Credit: ICC
India took a dominating step forward in the five-match T20I series of South Africa’s Tour Of India 2025 by going 2–1 up against South Africa in the third T20I. Speaking on JioHotstar, JioStar experts Sanjay Bangar, Dale Steyn and Robin Uthappa highlighted India’s clarity of roles, smart captaincy, and the contrasting instability in South Africa’s approach.
Speaking on 'Cricket Live', JioStar expert Sanjay Bangar praised the discipline and execution of the Indian bowlers:
“Such a disciplined effort from the Indian bowlers. On a ground considered to be a batter’s paradise, where you expect to come under pressure, they made sure they picked up wickets with the new ball and swung it both ways; both Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. That has been the hallmark whenever they’ve got it right; they’ve troubled most top-order batters. Getting Reeza Hendricks at the top was a terrific setup from Arshdeep, followed by Harshit Rana with a special delivery—hurried and sharp through the air, which helped break the back of the middle order. This was followed by brilliant support bowling from Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. All in all, whatever was on offer for the seamers was exploited brilliantly by the Indian bowlers.”
Speaking on 'Cricket Live', JioStar expert Robin Uthappa analysed Abhishek Sharma’s confidence at the top of the order:
“Even before the series, he was playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and was just gunning teams down. So you knew he was in good form. It’s about spending some time out there, and I think that first ball from Lungi Ngidi really set things up for him. From there, there was no looking back. He understood that they were trying to stifle him with tight lengths on middle and leg stump, but if they erred even slightly, he was there to punish them. He’s already hit over 300 sixes in T20 cricket, which tells you what a powerful and dynamic batter he is. In fact, he reminds me of Sanath Jayasuriya—sheer dominance as an opening batter. It instils intimidation and fear in bowlers, something you only see when players are in scorching form. Despite being a youngster, he’s had a prolific year. Teams are planning for him, trying to bowl in areas where he doesn’t score, but he seems to have solutions. That proactive thinking is quite amazing.”
On Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy:
“It was smart captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav to extend the spells of both fast bowlers. He trusted Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya to do the job later if needed. The way he rotated and changed the bowlers was very well paced, pretty astute captaincy, definitely.”
Speaking on 'Cricket Live', JioStar expert Dale Steyn expressed concern over South Africa’s lack of consistency:
“The combination South Africa are trying to mix up is never quite the same every game, and I’m not sure what exactly they’re looking for. It creates insecurity among the batters because they don’t know where they’re batting or what their role is. David Miller batted superbly in the last game to guide South Africa past 200 along with Donovan Ferreira, and then in a game like this—at a ground where Miller has played the most, he’s sitting on the bench. I’m not understanding what South Africa are trying to do. If they’re saying they’re just experimenting, it almost sounds like they don’t care whether they win the series or not. There needs to be stability in selection. Continuous changes over the time makes it very difficult for the team to consistently perform.”
On Harshit Rana’s performance:
“What impresses me most is that he wants the ball in his hand. He didn’t play the first two games, got his opportunity in this game, and ran in hard and fast. You rarely see a captain push an opening bowler through three overs straight away, but both opening bowlers did that. It shows that Harshit Rana really wants to be part of this team. He grabbed his opportunity with both hands. He bowled on merit, exactly how he wanted to—very skilful. Above all, you can see the desire. It’s fantastic to see a player make the most of his chance.”
