifty by then off 32 balls, used his reach to slam Maharaj over extra cover for four, before sweeping him for four and six respectively. He welcomed Coetzee with a clean lofted six over long-on on an overpitched delivery and followed it up with a wristy whip to hit another maximum over deep square leg, before lapping him for a four.

After a struggling Rinku Singh was castled by Simelane, Ramandeep Singh blazed on debut by hitting a six over long-on on his first ball in international cricket, before bringing out a wristy drive past mid-off for four more.

Tilak reached his hundred in 51 balls by chipping a straight drive past mid-off for four off Sipamla, before scooping him over fine leg for six on a free-hit delivery. Though Ramandeep was run out in the final over, Tilak ensured India got a massive total on board, which was enough to clinch a thrilling victory.

Brief scores:

India 219/6 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 107 not out, Abhishek Sharma 50; Andile Simelane 2-34, Keshav Maharaj 2-36) beat South Africa 207/7 in 20 overs (Marco Jansen 54, Heinrich Klaasen 41; Arshdeep Singh 3-37) by 11 runs

--IANS

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