South Africa outplayed India in Bengaluru by nine wickets in the third and final T20I to level the three-match series 1-1 on Sunday. The first match in Dharamshala was washed out due to rain.

Fast bowler Beuran Hendricks was declared Man of the Match, whereas Proteas skipper Quinton de Kock was declared Man of the Series.

South Africa restricted India to 134 for 9, courtesy Kagiso Rabada (3 for 39) and Beuran Hendricks (2 for 14). Later, a dominating 79 off 52 balls from de Kock helped the visitors chase down the target with more than three overs to spare.

De Kock shared a 76-run opening stand with Reeza Hendricks (28) which all but eliminated India’s slender chances of snatching a victory out of the match.

Hardik Pandya got the lone wicket of the innings as Hendricks holed out to Virat Kohli at mid-on but Temba Bavuma, playing his second T20I, then provided able assistance to his captain and saw South Africa cross the finishing line without any hiccups.

Earlier, Kohli won the toss and chose to bat first with an eye on testing the team’s abilities in defending a total.

The plan seemed to be working as Dhawan came out all guns blazing, underlining India’s intentions to take a more aggressive approach with the bat. His opening partner Rohit Sharma did not last long, being dismissed by Beuran Hendricks for 9.

Kohli, along with Dhawan, shared a 41-run stand for the second wicket before Dhawan holed out to Temba Bavuma at long-on off Tabraiz Shamsi for a quickfire 25-ball 36.

Kohli then tried to shift gears but ended up giving a catch to Andile Phehlukwayo at the square-leg boundary off Rabada. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer then struggled to rotate the strike, before the former fell for a slow 20-ball 19.

Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya’s 29-run stand was the only significant contribution India had after that as they set a target of 135 for South Africa to chase.

The first match of the series in Dharamshala was washed out without a ball being bowled while India won the second ended in an eight-wicket victory for India in Mohali.

Now the two teams meet next for the three-Test series — India’s second in the World Test Championships and South Africa’s first.

The first Test will be played from 2 October to 6 in Visakhapatnam.

Brief scores: India 134 for 9 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 36, Ravindra Jadeja 19; Kagiso Rabada 3/39); South Africa: 140 for 1 in 16.5 overs (Quinton de Kock 79 not out, Reeza Hendricks 28; Hardik Pandya 1/23)

(With inputs from IANS)