SKY's 100, Kuldeep's fifer fashion India's win

Johannesburg: Captain Suryakumar Yadav produced a hundred of rare brilliance and Kuldeep Yadav worked his inimitable sorcery with a fifer as India registered a comprehensive 106-run series-levelling win over South Africa in the third and final T20I here on Thursday.

Suryakumar's 100 off 56 balls that contained seven fours and eight sixes and Yashasvi Jaiswal's fluent 60 off 41 balls carried India to 201 for 7 after the visitors were asked to bat first.

Indian bowlers, especially left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (5/17), who turned 29 on Thursday, managed to hit better lengths to bundle out SA for 95 in 13.5 overs.

But for that India need to profusely thank Suryakumar. The 33-year-old exploited the opportunity to bat on a bone-dry surface making his fourth T20I century, joining teammate Rohit Sharma and Australian Glenn Maxwell as batters with that many three-figure scores in the shortest format.

Suryakumar in the company of Jaiswal made 112 runs for an entertaining fourth-wicket alliance and trusted the true nature of the Wanderers' pitch to unfurl shots of the highest quality.

Their partnership also allowed India to wriggle out of a bit of a tight space after losing Shubman Gill (8) and Tilak Varma (0) off successive balls in the third over to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj.

India were 29 for 2 at that point. But the SuryakumarJaiswal stand was not all about flaunting a gun. They made a rather sturdy beginning, adding 33 runs in the final four overs of the Power Play and then another 25 runs in the overs between seven and 10.

Suryakumar, who gave all the space to his junior partner in the early part of the partnership, soon took over the role of chief aggressor.

He took those 360' shots out of the shelf to punish the SA bowlers who did not have much variety to tame Suryakumar on a benign pitch. (PTI)