Rilee Rossouw lights up dead rubber

Indore, October 4

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South Africa beat India by 49 runs in the third and final T20I match on the back of Rilee Rossouw’s maiden T20I century to record a consolation victory in Indore today as the hosts won the series 2-1.

On a batting wicket in a small ground, Rossouw put India’s bowlers to the sword, clearing the ropes eight times and smashing seven fours to notch up his century in 48 balls.

Rossouw was supported by opener Quinton de Kock (68 off 43) while David Miller came in with four balls left in the innings to smash three sixes, guiding the tourists to a competitive total of 227.

India, who had rested Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, were reeling at 4/2 in response after losing skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer by the second over.

Dinesh Karthik (46) and Rishabh Pant (27) got quick starts but fell playing risky shots in the run-chase, while the in-form Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed when Tristan Stubbs pouched a superb diving catch near the boundary.

His wicket took the wind out of India’s sails and although the tail wagged a bit with Deepak Chahar (31) and Umesh Yadav (20 not out) attempting to go after the bowling, they were all out for 178 in the penultimate over.

Brief scores: South Africa: 227/3 in 20 Overs (Rossouw 100*, de Kock 68; Yadav 1/34, Chahar 1/48); India: 178 all out in 18.3 overs (Karthik 46, Chahar 31; Pretorius 3/26). — Agencies

Bumrah’s absence is big loss: Dravid

New Delhi: India head coach Rahul Dravid today admitted that Jasprit Bumrah’s absence from the upcoming T20 World Cup due to a back injury is a “big loss” for the team but said it opens up an opportunity for some other player to stand up and perform. “Bumrah’s absence is a big loss, he’s been a great player but it happens, it’s an opportunity for someone else to stand up. We’ll miss him, his personality around the group,” said Dravid.