India beat South Africa in thriller to clinch T20I series 2-1

TIL Desk Sports/ India brought curtains down on a highly successful South Africa tour by clinching the Twenty20I series 2-1 with a seven-run win in the deciding third match at Newlands Cape Town on Saturday.

India’s challenging tour had started at this very ground on January 5 and it culminated with a convincing win, which came in the absence of skipper Virat Kohli who did not play Saturday’s match due to stiff back.

India got off to a flourishing start with Suresh Raina (43 off 27) clobbering South African bowlers but the hosts succeeded in straight-jacketing the batsmen by taking the pace off the ball as the visitors settled for 172 for seven.

Later, India choked South Africa with a remarkable disciplined bowling effort in the Power Play overs as they restricted the hosts to 165 for six to not only end the challenging tour on a high but also register a maiden T20 series win on South African soil.