Live - India vs South Africa, Live cricket score 3rd T20: IND near series win

Shikhar Dhawan’s 47 and a vital 43 from Suresh Raina helped India reach 172/7 in the deciding game in Cape Town. India suffered a big blow in the deciding Twenty20 against South Africa as they lost Virat Kohli due to a stiff back. Rohit Sharma led the side as South Africa chose to bowl. The three-match series is level at 1-1 after the Men in Blue won the first T20 in Johannesburg by 28 runs. The Proteas bounced back in Centurion with a six-wicket win. Get live cricket score of India vs South Africa, 3rd T20, Cape Town here. (LIVE SCORECARD | LIVE STREAMING INFO)

00:34 AM IST: Behardien hits a boundary but one feels it is too late. South Africa need another huge over.

00:30 AM IST: That should be the game. Bumrah gets this delivery to skid on and it is straight, Morris swings and he misses. India near a series win. Chris Morris b Bumrah 4 (3).

00:28 AM IST: WICKET! Duminy registers his 11th fifty but he perishes as he miscues a lofted shot to be caught at mid off for a good score. India close in. JP Duminy c Rohit Sharma b Thakur 55 (41).

00:20 AM IST: Duminy has mauled this slower ball from Bumrah over long on but the asking rate mounts

00:16 AM IST: Jonker gets going with a boundary. Poor ball from Raina. Quick and on the pads as the batsman helps it past the fielder at short fine. Next ball, it is short and on leg stump and Jonker pulls it to the fine leg boundary.

00:13 AM IST: WICKET! Klassen falls and South Africa’s hopes are fading fast. Klassen slams a short ball straight to deep mid wicket and Bhuvi makes no mistake. Heinrich Klassen c Bhuvneshwar b Hardik Pandya 7 (10).

00:05 AM IST: Catch dropped! Klassen hoicks Axar Patel to deep mid wicket but Bhuvneshwar spills the chance. Next ball, Duminy moves to the off side and wallops him for six over deep mid wicket. He repeats the dose again. This is probably the over that turns it for South Africa .

23:58 PM IST: WICKET! Raina strikes. Short ball and Miller miscues the pull shot to be caught at deep mid wicket. David Miller c Axar Patel b Suresh Raina 24 (23).

23:53 PM IST: Despite the six, only seven runs in the over. It has not helped the asking rate much.

23:51 PM IST: If it is in the arc, I hit it out of the park. Vintage Miller. Short and slow ball from Pandya and the left-hander whacks it into the grass banks at deep mid wicket.

23:49 PM IST: Miller breaks the shackles as he wallops Suresh Raina inside out over extra cover for a boundary. However, the asking rate is mounting.

23:42 PM IST: The run-rate for South Africa after the end of the powerplay is just over four. After six overs, they are 25/1. Poor start this for the Proteas

23:37 PM IST: Only four runs in Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s over. His figures read 3-0-12-1. Simply outstanding.

23:33 PM IST: Miller lofts Shardul Thakur inside out over extra cover for a once bounce boundary but South Africa need a big over to get going.

23:27 PM IST: WICKET | Great stuff from Bhuvneshwar. The knuckle ball and it grips the surface, Hendricks is a bit too early into the slog and he chips it to mid wicket. Reeza Hendricks c Dhawan b Bhuvneshwar 7 (13).

23:24 PM IST: Good start for Jasprit Bumrah as he concedes just three runs. Tight lines and right lengths.

23:19 PM IST: Poor fielding attempt. Bhuvneshwar bowls this delivery short outside off, Hendricks hacks it to backward point, the fielder palms it over and Axar Patel dives too early but cannot stop the boundary.

23:16 PM IST: David Miller and Reeza Hendricks have been promoted to open the batting. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will start proceedings.

23:00 PM IST: WICKET! Karthik is playing a gem as Morris misses his line and the batsman flicks it to fine leg. However, next ball, he shuffles across far too much and is trapped in front.

22:58 PM IST: Wicket! Pandya makes room and Morris follows him with a full ball, the batsman looks to flick but gets a leading edge to the keeper. Hardik Pandya c Klassen b Chris Morris 21 (17).

22:55 PM IST: Dinesh Karthik has started brilliantly. He carves a shortish ball past backward point and the next ball, he thumps it over mid off. Can they go past 170?

22:52 PM IST: WICKET! Short of a length ball outside off, Dhoni gets plenty of height and elevation but he cannot get it over Miller at long off. MS Dhoni c Miller b Junior Dala 12 (11).

22:49 PM IST: SIX ! Pandya breaks the shackles and blasts the first boundary since the 13th over. Latches on to a full toss from Morris and hammers it over long on for a big six.

22:45 PM IST: Only six runs in the 17th over. South Africa are bowling well but the remaining 18 balls hold the key between a great score and a potential series winning score.

22:40 PM IST: Only four overs remain. Can MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya take them to 170? This is a sluggish Cape Town deck.

22:38 PM IST: WICKET! Good stuff from the fielder at deep square leg. Dhawan slogs a flighted ball from Tabraiz Shamsi and looks for the second, but the throw from the deep is accurate and a direct hit catches him well short. Shikhar Dhawan (run-out) Junior Dala 47 (40).

22:35 PM IST: Eight runs in the 15th over. Can India go past 170? Pandya is the key one feels.

22:26 PM IST: WICKET! Bad shot from Manish Pandey. Length ball from Junior Dala and it rears up from the deck, Pandey miscues the shot and is caught at long on. Manish Pandey c Miller b Junior Dala 13 (10).

22:21 PM IST: 17 runs in the Shamsi over and this has given India tremendous momentum heading into the death overs.

22:19 PM IST: After a tight over from Aaron Phangiso, Manish Pandey breaks the shackles with a brilliant lofted six off Shamsi to long off. Dhawan follows it up with a powerful sweep to deep square leg.

22:16 PM IST: Manish Pandey has been in fabulous form in T20Is, with scores of 32*, 1*, 32, 29* & 79*

22:11 PM IST: WICKET! South Africa have taken the big wicket of Raina. Tossed up on middle and leg, Raina lofts it to long on but holes out to Farhaan Behardien who moves to his right and takes the catch. Suresh Raina c Behardien b Shamsi 43 (22).

22:08 PM IST: Poor fielding from Farhaan Behardien as the ball spins away from him and the ball goes to sweeper cover. He did not get behind the line of the ball.

22:04 PM IST: Dhawan has been dropped on 9. Will he make South Africa pay?

21:59 PM IST: An update on Virat Kohli. He has a stiff back but it is nothing serious. He should be up and running in a couple of days, which is good news.

21:55 PM IST: Two consecutive boundaries by Raina off Andile Phehlukwayo. The team is reaching fifty in just the sixth over.

21:49 PM IST: Raina has started well. He slams another boundary. India have made a great start.

21:41 PM IST: Great start by Raina! He swats it to the deep backward square leg and gets off the mark with a six.

21:39 PM IST: WICKET! Junior Dala has a hat-trick of dismissals against Rohit Sharma. Full ball and swinging away, Rohit is squared up and he gets hit on the pad. Rohit Sharma LBW Junior Dala 11 (8).

21:35 PM IST: Chris Morris starts off badly. After a first-ball no-ball, Rohit slams two boundaries, one to long on and fine leg. India are 13/0 in the first over.

21:09 PM IST: Here are the playing XIs for both sides.

South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Jean-Paul Duminy(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Farhaan Behardien, Christiaan Jonker, Andile Phehlukwayo, Aaron Phangiso, Chris Morris, Junior Dala, Tabraiz Shamsi

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel

21:06 PM IST: Two changes in the South Africa team as well. Aaron Phangiso is in while Christiaan Jonker is in the side for his debut game.

21:03 PM IST: South Africa have opted to bowl in the decider. Axar Patel replaces Yuzvendra Chahal. Jasprit Bumrah is back after missing the Centurion T20I.

21:00 PM IST: Big news from the Indian camp. Virat Kohli has been ruled out of the match due to a stiff back. Rohit Sharma will lead the side.

20:57 PM IST: We are getting reports that Virat Kohli might not play this match. Stay tuned for more updates

20:50 PM IST: This is India’s first Twenty20 ever in Cape Town. They have mostly played in Durban, Centurion and Johannesburg but never in Newlands. Can Virat Kohli end the tour on a high?

20:45 PM IST: The series began in Cape Town with the first Test and the tour ends in Cape Town. India will be aiming to win the Twenty20 series in addition to the ODIs while South Africa will be hoping to salvage some pride with victory in Cape Town.

India have never played T20 cricket at Newlands. This will be their first such outing, while South Africa have a less than impressive record here. They have played eight T20s, and lost five of them at Newlands.

The two wins came in the 2007 World T20 and as such the hosts have only ever won a singular bilateral T20 game (against England in 2016) at Cape Town.

Jasprit Bumrah’s abdominal strain had forced India to make a change, but they will consider a couple spots for this finale. Bumrah’s fitness still remains a question mark.

The bowling combination is the other concern. India have shown a propensity to field a left-arm pacer in this format, but Jaydev Unadkat has proven expensive so far.

Given the scenario, Virat Kohli might just be inspired to change the look and shape of his bowling attack.

If Bumrah does play, Unadkat is likely to make way for him. Shardul Thakuar used clever change of pace at Centurion and picked 1/31 in his four-over spell.

The Newlands pitch had played slow during the ODI series, and citing the example of Supersport Park, there is every reason to expect another wicket on the slower side, if not dual-paced altogether.