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Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian cricket team defeated Aiden Markram's South Africa by 135 runs in the fourth and final T20I of the series which was being played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, on November 15 (Friday). The Men in Blue won the series by 3-1 promising lead. Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma were India's heroes with bat and later Arshdeep Singh stole the show with the ball.
Sanju and Tilak help India post 283/1
Earlier, twin tons by Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma powered India to a mammoth total of 283/1 against South Africa in the fourth match of the series. They became the first pair in history to hit centuries in a single T20I innings.
With their scorching innings, Samson and Tilak broke numerous records and put India in a commanding position in the first innings. The Men in Blue are now very close to winning the series' last game with such a huge number on the scoreboard. India's opening pair, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma put together a strong 73-run partnership.
Despite his brilliant effort, which included two fours and four sixes, Abhishek was removed by Lutho Sipamla in the sixth over, ending his innings. However, Samson, now partnered with Tilak Varma, continued to dominate, and the Proteas were unable to capitalize on the breakthrough. The pair launched an unrelenting attack on the South African bowlers, who found it difficult to stop them.
India faced just 51 balls and reached the 100-run milestone in the ninth over. As the third side in T20I history to reach 200 runs in the fewest overs, they achieved yet another milestone by the 14th over. The combination did not appear to be slowing down as the innings moved into the last overs. Tilak Varma scored his second T20I century in the very next over after Sanju Samson reached his century in just 51 balls in the 18th over.
Alongside Samson, Tilak became the second Indian to reach hundreds in successive T20I innings with his undefeated 107-run knock in the previous game. Sanju, meanwhile, made history by becoming the first player to reach three T20I hundreds in a single year. In a single T20I series, the two Indians also became the first to score two hundreds apiece. Samson and Tilak's historic 210-run partnership helped India reach a commanding 283/1. Tilak hammered an undefeated 120 off just 47 deliveries, while Samson provided a blazing 109 runs off 51 balls.
Arshdeep leads India's bowling attack
Thanks to Arshdeep Singh's stunning spell, India threw Proteas on the backfoot early on itself. The hosts lost their first four wickets at the score of 10 by the end of the third over. He dismissed Reeza Hendricks and Heinrich Klaasen for ducks and got captain Markram for just 8 runs. The majority of their heavy hitters were back in the dugout early on which almost shattered their hopes to chase the humongous target.
David Miller and Tristan Stubbs did join a 86-run partnership but it was not enough as after that SA kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and eventually lost both the match and series.
