India finish tour in triumph

INDIA finished their tour of South Africa in triumph when they won the third Twenty20 international by seven runs at Newlands yesterday.

India clinched the series 2-1 to complete a white ball double following a 5-1 victory in a oneday international series.

India’s win was achieved despite the absence of inspirational captain Virat Kohli, who did not play because of a stiff back.

Stand-in captain Rohit Sharma said India had not allowed themselves to lose focus after losing the first two Tests before hitting back by winning the third Test and going on to dominate the limited-overs matches.India finish tour in triumph.

“We showed a lot of intensity and played with a lot of aggression. We never backed down in any situation,” said Sharma.

Although South Africa got close to chasing down India’s 172 for seven, they were unable to recover fully after a slow start.

South African captain JP Duminy identified the opening six powerplay overs as the the crucial difference between the teams. India were 57 for one after six overs, South Africa struggled to 25 for one.

Duminy made 55 off 41 balls and new cap Christiaan Jonker slammed 49 off 24 balls before being caught off the last ball of the match. It got the hosts close but they never really threatened to reach the target.

Indian opening bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar again bowled outstandingly in the first six overs, delivering an opening spell of one for 13 in three overs.

India lost Sharma to Dala in the second over but looked set for a big score when Suresh Raina went on the attack in a second wicket stand of 65 with Shikhar Dhawan.

None of the remaining batsmen could make more than Hardik Pandya’s 21. – AFP