Ind vs SA: Fifties from Kishan, Gaikwad power India to 179/5 in a do-or-die match

Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], June 14 : A 97-run stand between Ruturaj Gaikwad (57) and Ishan Kishan (54) powered India to 179/5 in their 20 overs in the third T20I against South Africa at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
The innings was a see-saw one as India dominated the first half of the innings, but South Africa pulled back momentum to their side in the second half.
Put to bat first by South Africa, India was off a fine start. The first four overs saw openers Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad were somewhat cautious and rotated the strike with quick running between wickets with some occasional hits.
But Gaikwad preyed on dangerous pacer Anrich Nortje in the fifth over, hitting him for five fours in a row, bringing plenty of momentum to the innings.
By the end of powerplay in six overs, India stood at a great 57/0, with Gaikwad (40*) and Kishan (13*) at the crease.
Gaikwad continued to look good and soon brought up his maiden T20I half-century in 30 balls. Ishan Kishan also continued showing his aggressive intent with the bat, combining it with some good strike rotation.
The Proteas got a breakthrough at the final ball of the 10th over, dismissing Gaikwad for 57 off 35. Spinner Keshav Maharaj caught and bowled the opener by taking a great diving catch.
At the end of 10 overs, India stood at 971, with Kishan (36*).
This brought Shreyas Iyer to the crease. He smashed Nortje for a huge six in the 11th over to get off the mark. Kishan continued dominating Proteas bowlers, hitting Maharaj for 4,6,4 in the final three balls of the 12th over to bring up his second fifty of the series off just 30 balls.
Iyer survived a leg before wicket attempt off-spinner Tabrez Shamsi's delivery in the 13th over. However, Proteas staged a mini-comeback by taking his wicket two balls later for 14 off 11.
This brought captain Rishabh Pant to the crease. Pretorius got Kishan for 54 of 35, getting his side second wicket in two overs. Kishan tried to play it big over deep extra cover but was caught by Reeza Hendricks.
This brought the vice-captain Hardik Pandya to the crease.
At the end of 15 overs, India stood at 138/3 with Pandya (4*) and Pant (4*). Captain Pant registered another failure in his outing as a skipper, getting out for only 6 off a Pretorious delivery after being caught by SA skipper Temba Bavuma.
At 143/4, India seemed to have lost quite a lot of momentum gathered in the first ten overs.
Dinesh Karthik was up next to bat. He could not replicate his finishing mode from the last game and was sent back for just 6 by Kagiso Rabada after being caught by Wayne Parnell at third man.
With some hits from Pandya (31*) and new batter Axar Patel (5*), India finished the innings at 179/5 in their 20 overs.
Dwaine Pretorius was the leading bowler for South Africa, with 2/29 in four overs. Rabada, Shamsi and Maharaj also got a wicket each.
Brief Scores: India 179/5 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 57, Ishan Kishan 54, Dwaine Pretorius 2/29) against South Africa.