India moved 2-1 ahead in the series with a comfortable seven-wicket win over South Africa in seam-friendly Dharamsala, after a dominant bowling display restricted the visitors to just 117.
Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana set the tone early in conditions that heavily favoured the quicks. Arshdeep struck with a superb opening over, trapping Reeza Hendricks lbw with late movement, while Rana benefitted from swing and seam to remove Quinton de Kock and Dewald Brevis, leaving South Africa reeling at 7 for 3. Playing in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Rana impressed with his control, even if both his wickets came through uncharacteristic errors from the batters.
Aiden Markram provided the only real resistance, holding one end together as wickets fell around him. Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube chipped in with a wicket each, while Varun Chakravarthy played a crucial role in the middle overs. His figures of 2 for 11 from four overs halted any hopes of a recovery, as he dismissed Donovan Ferreira and Marco Jansen with deceptive wrong’uns. Despite Markram reaching a fighting half-century, Arshdeep returned to remove him late, ensuring South Africa were bowled out at least 20 runs short of a competitive total.
India’s chase was largely decided by Abhishek Sharma’s explosive start. He attacked the South African seamers from the outset, smashing 35 off just 18 balls to put India firmly in control. His powerplay assault meant India could absorb a brief wobble as Shubman Gill and the middle order took time to adjust to the movement on offer. With the target well under control, India reached 120 for 3 without alarm, sealing a convincing victory that underlined the impact of their bowlers and Abhishek’s decisive cameo at the top.
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