South Africa went down in the third T20I in Dharamshala as we witnessed another one-sided game in this T20I series. South Africa‘s batting collapsed under challenging conditions and no one stood up apart from their captain Aiden Markram who showed character. But the rest of the batters did not get going and handed a demoralising loss. India were good with the ball and deserved the win in the end. There were gaping holes and areas where South Africa fell behind and we will try and list out three reasons for their heavy loss in this match.
Losing 3 wickets in powerplay inside 3.1 overs pegged South Africa back
South Africa came out to bat after losing the toss and were on the back foot straightaway. Reeza Hendricks fell for a duck while last match’s hero Quinton de Kock fell for 1. Dewald Brevis survived a few scares before being dismissed for 2. South Africa were reduced to 7/3 in 3.1 overs at one stage and the powerplay score was 24/3 in 6 overs which was way below par on any surface. From this position, the Proteas could never really recover.
They continued to lose wickets beyond that period as well and the Run Rate was slow throughout. Yes, Aiden Markram held one end up and had to play slowly as he lacked support from the other end. But the others were found wanting on a decent surface. India bowled well, but South Africa collapsed under pressure. The powerplay didn’t help their cause and were playing catch up throughout and they got to 117 thanks to Aiden Markram’s brilliant knock.
South Africa needs to bat better under pressure and cannot collapse in a heap. In the first match too under pressure they collapsed and they repeated the dose in this match. The batting needs to be consistent especially in powerplay overs and get the team a good solid start. Losing 3 or more wickets generally means losing the match and putting the team under pressure. They were under so much pressure, that they couldn’t get going. Looking ahead to the match in Lucknow, South Africa would hope to put this behind them and put in a solid performance to level the series.
Lack of or no support to Aiden Markram costs South Africa
South Africa never really got going and lost wickets at regular intervals. They lost three inside the powerplay and lost wickets at regular intervals to be on the back foot. It was only captain Aiden Markram who showed tremendous character to score 61 off 46 balls albeit slowly, but he had to with wickets losing at the other end. The likes of Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs and Corbin Bosch failed to get going at all.
It was Donovan Ferreira who too a degree supported Markram as he scored 20 off 15 balls and built a 25-run stand to stabilise the innings. But apart from Ferreira nobody supported Markram and he played a lone hand and stepped on the accelerator against Harshit Rana and it is that 19-run over that helped the Proteas get to 117 or else they may have barely got to a century. Had Markram got out early, the Proteas would have got only 50-60 runs. That was the sorry state of affairs for South Africa last night.
Looking ahead to the Lucknow game, South Africa will want to bat a lot better than yesterday and come out firing like the second T20I. They did well there with Quinton playing an amazing knock and they got 200+. South Africa needs to be more consistent with bat in hand and deliver performances everyday. That will help them grow. To collapse in 2 off the three matches is not a good sign at all for the Proteas heading into the big World Cup in February and March. One will have to wait and see how they respond in Lucknow.
Inability to stop Abhishek Sharma in powerplay seals the fate of the match
While defending 117, South Africa needed early wickets to put India under some pressure. But then came the Abhishek Sharma show as he broke the back of the chase with his intense hitting. His 35 off 18 balls allowed Shubman Gill to gain confidence as well as he looked scratchy but played some delightful shots to get his innings going. The duo added 50 runs in quick time and reached 60 in 5.2 overs before Abhishek perished. India were 68/1 in 6 overs chasing 118 and the game was as good as over.
To put things into perspective, India slowed down post Abhishek and the powerplay and went in a trickle dragging the match till the 16th over. Shubman Gill slowed down went into a shell and scored only 28. Tilak Varma laboured his way to 26 off 34 balls but stayed till the end. Suryakumar Yadav the captain fell for 12 off 11 balls before Shivam Dube decided enough is enough and finished the match. South Africa bowled wrong lines and lengths in powerplay.
They gave India the chance to score and India capitalised to score what they did. It meant that even with India slowing down and South Africa dragging the match, India were in control of the chase which they were and won inside 16 overs. So, early wickets will be key for South Africa going forward as that can put pressure on the Indians where only Abhishek is in form and rest of batting looking scratchy at best. Important 4th match coming up soon.
What Lies Ahead
So, India have a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series after another one-sided match in Dharamshala. Next-up we will go to Lucknow for the 4th game of the series which will be played on Wednesday 17th December, 2025 from 7 PM IST onwards. One will have to see whether South Africa makes a comeback to make it 2-2 in the series while India will aim to win the series there itself and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.
Let’s wait and watch who comes out on top in this 4th clash.
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