India triumphed over South Africa by 11 runs in the third T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion, taking a 2-1 lead in the four-match series. Opting to bat first, India posted an impressive 219/6, powered by Tilak Varma’s maiden T20I century. Although India lost Sanju Samson early on, dismissed off the second ball, Tilak and Abhishek Sharma (50 off 25) formed a crucial 107-run partnership, putting India in a strong position. While other Indian batters struggled, Tilak stood firm, reaching his hundred off 51 balls. He remained unbeaten on 107 from 56 deliveries, including 8 fours and 7 sixes. In response, South Africa was restricted to 208/7, handing India a well-deserved win.
Opting to bat first, the world No. 1 team posted a massive 219/6, driven by Tilak Varma’s maiden T20I century (107* off 56 balls) at SuperSport Park. Despite a late flurry from Marco Jansen, who scored a quick-fire 54, the Proteas fell 11 runs short in their chase. With the win, India now leads 2-1 in the series, heading into the final match at the Wanderers on Friday. India had previously won the series opener in Durban by 61 runs, led by a century from Sanju Samson. However, South Africa had levelled the series with a thrilling win in Gqebera on Sunday. India suffered an early setback in their innings when Sanju Samson was dismissed for a duck after just two balls, with Marco Jansen sending him back. This brought Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma together, and the duo built a strong partnership of 107 runs for the second wicket before Sharma was stumped by Keshav Maharaj for 50 off 25 balls.
Tilak continued his dominant innings, bringing up his maiden T20I century in just 52 balls. Although the middle order faltered—captain Suryakumar Yadav (1) and Rinku Singh (8) fell cheaply—handy contributions from Hardik Pandya (18 off 16) and Ramandeep Singh (15 off 6) allowed India to post their highest-ever T20I total against South Africa on foreign soil. In response, South Africa’s top four batters got starts but couldn’t convert them into big scores. Arshdeep Singh made the breakthrough early by dismissing Ryan Rickelton (20), and Varun Chakravarthy followed up with two crucial wickets, sending Reeza Hendricks (21) and Aiden Markram (29) back to the pavilion
Tristan Stubbs, the hero of South Africa’s previous win, was trapped LBW by Axar Patel for just 12. At 84/4, South Africa was struggling, but a 58-run partnership between Heinrich Klaasen (41 off 22) and David Miller (29 off 20) kept the chase alive. As the pressure mounted, Miller began to attack, hitting his first six of the match in the 16th over before Axar Patel took a stunning catch at deep midwicket. Klaasen was dismissed in the 18th over while trying to accelerate, and with 51 needed off the last two overs, it seemed like India had control. But Jansen had other plans, smashing 26 runs off Hardik Pandya’s penultimate over to keep the hopes alive. Jansen brought up his half-century in the final over with a six but was dismissed LBW off the next ball. South Africa finished their chase at 208/7, falling short by 11 runs.