After losing the second T20I by five wickets, India made a strong comeback in the third and final game of the series as they beat South Africa by 106 runs on Thursday, December 14 at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. Suryakumar Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav starred with bat and ball respectively for the Men in Blue who continued their brilliant record in T20Is in South Africa intact.
Apart from the incredible performances by the Indian duo, the unavailability of the DRS in the second innings of the game also made headlines. The glitch could’ve cost India the game as star batter David Miller got a lifeline in the ninth over of the innings against Ravindra Jadeja.
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On the fourth ball of the over, Jadeja managed to find the outside edge of Miller’s bat which was safely grabbed by wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma. The confident Indian side went up for appeal, however, the umpire shook his head to signal not out. The Men in Blue didn’t have the option to review the decision as the DRS was down due to a technical fault and was restored a few overs later
Miller was eventually dismissed for 35 (25) in the 14th over as Kuldeep Yadav shattered his stumps to bundle out South Africa for 95. However, if the batter had gone to play another one of his match-winning innings for his side, the incident could’ve become the talk of the town.
Kuldeep Yadav picked a fifer on his birthday
Coming back to the match, after being put in to bat first, India posted a mammoth score of 201/7 in their allotted 20 overs riding on a scintillating hundred from Suryakumar Yadav. The Indian captain scored 100 (56) smashing seven fours and eight sixes in his innings.
In reply, South Africa were bundled out for just 95 in the second innings as Kuldeep Yadav picked up a fifer on his birthday. The wrist-spinner registered his best-ever figures in T20I as he finished with 5/17 in 2.5 overs and helped India tie the series 1-1.