Seamer Beuran Hendricks and spinner Bjorn Fortuin were at the fore of captain Quinton de Kock’s praise, after the Proteas completed a nine-wicket win – and 1-1 series draw – over India in Sunday’s third and final T20I in Bengaluru.

Hendricks and Fortuin shared four key wickets in India’s final total of 134-9, after which De Kock led a successful pursuit of a 135-run target with 19 deliveries. De Kock struck a solid 79 not out from 52 deliveries.

Left-armer Hendricks replaced fast bowler Anrich Nortje in the XI and collected the Player of the Match award on the back of telling figures of 2-14 in four overs. His haul included the vital dismissals of opener Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Krunal Pandya.

‘Beuran bowled really well in the 2018 Mzansi Super League and has been working really hard on his bowling and his skill sets. He deserved a chance here and got it. I’m happy for him. He bowled really well. He has good skills. Sometimes it’s better on these wickets to take the pace off,’ said De Kock.

Left-armer Fortuin effectively outshone senior wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who was struck for successive sixes before dismissing opener Shikhar Dhawan. Fortuin had middle-order men Rishabh Pant and Shreyes Iyar caught at long-off and stumped, respectively.

‘With Shamsi, he just does what he does and he is always pretty consistent with the way that he bowls. But I am more impressed with Bjorn, who is a young spinner and has come into tough and challenging conditions. He was very clever in the way he mixed up his pace and the areas in which he bowled were good. I can only praise him at the highest level,’ added De Kock.

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