South Africa registered a consolation 49-run victory over India in the third and final T20I at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Tuesday (October 4).

Asked to bat first, the Proteas piled up 227/3 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of Rilee Rossouw’s unbeaten 100 off 48 balls. Quinton de Kock also played a brilliant knock of 43-ball 68 while opening the innings.

It was a tough outing for the Indian bowlers. Except for R Ashwin (0-35 in 4 overs), all of them conceded runs with an economy of more than 10.

In reply, the Men in Blue were bowled out for 178 in 18.3 overs. It was a disappointing batting chart as some batters got starts but didn’t manage to score big. Dinesh Karthik was the top scorer with 46 off 21 balls.

For South Africa, Dwaine Pretorius (3-26) picked three wickets while Keshav Maharaj (2-34), Wayne Parnell (2-41) and Lungi Ngidi (2-51) took two scalps each. Kagiso Rabada also returned with impressive figures of 1 for 24 in his four overs.

Despite this heavy loss, the hosts clinched the three-match T20I series 2-1 as they had won the first two games.

Brief Scores:

South Africa – 227/3 in 20 overs (Rilee Rossouw 100*; R Ashwin 0-35) defeated India – 178/10 in 18.3 overs (Dinesh Karthik 46; Dwaine Pretorius 3-26) by 49 runs