Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], December 7 : The Indian and South African men's cricket teams on Sunday arrived in Bhubaneswar ready to kick off their five-match T20 series. The teams are gearing up for the first T20 match, starting on December 9 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
India is heading into the T20 series with a brilliant 2-1 victory in the ODI series against South Africa.
Pankaj Lochan Mohanty, President of the Odisha Cricket Association, ahead of the first T20, emphasised foolproof security arrangements and a warm reception at Hotel Mayfair at Bhubaneswar for both teams. He mentioned that practice sessions are scheduled for both teams on Monday at the Barabati Stadium.
Regarding Stadium Preparedness, Mohanty has also assured that the Barabati Stadium is fully prepared, with all peach arrangements in place. He expected that cricket lovers would enjoy the match.
Coming to the third ODI, the Proteas lost Ryan Rickelton for a duck, and an 113-run stand between Quinton de Kock (106 in 89 balls, with eight fours and six sixes) and skipper Temba Bavuma (48 in 67 balls, with five fours) followed.
Quinton also had a 54-run stand with Matthew Breetzke (24 in 23 balls, with two sixes), and the Proteas stumbled to five wickets down for 199 runs, with Prasidh Krishna (4/66) causing some mayhem.
Dewald Brevis (29 in 29 balls, with two fours and a six) and Marco Jansen (17 in 15 balls, with two fours) tried to counter-attack, but a fine spell from Kuldeep (4/41) sunk them to 270 all out in 47.5 overs from a solid position of 234/5.
India chased down the target in 39.5 overs, with Rohit (75 in 73 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) putting on a 155-run stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who got his maiden ODI ton.
Jaiswal, who ended with 116* in 121 balls, with 12 fours and three sixes, had put on another century stand with Virat (65* in 45 balls, with six fours and three sixes) to end the series dominantly.