IND vs SA 2025-26, 5th T20I, Highlights: Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy shine as India clinch series 3-1.
Brief Scores: IND 231/5 (Tilak Varma 73, Hardik Pandya 63, Corbin Bosch 2/44) beat SA 201/8 (Quinton de Kock 65, Varun Chakravarthy 4/53, Jasprit Bumrah, 2/17) by 30 runs and win series by 3-1.
Player of the Match: Hardik Pandya (63 off 25, 1/41)
Player of the Series: Varun Chakravarthy (10 Wickets)
The abandoned fourth T20I in Lucknow gave India an unassailable 2-1 lead heading into the fifth T20I of the five-match series against South Africa. The Proteas had the chance to end the tour on a winning note as the final clash took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
A black soil surface was used for this contest, which appeared slightly dry. Therefore, the spinners were expected to get some turn off the track. There was an even layer of grass, which meant there was good bounce to aid stroke-play.
South Africa’s captain, Aiden Markram, won the toss and decided to bowl first, keeping the dew factor in mind. They brought in their left-arm spinner, George Linde, in place of Anrich Nortje’s expressive pace. Meanwhile, India finally gave a chance to Sanju Samson in place of the injured Shubman Gill. Besides that, Washington Sundar also came into the eleven along with Jasprit Bumrah.
Read More: IND vs SA 2025-26, 3rd T20I: Combined bowling effort helps India brush aside Proteas in Dharamsala
Talking point: Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form with the bat & captaincy tactics
Suryakumar Yadav continued his poor T20I form as he finished 2025 with only 218 runs in 19 innings at 13.62. He didn’t score a single fifty in the entire year, which has been a concern heading into the T20 World Cup 2026. Even in this series, his highest score was 12.
In this game, his captaincy wasn’t up to the mark either. Despite seeing Quinton de Kock’s current form against Arshdeep Singh, he gave two overs inside the powerplay to the left-arm pacer. He could have brought Hardik Pandya or Shivam Dube to show some variety.
Read More: Suryakumar Yadav has been decent with the bat in SMAT 2025-26, but India need him to contribute more
Hardik Pandya & Tilak Varma’s 105-run stand propels India to 231/5
Abhishek Sharma began the innings in his aggressive fashion with four boundaries in the first couple of overs. But Samson’s pick-up shot for a six over the wide-on caught the eyes of the spectators. The latter overtook Abhishek in the brutal batting for their 63-run opening stand in just 5.4 overs. The message from the dressing room was clear-keep nailing the big shots.
Tilak Varma didn’t waste much time and notched up his sixth T20I fifty in just 30 deliveries. Meanwhile, Suryakumar continued to struggle and returned with five runs in seven balls.
Hardik Pandya walked in at number five with full freedom and recorded a 16-ball half-century. South Africa looked clueless with their bowling plan. Hardik and Varma’s 105-run fourth-wicket stand off just 44 balls fired the hosts to 231/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
Read More: Time for India to rope in in-form opening partner for Abhishek Sharma in T20Is
India’s exceptional bowling pockets 30-run victory to clinch series by 3-1
South Africa went off to a flying start thanks to the 69-run opening stand. Opener Quinton de Kock recorded his fifty in just 30 balls. Even after Reeza Hendricks’ wicket, the visitors continued their dominance, thanks to Dewald Brevis’ brutal batting. But Bumrah broke the momentum with the dangerous wicket de Kock’s wicket for 65 as Hardik removed Brevis in the very next over.
Meanwhile, the Proteas faced a massive slump in the middle, losing four wickets for 15 runs in 14 balls. Arshdeep returned into the attack to send back David Miller, which was the final hope of the chase for the Rainbow Nation. They could only stretch the score to 201/8 as India clinched the series with a 3-1 margin thanks to the 30-run victory.
What’s next
India will announce their T20 World Cup 2026 squad on December 20 at 1:30 pm. That squad is expected to feature in the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January. However, before that, the two teams will lock horns in the three-match ODI series, starting on January 11 at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara.
Read More: IND vs SA 2025-26, 2nd T20I: De Kock 90, Jansen 2-25 headline South Africa win; series pegged 1-1
Statistical highlights from IND vs SA 5th T20I, Ahmedabad
- Sanju Samson crossed the mark of 1000 runs in T20Is.
- Suryakumar Yadav has recorded 125 runs in 18 innings against pacers in T20Is in 2025. His average is 8.30 at a strike rate of 109.60, besides 15 dismissals.
- Hardik Pandya and Tilak Verma record India’s highest fourth-wicket T20I partnership (105) against South Africa.
- Hardik Pandya ends 2025 as India’s third leading T20I run-getter. He notched up 302 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 153.29 with three fifties.
- India’s 231/5 becomes their third-highest T20I score against South Africa.
- Varun Chakravarthy has dismissed Aiden Markram four times in T20Is at an average of 11.2.
Top Twitter Reactions from IND vs SA, 5th T20I, Ahmedabad, 2025-26
Absolutely loved the approach of Tilak Varma from the first ball. There is Something special this player.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) December 19, 2025
With T20 World Cup round the corner, Surya's form is a bigger concern for India's than Gill's. India has many opening options but a designated captain can't be replaced.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) December 14, 2025
It’s not easy defending targets at Ahmedabad, Hardik and Tilak partnership ensured India got an above par score. VC is a weapon in the middle overs, and Bumrah is a cheat code. Good series win against a really good SA side. Well played Team India 👏 #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/SHNhiiGASe
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) December 19, 2025
Read More: IND vs SA 2025-26, 1st T20I: Pandya’s all-round show, bowlers’ good work help India smash SA
