Jolted by humiliating losses in the first two matches of the series, a jittery India arrived in the crucial third T20I match against South Africa struggling in all the departments of the game. While the Indian cricket team's batting clicked in Delhi, their bowling let them down there, and in Cuttack Rishabh Pant and company put up a mediocre show both with bat and ball. Facing the daunting task of winning three matches on the trot to claim the series, Team India turned on the tables in Visakhapatnam as they went on to register a clinical 48-run victory. India had to thank Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel's brilliant performance with the ball for their comfortable win as the duo took four and three wickets each in the South African innings. On the other hand, openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan were the heroes of India's batting essay, having made quick-fire fifties to put up a healthy total of 179 on the board to defend. India's display in the game even left Pakistan legend Inzamam-ul-Haq impressed. The former Pakistan captain even highlighted the fact that Team India's triumph came without the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul featuring in the line-up as neither of them is part of the national squad at the moment. Crediting Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Ishan Kishan, and Ruturaj Gaikwad for India's win, Inzamam-ul-Haq liked their aggression on the field. He even lauded their fighting spirit for India's comeback in the series.

“India are still alive in the series now. The pressure is now upon South Africa as this Indian side will not lose so easily at home. The young faces of the team should be appreciated because they are fighting back. There were no Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in the side but still, they managed to pull out a terrific win,” Inzamam-ul-Haq said in a recent video on YouTube.

“Credit to Patel and Chahal for the way they bowled. The contest has now turned interesting. Earlier, it seemed that the Proteas will go and capture the series but India bowlers denied that,” the former Pakistan chairman of selectors added.

Inzamam-ul-Haq was in awe of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan's batting and claimed that when a team's openers bat like the two did, it is bound to lift the spirits in the camp. While Gaikwad made a scintillating 57 off 35 deliveries, Kishan wasn't to be left behind as he struck a sizzling 54 in the same number of balls.

“If you play like how [Ishan] Kishan and [Ruturaj] Gaikwad did, the morale of the team goes up. This shows India's depth. The second-string team are putting up a fight and it is great to see that. [Rahul] Dravid is already there in the dressing room who has experience working with the U-19 team and he is applying the same here as well,” Inzamam-ul-Haq asserted.

Former India speedster Ashish Nehra, on the other hand, was happy to see Yuzvendra Chahal return to his very best. In the first two games, the wrist-spinner looked out of sorts and struggled to pose many problems for the Proteas batters as he wasn't spinning the ball.

“We got to see the Chahal that we know, the aggressive Chahal. He varied his pace and length the way he usually does when he is at his best,” Ashish Nehra on Cricbuzz.

Ashish Nehra also pointed out that Yuzvendra Chahal made amends to his performance in Cuttack because he bowled defensive lines there, whereas, in the third match, he was aggressive from the word go, and reaped the rewards for it.

“Klaasen played very well in the previous match but I am sure, as is the case with any other bowler, Chahal must have thought that maybe he got a bit too defensive or he should have pitched up the ball a bit,” Nehra further said.

“Today the chance that Chahal created against Reeza Hendricks early in the game shows that he was getting some grip. He trapped the batters in the air and then he dismissed the number three, four and five batters. So by the time Chahal's three overs were done, South Africa were out of the match completely. Miracles do happen of course, we have seen Miller do it a couple of times. But to do that repeatedly is difficult,” Nehra summed up.

The fourth match between South Africa and India will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot where Rishabh Pant and his men would look to level the series.

The chances of that happening are pretty high if one looks at Team India's display in Visakhapatnam. Still, there are no guarantees in cricket, and the Indian team must keep their foot on the accelerator if they wish to emerge victorious in the series.