🏏South Africa tour of India 2025: India vs SA - 5th T20I, Ahmedabad🏏 - Page 16

More often double of 50+ runs & 1+ wkts in T20I (India)

4 - Hardik Pandya*

3 - Yuvraj Singh

2 - Virat Kohli

2 - Shivam Dube

India's win margin is way bigger than how close-run a thing this was. I don't think India breathed easy until Marco Jansen fell, the eighth wicket. In the end, Jasprit Bumrah's four overs proved to be the difference, and so did Hardik Pandya's innings. He was the first one who made the statement they can't be happy with 210. Tilak Varma joined him. And those extra 20 runs or so gave India an even hand at the end of 10 overs of the chase when South Africa were 118 for 1.

Aiden Markram: 230 was always gonna require a near-to-perfect chase. Top three set it up, middle order couldn't take it forward. But these lessons could prove to be very valuable looking ahead to WC. We wanted to expose Brewis against spin, he makes six hitting easy. We went with out gut feel [Brewis batting ahead of him]. Got asked some tough questions in this series. Nice to experience it, we know what we gotta do.

Hardik Pandya | Player of the Match: I have not played cricket to win PotM, I play cricket to win games. It is a good feeling to contribute to the win. It is good to know that. I told my team mate and partner that I am going to step out the first ball and whack it for six. Today was the day and had to make the most of the opportunity. It feels good when it comes through. It is a quite satisfying day.

Varun Chakaravarthy | Player of the Series: It was a high tense match today, it was the best match of the series and I enjoyed it. That has been the role given to me; my first option is to look for wickets and then contain. I do talk to all of them, SKY, Sanju and others as well. Just keep evolving; try something new every series. I would like to dedicate this to my mom, dad and sister.

Suryakumar Yadav: From the start of the series, we wanted to stick to a particular brand of cricket and we did exactly that. We didn’t try to do anything different. We wanted to express ourselves in all departments and the results are right there in front of everyone. Yeah, this is something we felt was missing in our last few series. This is exactly how we wanted to bat, once someone gets going, they don’t stop. We wanted that relentless intent, and today it worked beautifully. Yes, we wanted to try something different. The plan was to use Bumrah in one over in the powerplay, control the middle phase after drinks and then have him ready for the death overs. Washi stepped up brilliantly today and took responsibility. We were under pressure at times, we were challenged, but this game is about how you respond and the boys did really well. It’s been challenging but a very good series. We did almost everything we wanted to. Maybe the only thing we couldn’t quite manage was finding “Surya the batter” I think he went missing somewhere!(smiles) But he’ll be back stronger. As a team, I’m really happy. Whenever we were in trouble, someone always put their hand up and pulled us through. As captain, that’s very satisfying.

That brings an end to South Africa’s tour of India and they can certainly look back on it as a successful one. They whitewashed India in the Tests, pushed them hard in the ODIs before narrowly losing 2-1, and used the T20I series to fine-tune their squad ahead of the upcoming World Cup here. India, too, will take plenty of positives from the T20Is - valuable match practice, a clearer understanding of their strengths and a good look at areas that still need attention before the mega event in February. There are still a few questions to be answered and they’ll hope to iron those out when New Zealand come visiting next month

Hardik Pandya | Player of the Match: Winning games is what you play for and it’s always exciting when your contribution helps the team get over the line. No, I actually didn’t know (he has the second fastest fifty for India) until I got out and went back. Our social media guys told me I was the second-fastest. My first reaction was, “Ah, I missed the top spot!” But happy that Yuvi pa holds that record. Today I just felt it. I actually told my partner beforehand that I was going to step out first ball and try to hit it for six. I was confident it would come off. The situation suited my style; I backed myself and it worked. I took a calculated risk and thankfully it went my way. I’ve always enjoyed the challenge. No matter how many setbacks you face, the aim is to come back stronger, better, and make a bigger impact. When it all comes together, it feels satisfying. But the journey continues - the preparation, the planning, the hard work never stops.

Varun Chakaravarthy | Player of the Series: It was a high-intensity match and probably the best game of the series. I really enjoyed it. That’s the role assigned to me; my first option is always to look for wickets. There’s no reason not to. So whenever I get the ball, my mindset is to attack and look to make an impact. I talk to all of them - Surya, Sanju and others. They always encourage me and those conversations really help. (How do you stay ahead of the curve?) Just by constantly evolving. I try to bring something new every series. If it works, great; if not, I go back, work on it and come back stronger. That’s how I keep improving. I would like to dedicate this to my mom, dad, and sister.

Suryakumar Yadav: From the start of the series, we wanted to stick to a particular brand of cricket and we did exactly that. We didn’t try to do anything different. We wanted to express ourselves in all departments and the results are right there in front of everyone. Yeah, this is something we felt was missing in our last few series. This is exactly how we wanted to bat, once someone gets going, they don’t stop. We wanted that relentless intent, and today it worked beautifully. Yes, we wanted to try something different. The plan was to use Bumrah in one over in the powerplay, control the middle phase after drinks and then have him ready for the death overs. Washi stepped up brilliantly today and took responsibility. We were under pressure at times, we were challenged, but this game is about how you respond and the boys did really well. It’s been challenging but a very good series. We did almost everything we wanted to. Maybe the only thing we couldn’t quite manage was finding “Surya the batter” I think he went missing somewhere!(smiles) But he’ll be back stronger. As a team, I’m really happy. Whenever we were in trouble, someone always put their hand up and pulled us through. As captain, that’s very satisfying.