India put in a disciplined bowling performance to set up this win and take a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series. Indian bowlers completely outclassed South Africa barring Aiden Markram before Abhishek Sharma broke the back of the chase with his fiery innings in powerplay. Opting to bowl first, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana wreaked havoc with the new ball and the others chipped in as South Africa never got going barring Aiden Markram’s 61 as the Proteas finished with 117 in 20 overs.
In the chase, Abhishek Sharma broke the back of the chase with his 35 runs off 18 balls knocking 60 runs inside the powerplay. After he fell, things slowed down as Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma took their own time while Gill and Suryakumar Yadav got out, Shivam Dube came in and finished things off in the end with 25 balls to spare to go 2-1 up in the end.
All-Round Bowling Display by India keeps South Africa to 117 despite Aiden Markram’s half-century
Put into bat first in Dharamshala, Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks came out to bat for South Africa while Arshdeep Singh had ball in hand for India. It did not take long for Arshdeep to strike as he dismissed Reeza Hendricks for a bronze duck LBW thanks to great usage of DRS. Captain Aiden Markram came out to bat next.
Very soon, Harshit Rana removed Quinton de Kock for 1 off 3 balls trapping him plumb in front. Dewald Brevis came out to bat next to join Markram. Brevis survived a few scares in his innings but he soon fell for 2 off 7 balls to Rana as the batter chopped the ball on. Tristan Stubbs came out to bat next with the score at 7/3 in 3.1 overs. Stubbs survived a scare as the ball did too much off Rana for LBW.
The duo tried to build up a partnership and tried to revive South Africa. They took South Africa to 24/3 in 6 overs of powerplay. Hardik Pandya came into the attack and removed Stubbs for 9 off 13 balls. Corbin Bosch came out to bat next. The duo added 14 runs to the tally as Bosch got a lifeline with Abhishek Sharma dropping his catch. At the Drinks Break, South Africa were 44/3. Shivam Dube came into the attack and knocked over Bosch for 4 off 9 balls.
Donovan Ferreira came out to bat next. Markram held the innings together from one end while Ferreira slowly got into the groove. Ferreira hit Kuldeep for the maximum over forward square leg. Ferreira was dropped by Arshdeep Singh at long-on off Dube as the batter got a lifeline. The duo added 25 runs to the tally before Ferreira was cleaned up by Varun Chakaravarthy for 20 off 15 balls with one four and one six to his name. Marco Jansen came out to bat next.
Markram and Jansen added 8 more runs before Jansen was cleaned up by Varun for 2 off 7 balls. Anrich Nortje came out to bat next. Nortje hit a maximum to show his power. Markram then took the attack to Harshit Rana hitting a boundary and a maximum to get to his fifty as he played a lone hand and 19 runs came off the over. Arshdeep came back into the attack and removed the big fish Aiden Markram for 61 off 46 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes to his name with Jitesh Sharma taking the catch.
Lungi Ngidi came out to bat next. Birthday boy Kuldeep Yadav came onto bowl next. He dismissed Nortje for 12 off 12 balls with one six to his name as he was stumped by Jitesh easily. Ottneil Baartman came out to bat next and got off the mark. Kuldeep got another wicket to his name as he dismissed Baartman for 1 off 2 balls with Surya taking the catch at extra cover easily. Ngidi remained unbeaten on 2 off 3 balls as South Africa were bowled out for 117 in 20 overs. 3 extras given by the fielding side.
All the Indian bowlers bowled well. Varun Chakaravarthy was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/11 in 4 overs. Arshdeep Singh bowled beautifully for his 2/13 in 4 overs. Kuldeep Yadav finished with 2/12 in 2 overs. Harshit Rana got hit for 19 in his last over and he finished with 2/34 in 4 overs. Hardik Pandya finished with 1/23 in 3 overs. Shivam Dube finished with 1/21 in 3 overs. So, India now needed 118 runs to win the match and take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Abhishek Sharma’s fiery start breaks the back of the chase as India get over the line by 7 wickets
Chasing 118 for the win, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill came out to open for India while Lungi Ngidi had ball in hand for South Africa. Abhishek began with a bang as he started with a maximum and never looked back. Abhishek was on a roll as he dominated the powerplay. Shubman Gill after surviving a scare of LBW opened up and looked more fluent than usual.
But Abhishek Sharma was a runaway train as they put on a half-century stand with Gill with Abhishek being the dominant partner. The duo put on 60 inside the powerplay before Abhishek fell for 35 off 18 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Corbin Bosch and broke the back of the chase. Tilak Varma came out to bat next and got underway quickly as India were 68/1 in 6 overs at the end of the powerplay.
But things slowed down in the middle phase of the game as run scoring came in a trickle as South Africa bowled great lines and lengths. Both the batters Tilak and Gill went into a shell and were too defensive before Gill chopped onto a Jansen delivery as they added 32 runs for the second wicket. Captain Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next. He took his time before hitting a couple of boundaries before he holed out to Baartman off Ngidi for 12 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name.
Shivam Dube came out to bat next. Tilak struggled towards the backend of the chase, but managed to hang in there to remain unbeaten on 26 off 34 balls with 3 fours to his name. But Dube came and decided enough is enough by hitting a maximum and then the winning hit for a boundary as India eventually won the contest by 7 wickets with 25 balls to spare. Dube remained unbeaten on 10 off 4 balls with one four and one six to his name. 9 extras given by South Africa.
South Africa had a very low score to defend and they were taken to the cleaners by Abhishek Sharma in the powerplay before they came back well. Lungi Ngidi finished with 1/23 in 3 overs. Marco Jansen finished with 1/24 in 3 overs. Corbin Bosch finished with 1/18 in 3 overs. Ottneil Baartman finished with 0/34 in 3.5 overs. Anrich Nortje finished with 0/14 in 3 overs. So, India win by 7 wickets with 25 balls to spare to take a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series. Arshdeep Singh was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, India lead the series 2-1 with two games to spare. The next game takes place on Wednesday 17th December, 2025 at 7 PM IST onwards in Lucknow. India will want to seal the series in Lucknow while South Africa will want to fight back and square the series 2-2. We had another one-sided match in Dharamshala and hoping for a close one maybe in Lucknow.
We have to wait and see who comes out on top in this contest when the two teams meet in Lucknow.
Also Read:Â IND vs SA: All-Round India Restricts South Africa To 117