5 records/milestones made by India during their 30-run victory in IND vs SA 2025 5th T20I ft. Hardik Pandya

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya showcased his class with the bat in the fifth T20I between India and South Africa. The game was played in Ahmedabad on Friday, December 19. The Men in Blue won the game by 30 runs and sealed the five-match series 3-1.

Batting first, India posted a massive total of 231/5 on the board. Openers Abhishek Sharma (34) and Sanju Samson (37) got the team off to a blazing start. Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya then carried the show with absolute carnage. Tilak smashed a 42-ball 73 while Hardik slammed a quickfire half-century.

In reply, South Africa also got off to a solid start. They got close to the total but eventually fell short. The Proteas were restricted to 201/8. Varun Chakaravarthy led the charge as he bagged four wickets with the ball. Jasprit Bumrah picked up a couple while Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh chipped in with one each.

On that note, let us take a look at five records/milestones made by India in the fifth T20I against South Africa.

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#5 Joint third-fastest to 1000 T20I runs for India

Sanju Samson opened the batting, replacing Shubman Gill. The right-hander played an impactful knock at the top. He scored a quickfire 37 off just 22 balls. In the process, he became the joint third-fastest Indian to reach the 1000-run landmark in T20Is, doing so in 679 balls. All-rounder Hardik Pandya also took the same number of deliveries. Abhishek Sharma (528 balls) is at the top, followed by Suryakumar Yadav (573 balls).

Moreover, Samson also became only the seventh Indian batter to cross 8000 runs in T20s. He has 1032 runs in 52 T20Is and 8033 runs in 320 T20s.

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#4 Second-fastest T20I fifty for India

Hardik Pandya struck a 25-ball 63 with five boundaries and as many sixes at a stunning strike rate of 252. He got to his half-century off just 16 balls. This was the second-fastest fifty by an Indian batter in T20Is.

Hardik Pandya is behind Yuvraj Singh, who holds the record for the fastest fifty in T20Is by an Indian batter. He had slammed a 12-ball fifty against England during the 2007 T20 World Cup.

Hardik Pandya surpassed Abhishek Sharma, who is third on the list with a 17-ball half-century. KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav follow with 18-ball fifties.

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#3 Most runs for India against South Africa in T20Is

Tilak Varma now has the most runs for India against South Africa in T20Is. Courtesy of his 42-ball 73, he has 496 runs in 10 innings at an average of 70.85 and a strike rate of 163.15 with two hundreds and as many half-centuries.

Tilak went past Rohit Sharma, who previously held the record with 429 runs in 17 innings at an average of 26.81 and a strike rate of 130 with a hundred and two half-centuries.

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#2 Third-highest team total for IND vs SA T20Is

India's total of 231/5 is the third-highest team total in T20Is involving the two countries. They went past their previous total of 219/6 at Centurion in 2024 during the third T20I of the series.

During the second T20I in Guwahati in 2022, the Men in Blue had posted a total of 237/3, which is the second-highest. In the fourth match of the 2024 series, India recorded their highest total against South Africa, putting up a mammoth 283/1.

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#1 Joint-most T20I wickets in 2025 (Full member nations)

Varun Chakaravarthy became the joint-highest wicket-taker in T20Is in 2025. He now has 36 wickets and is tied with Pakistan's Mohammed Nawaz. Varun went past Jacob Duffy (35 wickets) and Rishad Hossain (33 wickets).

He also became the joint second-highest wicket-taker for India in a calendar year in T20Is with 36 scalps, only behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar (37). Moreover, he also became the joint second-highest wicket-taker among spinners in a calendar year in T20Is. He joined Mohammed Nawaz, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Wanindu Hasaranga on the list. Hasaranga is also at the top with 38 scalps.

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Edited by Rishab Vm