India signed off the year in emphatic fashion as a ruthless all-round performance powered a 30-run win over South Africa in the fifth and final T20I, sealing the five-match series 3-1 on Friday.
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Hardik Pandya unleashed a breathtaking assault to bring up a 16-ball half-century, the second-fastest by an Indian, while Tilak Varma’s fluent 73 anchored the innings as India piled up a daunting 231 for 5. Varun Chakravarthy then spun the visitors into disarray with a four-wicket haul as South Africa, despite a blazing Quinton de Kock fifty, folded for 201 for 8.
South Africa stayed in the hunt as long as de Kock (65 off 35) held fort. The left-hander tore into the powerplay, taking Arshdeep Singh apart with six fours and a six across two overs. However, his lone resistance proved insufficient as wickets tumbled rapidly at the other end. Reeza Hendricks’ poor run continued before he fell to Chakravarthy, brilliantly caught one-handed by Shivam Dube at midwicket.
De Kock found brief support from Dewald Brevis (31), the duo adding 51 in quick time to keep the chase alive. But India struck back decisively after the halfway mark. Jasprit Bumrah, held back for the middle overs, induced a return catch from de Kock in the 11th over before Pandya bounced out Brevis in the next.
Chakravarthy delivered the knockout blow in the 13th over, dismissing Aiden Markram leg-before and then breaching Donovan Ferreira’s defense with a delivery that rattled the off stump. From 120 for 1, South Africa slumped dramatically, losing seven wickets for 81 runs. David Miller’s mistimed shot off Arshdeep Singh effectively shut the door on the chase.
Earlier, India recovered from skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s continued struggles with the bat as Pandya and Tilak added a match-defining 105 runs off just 44 balls for the fourth wicket. Pandya’s ferocious 63 off 25 balls, laced with five fours and five sixes, lit up his former IPL home ground, while Tilak once again displayed composure and class, striking 10 boundaries in his 73.
Openers Abhishek Sharma (34) and Sanju Samson (37) had set the platform with an aggressive 63-run stand. Samson looked in sublime touch before being undone by a sharply turning George Linde delivery, but not before making a strong case amid India’s World Cup selection chatter.
With bat and ball firing in tandem, India ended the series and the year on a commanding high.
(By PTI Inputs)
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