IND Vs SA 3rd T20I review- India finally got their first victory against South Africa in this series with a commanding 48 run win at Vizag. This was also their first victory over them in this year after failed to win in any games on three different formats in 2022. Stand In captain Rishabh Pant was still unable to win the toss and Temba Bavuma decided to bowl first again.

Head coach Rahul Dravid decided to play the same XI as the previous two games after successive defeats in both of them. After two back to back failures, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed his first half century in India colors and scored 57 off 35 balls alongside Ishan Kishan who also scored half a ton. An inspired bowling display from India restricted Proteas to 131.

Here we will look at major talking points from the third IND Vs SA T20I

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• Rahul Dravid’s trust pays off in the third IND Vs SA T20 match

After two back to back defeats at home against South Africa, it as a must win game for Indian side who were 2-0 down in the five match T20 series. There were few players who failed to perform in both games (including the skipper Rishabh Pant himself) as plenty of exciting talents are waiting in the bench to get selected. However, head coach Rahul Dravid decided to give them another go and showed a lot of trust to play the same XI again.

This time though, opener Ruturaj Gaiwad justified his selection as he smashed 57 from 35 balls alongside Ishan Kishan who also played a magnificent innings. In the bowling department, lots of responsibilities are on the shoulders of Yuzvendra Chahal after he won the Purple cap in recently concluded IPL. Apart from Avesh Khan, literally all played their part in Team India’s victory.

• Third time lucky for Ruturaj

After winning the Orange cap in the IPL last year, there are expectations from the 25 year old to perform at International level. After two poor games with the bat, Gaikwad was on song in this match. Third time lucky!!! In his knock he smashed South Africa’s ace pacer Anrich Nortje for five boundaries in an over which was surely some statement. Gaikwad praised the Vizag wicket after the game.

“I had a really good last year. So obviously a lot of people come with a lot of expectations when you have such a great year, in IPL and in domestic cricket,” Gaikwad said. “In this IPL, the wickets were slightly bowler-friendly, there were not many flat wickets, there were two-paced wickets, the ball was turning, there was some swing. So in the IPL in three-four games I got out to good balls, and some dismissals, a good shot went into the fielder’s hands.”

“It is part and parcel of T20 cricket. You are going to have off days and really bad days. It is a matter of staying consistent mentally and trusting your process. Coming into this series, I felt the first two wickets were slightly on the tacky side, so coming here, good wicket, I played my game.

3) Harshal Patel and Chahal too hot for the Proteas

Coming out to defend a healthy score of 179, Indian bowlers did their job perfectly. Pacer Harshal Patel picked up four wickets, each in his every spell which is a great sign for the Indian team. Chahal did what he does best in the middle overs and picked up 3 scalps.