India-South Africa T20I Series: Ton-man of Centurion
Tilak Varma scored a maiden T20 International century with a brilliant 107 from 56 balls to help India to an 11-run victory over hosts South Africa at Centurion Park on Wednesday, a game that was stopped for nearly half an hour by flying ants.
India were sent in to bat and amassed an impressive 219 for six in their 20 overs, boosted by the hitting of Varma and a sprightly 50 from 25 balls by opener Abhishek Sharma.
South Africa were always behind in their chase in the face of some excellent spin bowling from Axar Patel (1/29 in four overs) and the wiles of seamer Arshdeep Singh (3/37), but a late flurry of runs got them close.
They managed 208 for seven in reply and trail India 2-1 in the four-match series with the final game to be played in Johannesburg on Friday.
Varma and Sharma put on 107 from 50 balls for the second wicket to lay the platform for the visitors as South Africa lacked discipline with the ball, conceding 10 wides and three no balls in the innings.
Varma reached his century from 51 deliveries. The 22-year-old tore into the South African pacers as he hammered seven sixes and eight fours, powering India to their second highest score against the Proteas in this format.
The South African reply was an over old when the players were forced from the field for almost 30 minutes by a swarm of flying ants. When they returned, India’s spinners squeezed the run-rate in the middle overs, though the home side were kept in the contest by Marco Jansen’s career-best 54 from 17 balls and Heinrich Klaasen’s 41 from 22 deliveries.
“Very happy. What we spoke about in the team meetings. We played the brand of cricket that we wanted to play,” India captain Suryakumar Yadav said.
Yadav praised the young players for their fearless intent. “That is what we have been telling them to do, similar to what they have been doing in the nets. Even if they miss out in a few innings, they back their intent and their game. It has made my job very easier when I watch them bat like that and I feel we are going in the right direction,” he said.
Brief scores: India: 219/6 in 20 overs (Tilak, 107*, Abhishek 50; Maharaj 2/36, Simelane 2/34); South Africa: 208/7 in 20 overs (Jansen 54, Klaasen 41; Arshdeep 3/37, Chakravarthy 2/54).
