(Cricket News) A remarkable all-around performance from India’s attack, whose seamers challenged South Africa on both the inside and outside edge and whose spinners found grip and turn, supported Suryakumar Yadav’s record-equaling fourth T20I century, which contributed just under half of India’s total at the Wanderers and ensured they shared the series with South Africa.

By the time Kuldeep Yadav entered the attack in the tenth over, South Africa’s chase was all but over; they were 66 for 4, with only specialist batter David Miller remaining, and they had to score at more than 12 runs an over. On his 29th birthday, Kuldeep Yadav finished with a career-best 5 for 17, taking all of his wickets in the span of 12 balls.

The reason their task seemed so difficult was because of Suryakumar, who played a bold innings at a high altitude ground, sharing a third wicket partnership of 112 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Suryakumar hit eight of India’s twelve sixes and seven fours, while Jaiswal scored 60 off 41 balls, his third half-century in 14 T20I innings. Together, they set the stage for India to reach well over 200, even though they did not need to.

With 29 runs from the first two overs, India were in control, and Aiden Markram had to resort to his most consistent bowler, Keshav Maharaj, to get them out of a hole. The left-arm spinner gave the captain exactly what he wanted with his second ball, beating Shubman Gill in flight as it drifted in.

Gill missed his sweep and was struck on the front pad and given out; he took a while to consider a review before deciding against it, but he will regret that decision. Replays revealed that the ball was missing leg. By the time Maharaj had removed Markram, Tilak Varma had hit a full ball straight to Markram at mid-off.

With Maharaj giving just one run to end his opening over, Suryakumar faced the hat-trick ball and played it along the ground to cover. His overall analysis of 2 for 24 off four overs was the most economical of the South African assault.

After Jaiswal’s duck at St George’s Park, he bounced back with an entertaining fifty off 34 balls and was leading his captain until the 13th over. With pace becoming too tempting for the batters, Andile Phehlukwayo went for a slower ball, but Suryakumar picked it up early and sent it over long-on for six.

Suryakumar Yadav then sent the next delivery through short third for four, and hit Phehlukwayo for back-to-back sixes over wide long-on and midwicket to reach fifty in 32 balls, which was less than Jaiswal’s. He became the first batsman to record four hundreds in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), joining Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell with his next fifty runs off 23 balls.

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