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• Tilak's unbeaten ton helps India take lead against South Africa

  Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten 107 as India went 2-1 up in their T20I series against South Africa, claiming a nail-biting victory in Wednesday's third match in Centurion.

  Following their surprise defeat in Sunday's second match, the tourists bounced back to earn their 10th win in their last 12 outings in the format, putting them on the brink of a series triumph.

  Tilak was the star of the show as he produced comfortably the best score of his T20I career, surpassing a knock of 55 versus Bangladesh last year in some style, while only facing 56 balls.

  He hit eight fours and seven maximums to set South Africa a target of 220 for victory, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 50 from 25 deliveries in support before Keshav Maharaj broke their partnership in the ninth over.

  Despite six of India's batsmen scoring 18 runs or fewer and four – Sanju Samson (0), Suryakumar Yadav (1), Rinku Singh (8) and Axar Patel (1) – being limited to single figures, the damage had largely been done already.

  South Africa were then dropped to 84-4 within their first 10 overs as Varun Chakravarthy claimed the crucial wickets of Reeza Hendricks (12) and Aiden Markram (29).

  Heinrich Klaasen's incredible 54 off 17 balls dragged South Africa back into contention, and they required 18 runs from four deliveries in a grandstand finish, but Arshdeep Singh trapped the hosts' dangerman lbw to secure India's victory.

  Having fallen short of their target by just 11 runs, the Proteas must now win Friday's fourth match to salvage a 2-2 draw from the series.

  Data Debrief: Big-hitting India on the brink

  Tilak recorded a strike rate of 191.07 while Abhishek was at 200.00 as their early partnership powered India towards victory.

  India have now hit over 200 sixes in T20I matches this calendar year, only previously surpassing that figure in the format in one previous year – recording 289 in 2022.

• Pressure to win for England is a 'privilege', says Wigglesworth

  Senior England coach Richard Wigglesworth believes that the pressure to win matches is part of the privilege of playing for the national team.

  England face world champions South Africa at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday with displeasure growing after four straight defeats.

  Included in that run were narrow losses in their first two Autumn Nations Series games against New Zealand and Australia. 

  Though England have won three of their last four games against South Africa at Allianz Stadium, Wigglesworth insisted everyone within the squad wants to improve. 

  "This job of being part of the England team is such a privilege, because so many people care, which makes your feeling on the matter really big," Wigglesworth told BBC Sport.

  "Our job is to step back from that and see what was right, what was wrong, and what can we fix.

  "We need to see the game for what it is, make the decisions for what they are, and get better every week.

  "It is our job to make sure the players understand as much as they can that they can’t get affected by that as well.

  "We know the attention the team gets is result-dependent, and rightly so."

  The last time England and South Africa faced one another was in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in 2023, in which the Springboks came back from 15-6 down to win 16-15.

  England will have to be wise to how the visitors have evolved since that game according to Wigglesworth.

  "They have a squad and a plan they have done for a while, and when you are successful you tend to stick to things," he said.

  "I have really enjoyed watching what they do, and how they do it. It is our job to meet that and rise to it."

• Springboks aiming to have 'two best teams in the world', says Esterhuizen

  South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen said that the Springboks are aiming to have "the two best teams in the world" ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash against England.

  The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions. 

  South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure. 

  Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.

  "One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

  "It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.

  "The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.

  "We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."

  South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.

  Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.

  England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses. 

  "It's a great space, I obviously love to play there," Esterhuizen added. "It will be great to be running at Marcus, not run off him.

  "It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."

  The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.