Not Arshdeep Singh or Varun Chakravarthy, Aiden Markram credits this star for 'taking match further away from South Africa'

South Africa captain Aiden Markram lauded Indian bowlers for their iconic performance in the third T20I at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. After opting to bowl, Indian pacers produced a mesmerising spell of swing bowling to bundle out South Africa for a below-par 117 despite Aiden Markram's hard-hitting half-century control demage.

Markaram for Indian bowlers

Leading India’s show with early wickets were Arshdeep Singh (2/13), Harshit Rana (2/34) and Hardik Pandya (1/23), which helped the hosts to hold an early advantage.

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“They (Indian pacers) got the ball in the right areas and before you know it we were 4-5 down. If we get similar conditions, we have to put pressure back.

“Credit to them. They didn't give us much to score off. I tried to take it deep. Whole time I thought if I got us to 140-150 it'd have been a closer game,” said Markram in post match conference.

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Aiden Markram on Abhishek Sharma

While chasing, India opener Abhishek Sharma was off to the mark with a six, and the destructive batter's 18-ball 35 took the match further away from South Africa. While asked about Abhishek's knock, Markram credited Abhishek and also admitted that the bowlers were unable to hit the right areas while bowling to the southpaw.

“Credit to Abhi for coming off. We weren't in the right areas in the first 3-4 overs. But it was a positive to stretch the game by bowling good lengths later,” he said.

India beat South Africa by seven wickets

Clinical bowling display followed by a brilliant start in batting from Abhishek Sharma helped India to win the clash by seven wickets. With this win India take 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series. The fourth T20I will take place on December 17 at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.