In Visakhapatnam, India has beaten South Africa by nine wickets in the third and final ODI, taking the series to a 2-1 victory and ending with a clinical chase with 61 balls to go.
The main character of the chase was Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made 116 not out off 121, his first ODI hundred and the ninth international century. Alongside, Rohit Sharma, who made 75 from 73, and the ruthless finisher Virat Kohli, who finished 65 not out off 45, complete an amazing chase.
Rohit and Jaiswal first wicket stand brought 155 runs in 25.5 overs, thus taking the pressure off and setting a fast tempo of the game. After Rohit was dismissed while going for a sweep shot from Keshav Maharaj’s bowling, Kohli came and instantly took the team to a higher speed with an unbroken 116-run partnership with Jaiswal.
Kohli hammered the ball to the fence and the chase was brought to an end in 39.5 overs, which was the way he ruled over all the matches. He showed his class by scoring a total of 302 runs at an average of 151.00, a figure that was used to describe India’s 9 wicket win over South Africa as a strong statement and a fine piece of cricket.
Jaiswal’s landmark innings happened in his 4th ODI and put him in an extraordinary position. Thus, he is the 6th Indian with three kinds of 100s, proving himself multi-talented with the 7th-hundred mark in Tests and 1 in T20Is already.
South Africa’s 270 reined in by Krishna and Kuldeep
India let in the first ball in a day-night game against the visiting South Africans at Visakhapatnam after winning the toss and electing to bowl first on a pitch soaked with dew and to uncontested fielding conditions.
De Kock belted out 106 off 89 in his aggressive style and his stand of 113 with his partner, Bavuma, who was a tad cautious and scored 48, they managed to set a favorable stage for the engineers or a possible 300-plus venture-push. The home side also lost their way, and the dew further favored India while fielding was, therefore, a more suitable option to begin with as this matched their current team.
The middle-lower-order saw the downfall of South Africa while Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep, who both took four wickets each, were the most severe bowlers and amongst the wickets. The Proteas were finally bowled out for 270 in 47.5 overs.
Krishna’s sharp bounce created mistakes whereas Kuldeep’s numerous tactics prevented scoring and resulted in both openers falling during the innings. The moment the handbrake was put up, the chase blueprint of India became very clear, i.e., no matter what, they managed to have a solid start and continued with very calculated risks and relentless strike rotation.
The hosts South Africa again reshuffled their top-order putting Ryan Rickelton to partner with De Kock and at the same time, Aiden Markram was demoted to the No. 5 position. The strategy was aimed at power-packed last-overs batting, but the bowlers of the Men in Blue prevented the batsmen from achieving a platform on which to make the final onslaught.
Achievements and actions that mattered
During his innings Rohit went past the milestone of 20,000 international runs, a feat that shows his immense ODI cricket long-lasting career. With the end of the innings, Rohit hugged Kohli which was a moment that stayed with the fans as they shared it on various social media platforms.
How the decider impacted the series
India was not doing well earlier in the series, losing the Test series 0-2, but the home team was very clear regarding their win in the one-dayers. They made proper changes in their line-up, continued with their top orders and backed them up to get the total under the lights in Visakhapatnam.
Moreover, the outcome will be a key contribution to India’s roadmap in the ODI’s: a good left-right combination at the beginning, a no. 3 position which is versatile and good at scoring runs and not to mention some of the seam bowlers who get wickets in the middle overs. But what was the winning point for South Africa is that de Kock’s and Bavuma’s performances were very impressive during the match with no support from the other players and also the collapse at the end of their innings which was unexpected.
Key match facts: India vs South Africa, 3rd ODI, Visakhapatnam
South Africa 270 all out in 47.5 overs; de Kock 106, Bavuma 48; Kuldeep 4, Krishna 4. India 271/1 in 39.5 overs; Jaiswal 116*, Rohit 75, Kohli 65*. India won by nine wickets and clinched the ODI series 2-1.
South Africa entered the game with sound strategy, India ends up with a clear win. The side in blue found its flow, confirmed the series with grand figures and a margin similar to that of their previous victory.
