India’s preparations to defend the T20 World Cup look difficult as South Africa won the series 3-1.
Published December 19, 2025
India won the final match of the series in Ahmedabad by 30 runs and then won the Twenty20 series against South Africa 3-1.
India won 231-5 in the second match of the five-match series between Tilak Verma and Hardik Pandya at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. South Africa’s chase collapsed from 120-1 to 201-8.
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Jasprit Bumrah caught Quinton de Kock off a yorker and bowled him for 65, finishing with an impressive record of 2 wins and 17 losses from 4 overs, which started South Africa’s downfall.
Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy had the last laugh with 4-53 after losing 23 runs in one over to de Kock and Dewald Brevis.
Sanju Samson, who replaced the injured Shubman Gill, played the opener against Abhishek Sharma in his first T20 since October, scoring 63 runs within six overs and 97 runs in nine overs.
Samson and Abhishek’s launch of 11 runs per over was extended by Varma and Pandya, who combined for 105 in 7.2 overs before both fell in the final over.
Varma reached his 30-ball fifty on the seventh ball, while Pandya reached his fifty on 16 balls thanks to his fifth six over deep midwicket.
Pandya was eventually caught at deep midwicket to score 63 for 25 and was dismissed to a standing ovation, but Varma followed two balls later, plunging off the penultimate ball to score 73 for 42.
