India had the last laugh at the end of two-month-long tour of South Africa. The Men in Blue registered a fantastic seven-run win in the third and series-decider Twenty20 International match held at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town on February 24, Saturday. India clinched the three-match T20I series 2-1. Stand-in-skipper Rohit Sharma-led side held their nerves at crucial junctures, especially the late strike by debutant Christiaan Jonker to emerge victorious. Sharma was leading the side after Virat Kohli was ruled out injured of the third game due to stiff back. Die-hard cricket fans in India can relive the exciting moment of India vs South Africa 3rd T20 with video highlights available here.

India set a competitive target of 173 runs for Proteas after put in to bat first, which proved to be a winning total for the side. While none of the players could cross the fifty-run mark, India rode on strokeful forties by comeback man Suresh Raina and opener Shikhar Dhawan. Dinesh Karthik who replaced Kohli as batsman did his bit making 13 runs off 6 deliveries. For South Africa, Junior Dala picked three wickets for 35. Chris Morris took two wickets but proved to be quite expensive.

Coming into chase a 173, South Africa made a noticeable change in their batting order with David Miller promoted up in the order to open the innings with Reeza Hendricks. However, their strategy fell flat with Protease getting off to a frustratingly slow start. To add to their misery, Bhuvneshwar Kumar packed Hendricks inside third over to bring JP Duminy on to the crease. South African fans expected their captain to put on a similar show like second match in Centurion but were left disappointed with miserable approach by Duminy and Miller. Watching the duo felt as if they were preparing for upcoming Test series with Australia!

Last match’s hero Heinrich Klaasen could not produce another match-saving innings and faltered after making seven runs off 10 deliveries. Nevertheless, it was Christiaan Jonker who almost took South Africa home with his late onslaught. The 31-year-old smashed five fours and 2 long sixes in his 24-ball 49-run innings. It took India’s spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar who used all his experience to snatch victory for India. Also, Rohit Sharma who though failed with the bat departing at an individual score of 11, otherwise shined as a captain. His field placements and bowling change during South African innings was quite impactful.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2018 02:28 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).