SAvIND, 3rd T20I: 2-1!! TV’s classic show seals a dramatic win

By Mumbai Indians

It’s a new day and a fresh centurion for Team India!

Our shining boy in Blue and Gold, Tilak Varma, became the latest entrant into the Indian century club for T20Is as he smashed an unbeaten 107 off 56 balls, playing the protagonist in India reaching 219/6.

Thereafter, the hosts nearly pulled off a brilliant victory thanks to blazing knocks by Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen, only for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side to win it right at the end to regain the 2-1 lead heading into the final encounter of the series.

Let’s revisit the Indian cricket team’s triumphant evening!

Abhishek and Tilak… Aate hi shuru kar diye!

Following a second duck on the trot for Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma & Tilak Varma took charge of the proceedings to take on the Proteas bowlers.

TV began the blitz with a four and a maximum in the opening over. His lefty partner joined the party, playing some magnificent shots to amass 15 runs in the second over.

Both the southpaws continued their aggressive approach throughout the first six overs and helped the team to 70/1, hitting five boundaries and as many sixes.

No halt in the flow of runs

Abhishek Sharma registered a confidence-boosting half-century shortly after the powerplay, a 25-ball 50 at a superb strike rate of 200.

Soon after his dismissal, our duo HP and TV kept the run rate above 10 midway through the innings, with the scorecard reading 110/3 at the end of 10 overs.

Jahapanah tussi great ho, century kabool karo!

It was a day our dashing Tilak Varma will cherish for the rest of his life.

A wise man once said, ”Success ke peeche mat bhaago. Excellence ka peecha karo, success jhak maarke tumhare peeche aayegi!”… Holds true for the spellbinding knock aamcha 22-year-old superstar played, isn't it, Paltan?

Promoted up the order, he made his intent clear from the first ball itself and didn’t drop his shoulders at all en route to a dazzling 56-ball 107*, powering Team India to yet another monumental total of 219/6.

In the process, the left-handed batter became the second youngest T20I centurion for India while also guiding his side to the eighth 200+ total in the shortest format of the game in 2024 - the most by any team in a calendar year!

Sorry for the ant-er-ruption!

Just one over into the run chase, a swarm of flying ants brought about a brief stop in the play.

The match resumed roughly 20 minutes later, with Arshdeep Singh getting the better of dangerous-looking Ryan Rickelton on the last ball of the second over.

It’s the visitors who emerge victorious!

Wickets kept falling at regular intervals for South Africa as they found themselves at 84/4 in 10 overs, well below the asking rate of 13.60.

Subsequently, the pair of Heinrich Klaasen-David Miller stitched a 58-run partnership before the latter departed courtesy of a stunning catch on the boundary ropes by Axar Patel.

All-rounder Marco Jansen’s entertaining cameo of 17-ball 54 did give India a real scare and brought the Proteas close to a win.

However, Arshdeep Singh managed to defend 24 runs in the final over to assist Team India get over the line in the final over thriller.

 

Brief scores: India 219/6 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 107*, Abhishek Sharma 50; Andile Simelane 2/34) beat South Africa 208/7 in 20 overs (Marco Jansen 54; Arshdeep Singh 3/37, Varun Chakaravarthy 2/54) by 11 runs.