Continuing their resurgence from Vizag, where they beat the visitors by 48 runs, a relentless, ruthless India, cheered on by 28,000-plus enthusiastic fans at the SCA Stadium here on Friday, blew away South Africa by 82 runs in the fourth T20I to square the series after being down 0-2. India’s comeback makes them the favourites to win the final game in Bangalore on Sunday and clinch the series against an increasingly vulnerable-looking SA. Riding on Dinesh Karthik’s magical 55 (27b; 9x4, 2x6) and Hardik Pandya’s 46 (31b; 3x4, 3x6), the hosts scored 169/6, a total which looked impossible when the hosts were tottering at 56/3 after the first 10 overs. Thereafter, making the ball bounce menacingly, seamer Avesh Khan, who was under pressure after having gone wicketless while conceding 87 runs in 11 overs coming into this match, produced a fiery spell, taking 4/18 off his four overs, which included 15 dot balls, to send South Africa crashing to 87 all out in just 16.5 overs. This is SA’s lowest score in T20Is. It was a terrific comeback by the 25-year-old Avesh, who said he would dedicate the performance to his father Ashique Khan on his birthday.
