South Africa clinch series 2-0 after Kolkata washout

The Proteas win the Twenty20 series by 2-0

The third and final Twenty20 international between India and South Africa has been called off due to the wet outfield at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. South Africa win the series by 2-0. With the series win, the Proteas move up one place to fifth rank in the International Cricket Council’s T20I Team Rankings. One the other hand, India slip two places to sixth.

The two on-field umpires Anil Chaudhury and Vineet Kulkarni arrived at the decision after four inspections, eventually calling off play at 9.30 pm local time. They came to a conclusion that there was no significant improvement in the underfoot conditions to ensure the fielders wouldn’t be put in any danger.

The visitors had already taken a winning 2-0 series lead after the victory in the second T20I in Cuttack. All-rounder Jean Paul Duminy was declared the Man-of-the-Series for his two unbeaten innings.

In the post-match (which didn’t happen) ceremony, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni talked about the changes he wanted to make in the final match.

“We wanted to make a few changes in the side, we were supposed to make three changes. We wanted to try different stuff, but it's sad that we couldn't play today. You want to come to the Eden Gardens and play, but it's sad that everyone was left disappointed.

“Rahane would have opened the batting today, Raina would have batted at number 3, we would have played Mishra and Binny as well. I have played here a lot. The outfield, we knew, wouldn't change a lot because there was no sun to dry it up quickly. Since the shower was extremely heavy in the afternoon, it was always going to be difficult for the groundstaff.

“Dew will always be a factor when you play after September in India. It doesn't affect your game plan. We want to make the most of the series. We also don't want a lot of grass with the dew around. We have to work harder.”

The South African captain Faf du Plessis expressed his disappointment over the spoilsport at Eden. He talked about how difficult it is to win in India and added that India will come back strongly.

”It's disappointing with the rain playing spoilsport today. But, it's a long tour for us and we are all looking ahead to the ODI series. We all know how hard it is to win in India. With this series win, we are extremely happy with what we have achieved.

“However, India will also come back hard and we will have to continue playing well. There's a huge support structure in the team. With different captains across different formats, it has been working well for us. Kagiso Rabada, the way he came back in the second game, it was fantastic. In fact, all the bowlers were fantastic.

“For me, the standout performance has come from the pacers. We pulled things back towards the end in the first game and to bowl India out for 92 in the second T20I, it was a big achievement.”

Most runs in the series

Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s
RG Sharma (India)	2	2	0	128	106	64	90	142.22	1	0	14	5
JP Duminy (SA)	2	2	2	98	68*	-	73	134.24	0	1	4	7
AB de Villiers (SA)	2	2	0	70	51	35	53	132.07	0	1	9	1
V Kohli (India)	2	2	0	44	43	22	28	157.14	0	0	1	3
F Behardien (SA)	2	2	1	43	32*	43	41	104.87	0	0	4	1

Most wickets in the series

Player	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
R Ashwin (India)	2	2	8	0	50	4	12.5	6.25	12	0	0
JA Morkel (SA)	1	1	4	0	12	3	4	3	8	0	0
CH Morris (SA)	2	2	6.2	0	62	3	20.66	9.78	12.6	0	0
KJ Abbott (SA)	2	2	7	0	50	2	25	7.14	21	0	0
Imran Tahir (SA)	2	2	7	0	59	2	29.5	8.42	21	0	0

It was unfortunate that we didn’t have the game, but the Proteas are on a long tour and the five-match one-day international series will start from October 11.