Quinton de Kock was an elated captain as South Africa thrashed India by 9 wickets in the final T20I to level the three-match series 1-1 at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday (September 22).

Asked to bowl first by India skipper Virat Kohli, the Proteas bowlers did a great job to restrict the hosts to a paltry 134/9 in 20 overs. Kagiso Rabada was the stand-out performer with the ball, claiming 3 for 39 in his 4 overs whereas Bjorn Fortuin (2/19) and Beuran Hendricks (2/14) chipped in with two wickets each.

In reply, the visitors rode on de Kock’s unbeaten 52-ball 79 (6 fours and 5 sixes) to overhaul the target in just 16.5 overs.

"They got off to a great start but I am very impressed with the way the guys fought back, they read the conditions very well, they stuck to their plans, they just kept up the pressure on India," the South Africa skipper said at the post-match press conference.

Talking about his knock and the chase, de Kock said it was not that easy in the initial overs as the Indian bowlers kept it tight with the new ball.

"They put a lot of pressure on us in the first four overs, kept it very tight, didn't give us a lot of bad balls, ball was swinging. We just stuck to our guns upfront, just tried to soak up the pressure," he asserted.

The captain was full of praise for left-arm pacer Hendricks, who set the tone with the wicket of Rohit Sharma in his very first over.

"Beuran, in our T20 local league back home, he bowled really well in that tournament. Coming into this game, he has worked really hard on his skills. He deserved the chance and he took it with both hands," de Kock concluded.

(With PTI inputs)