Klaasen, Jansen’s effort in vain as brilliant Arshdeep seals India’s win in centurion

India defeated South Africa by 11 runs in the third T20I to take a 2-1 lead in the ongoing four-match series. The visitors, batting first, suffered an early blow, losing the wicket of Sanju Samson for a duck. Abhishek Sharmawho has been struggling to find runs in international cricket of late, finally showed his class by scoring a half-century in just 25 deliveries. Alongside Tilak Varma, who was promoted to number three, Abhishek formed a 107-run partnership that gave India the momentum they needed at the SuperSport Park Centurion.

Tilak went on to score an unbeaten 107 runs while facing just 56 balls as India posted 219 for the loss of six wickets in the first innings. Varma also received the Player of the Match award for his brilliance in the crease. Meanwhile, all the other batters were struggling to get going. captain Suryakumar Yadav made just one run while Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh scored 18 and eight runs respectively. Towards the end, debutant Ramandeep Singh played an important cameo with 15 goals out of six, helping the visitors to an impressive tally.

The second innings began with a series of boundaries. Proteas openers Ryan Rickleton and Reeza Hendricks managed 20 and 21 respectively. Afterwards, captain Aiden Markram scored 29 runs off 18 deliveries and Tristan Stubbs managed 12. Heinrich Klaasen tried to rescue South Africa from the situation and he batted with aggressive intent , but there was very little support from the other side.

Senior batter David Miller struggled a lot, which put pressure on Klaasen. Miller retired after scoring 18 off 18 and Klaasen soon joined him in the dressing room after hitting 41 runs off 22 deliveries. He kept the Proteas in the hunt for the longest time, but in the end it wasn't enough. Arshdeep Singh took his wicket in hand but South Africa didn't quite give up.

Also read: Twitter Reactions: Tilak Varma records his maiden T20I century in Centurion

Marco Jansen kept them in the hunt as the all-rounder played a phenomenal knock of 54 runs off just 17 deliveries, but it wasn't enough. The Men in Blue finally managed to get the job done and it was all thanks to Arshdeep Singh who once again played a great game and secured a three-wicket win.

Here's how X reacted to India's sensational win over the Proteas in Centurion:

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