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PremiumIndia vs South Africa Live Score 3rd T20I: Tilak Varma smashed his maiden international hundred to power India to 219/6 in 20 overs against South Africa in the third T20I off at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday. Centurion in the first game, Sanju Samson notched a second consecitive duck in the series before Varma and Abhishek Sharma revived India with a 107-run stand for the second. Sharma ended his slump in form with a 25-ball 50. South Africa crawled back in the game with three quick wickets, but the Mumbai Indians star continued his rampage to bring up his magical three figures in just 51 balls with a four down the ground off Lutho Sipamla. Making his debut, Ramandeep Singh started his international career with a huge six and also stitched a 28-run partnership with Varma for the sixth wicket. Both teams are locked at 1-1 in the series.
India: Sanju Samson (w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy
South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla
100 comes up for South Africa. Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller have struggled against the Indian spinners. The run-rate for South Africa piles up. SA 103/4 (13)
Aiden Markram goes big against Varun Chakravarthy with two huge sixes before holing out to Ramandeep Singh on the boundary. The South African skipper screams in frustration. SA 84/4 (10)
OUTTT!!! India get their third wicket as Axar Patel traps Tristan Stubbs in front. The dangerman is gone. Notably, Stubbs single-handedly won the game in the second match. SA 68/3 (8.5)
Varun Chakravarthy is brought into the attack and the Tamil Nadu spinner strikes. Reeza Hendricks comes down the pitch and is stumped by Sanju Samson. SA 47/2 (5.3)
Play starts after a brief display. Ryan Rickelton and Reeza Hendricks provides South Africa a solid start with a flurry of boundaries. Wait. It's OUTT!! Arshdeep Singh draws first blood again. With this wicket, Arshdeep equals Jasprit Bumrah's record for most T20I wickets by a seamer. Both has 90 wickets currently. SA 27/1 (3)
The umpires had an inspection and the play to resume at 11:10 PM IST. India's stand-in-coach VVS Laxman also had a word with the umpires.
Hang on! The game has been stopped because of the insects invasion on ground. These insects usually come around during rain.
Welcome back with the chase. Ryan Rickelton and Reeza Hendricks open the batting for South Africa. Arshdeep Singh start the bowling for India. SA 7/0 (1)
Tilak Varma: Really very happy. I was waiting for this moment for a long time. Coming after injury and scoring a hundred, it is incredible. It was challenging at the start - wicket was two-paced. After that, it went well. I tried to hold my shape and was trying to focus on the basics. We (Abhishek and me) both were under pressure and this knock was important for both of us. We talked about following the basics. Our spinners are bowling well. We were looking at 200-210, so we have a good total on the board, hoping for the win.
Another four from Ramandeep Singh down the ground to bring India's 200. Tilak Varma brings up his maiden international 100 with a four. He jumps in rejoice, offers prayer to the almighty with folded hands before pointing to the dugout. He finishes the over with another six. IND 215/5 (19)
BANNGGGGGGG! Ramandeeep Singh starts his international career with huge six over long-on. He replaced Rinku Singh, who was clean bowled by Andile Simelane. IND 196/5 (18)
Gerald Coetzee comes into the attack and Tilak Varma uses his momentum to smash the bowler above the latter's head. He flicks off the pads two balls later to send the ball into the crowd. Four more to finish the over. IND 175/4 (16)
Simply beautiful from Tilak Varma in the middle. He first goes wide of the line to smash Keshav Maharaj over mid-off before going down on one knee to hit a six. He follows up with another four. 150 comes ups for India. IND 154/4 (15)
Keshav Maharaj strikes again as Hardik Pandya is trapped in front. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma has completed his fifty. Rinku Singh joins Varma in the middle. IND 132/4 (13)
Another wicket goes down for India as captain Suryakumar Yadav departs for just one. Andile Simelane takes the wicket. Hardik Pandya joins Tilak Varma in the middle and starts off with two fours. IND 120/3 (11)
Two big overs for India before Abhishek Sharma completes his fifty in style with a single and a six off Keshav Maharaj. Sigh of relief for the Indian opener after seven consecutive failures. However, the left-hander is stumped out in the next ball. Sharma departs for 25-ball 50. IND 107/2 (9)
Aiden Markram comes to bowl and Abhishek Sharma welcomes the South African skipper with a four and a six. Time for a short break. The two left-handers have been really playing well in the middle and targeted the shorter boundaries with fours and sixes. IND 83/1 (7)
Looks like Abhishek Sharma has been able to arrest his slide in Centurion. The left-hander has been flawless in the powerplay with a 16-ball 37. Tilak Varma is also giving him able company. IND 70/1 (6)
Two more fours from Tilak Varma off Marco Jansen before the lanky pacer's bouncer brushes off Varma's helmet. A mandatory concussion test is being done. Nothing major says the physio as Varma continues to bat. IND 35/1 (3)
Boundaries for both Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma. While Varma struck a couple of fours off Marco Jansen, Sharma smashed a six and four against Gerald Coetzee. IND 27/1 (2)
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are in the middle for India. Marco Jansen opens the bowling for South Africa. OUTTTT! Jansen gets Samson once again for a duck. This is the second time Jansen gets Samson for consecutive ducks. Tilak Varma comes in the crease. IND 0/1
The toss is just a few minutes away. Both Suryakumar Yadav and Aiden Markram are in the middle for the toss. South Africa have won the toss and send India to bat first.
Good news coming from Centurion is that Ramandeep Singh is being handed his debut cap u Hardik Pandya.
Is time running out for Abhishek Sharma? With Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal coming in the T20I setup from the next series, if Abhishek fails to perform in the next two games, the position of the Punjab batter in the Indian batting line-up is in danger.
It's like Varun Chakavarthy got a rebirth in 2024. The Tamil Nadu spinner was dropped after just taking two wickets in his first six games in 2021. In 2024, Chakravarthy played five matches taking 13 wickets, including a fifer.
Rinku Singh haven't really played to his potential in the first two games. Think Ramandeep Singh should be given chance today as he offers a bowling option as well.
Interestingly, India have played just one T20I in Centurion against South Africa in a losing cause in 2018. Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni scored fifties for India. For South Africa, Heinrich Klaasen and JP Duminy played match-winning knocks.
Sanju Samson, who hit his second T20I hundred in the first game in Durban, was undone by a Marco Jansen delivery in the second for a duck. The Kerala cricketer will be eager to get back in form.
India's batting has been a worry in this series particularly. Pressure will definitely be on Abhishek Sharma although he has been assured of an extended run. Mentored by legendary Yuvraj Singh, Sharma started his career with a T20I ton in Zimbabwe before losing form.
Hello and welcome to the live coverage from Centurion in the 3rd T20I between India and South Africa. Both teams are coming after winning one match each in the series.
