India's remarkable year in T20Is ended on a fittingly high note as they flexed their batting firepower to outclass South Africa in the fourth and final match of a T20I series on Friday, November 15. Records tumbled in Johannesburg on Friday as Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson hit a hundred each to power India to 283 in 20 overs. India completed a memorable 3-1 series win after bowling out South Africa for 148 in 18.2 overs and sealing a 135-run win in front of a packed crowd at the Wanderers.
Arshdeep Singh came up with a dreamy spell with the new ball, picking up three wickets and rattling the South African top-order. He got the ball to move both ways and had the Proteas batters in all sorts of trouble in the middle. The hosts were reduced to 10 for 4 in the third over and their hopes of a record chase were extinguished early. Hardik Pandya also shone with the new ball while Varun Chakravarthy took two crucial wickets despite having been a bit on the expensive side.
Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson broke a series of records, becoming the first pair of batters from a Test-playing nation to hit hundreds in the same T20I. Their 210-run partnership, which came in 86 deliveries, set the stage for India's 283 -- their highest total in an overseas
It is safe to say that India revamped how they played T20I cricket in 2024. Led by former captain Rohit Sharma, India started bulldozing the opposition with the bat. Shedding the fear of failure, Indian batters played with freedom and aggressive intent from the top to the lower order. The change in approach worked wonders as India went on to win the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies in June.
Taking over from Rohit Sharma, captain Suryakumar Yadav ensured India played in the same vein, if not more aggressively. The fruits of all the hard work and conviction were there to be seen as India outbatted South Africa in South Africa to win a T20I series in the Rainbow Nation for the fourth time in history. India ended the calendar year with 24 wins from 26 matches in T20 internationals.
"It gives a big boost if you are winning any ICC tournament, winning from where we won. It was difficult to sum up what goes through our minds when we won there. It is very challenging when we tour South Africa, to come and win here, this is a special win and will stay with me forever," captain Suryakumar said.
The unrestrained batting approach was in full flow on Friday after Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bat on a pitch that has been a graveyard for bowlers for quite some time. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson saw off the first over, managing just four runs. But, from the second over, it was a sensational show of big-hitting.
Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma added 210 runs together in just 86 balls as the South African bowlers were sent on a leather hunt at the high-scoring venue.
Tilak hit his hundred in just 41 balls, the third-fastest T20I ton for India. He also became the first man to hit back-to-back hundreds in a T20I series for India. Tilak's hundred came shortly after Sanju Samson got to his hundred in 51 balls, smashing his third three-figrue score in his last five innings in T20Is.
Both batters combined to hit 19 of India's record-breaking 23 sixes in Johannesburg on Friday. Tilak was ruthless against the South African spinners. He used his range wonderfully well and even pulled off a AB de Villiers-esque switch hit for a six. Samson, on the other hand, kept pace with Tilak with his free-flowing display.
In the 14th over, Tilak put Markram under incredible pressure, hitting the part-time off-spinner for two sixes and as many boundaries, scoring 26 runs in a stretch of five deliveries.
The carnage did not end as South Africa were not able to separate the two battes, who stamped their authority in the Rainbow Nation, hitting two hundreds each in the series.
With the ball, India were better as they made use of the swing available in cooler conditions in the evening. Hardik and Arshdeep were on top of their game with the new ball, restricting South Africa to just 30 runs in the powerplay. Arshdeep has been making all the right noises ahead of the mega Indian Premier League auction, scheduled for November 24 and 25. After he was released by Punjab Kings in a surprise decision, Arshdeep seems to have auditioned perfectly for the big day with eight wickets in four matches.
Arshdeep was unaffected by the batter-friendly atmosphere in South Africa as he went about his job, troubling the South African batters with the red cherry. In the crucial win in the third T20I, Arsheep flaunted his death-bowling skills as India defended another 200-plus total.
On the other hand, Varun Chakravarthy had a breakthrough series, picking up 12 wickets, equalling the world record for the most by a bowler in a bilateral T20I series.
Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel played the support role to perfection as the spin trio picked 20 wickets across four matches, exposing the Proteas' batters weakness against the turning ball.
India will be mighty proud of their effort in the shortest format of the game, but the action now shifts to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy -- a much-awaited five-Test series between Australia and India, starting November 22 in Perth.
