MATCH REPORT
Follow UsBeing sent to bat, South Africa got off to the worst start possible, losing the opener Janneman Malan (1) to one of India’s four changes – Deepak Chahar. The Indian pacer swung the ball ever-so late to find the edge as the Proteas were 8/1.
While Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma timed the ball beautifully, the latter was dismissed by a sharp piece of work from the Indian skipper KL Rahul, as the hosts crumbled to 34/2 after seven overs.
Aiden Markram, who walked in at No.4, played three stunning shots for a 14-ball 15 before holing out to the substitute fielder Ruturaj Gaikwad in the deep as the Proteas were reduced to 70/3. However, the partnership between South African opener de Kock and one of South Africa’s ODI mainstays – Rassie van der Dussen turned things around.
The two worked the Indian spinners – Jayant Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal – over while still taking the risk against Indian pacers. Prasidh Krishna, who made his way into the playing XI was on the expensive end of things after five overs, a phase where India completely lost their way in the third ODI.
During the course of the 144-run partnership, the wicketkeeper-batter scored his sixth ODI century against India, in an innings filled with swagger and risk, in just his 16th innings against the Men in Blue. Not just that, the left-hander also went past Adam Gilchrist’s record of most centuries as a wicketkeeper-opener (16), with his 130-ball 124.
At the time of his dismissal, the Proteas were sailing at 214/4 but quick wickets in the next five overs change the complexion of the encounter as the hosts reeled at 228/6. A steady hand from the all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius, who walked in Tabraiz Shamsi’s replacement, took the hosts to a salvageable total of 287 after 49.5 overs.
For the visitors, Prasidh made a comeback in his last five overs, picking up 3/59, as the duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Deepak Chahar picked up two apiece. Amongst the spinners, Jayant Yadav impressed but went wicketless as did Shreyas Iyer, who rolled his arm for three overs. Yuzvendra Chahal picked up the only wicket.
A reply and half from India
India, like South Africa, lost an early wicket as skipper Rahul for the second time in this series walked off without making much of an impact (9). The partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli once again frustrated the Proteas, who found no real weakness in their armor. Dhawan continued his merry run with yet another half-century.
But soon after bringing up his half-century, the southpaw (61) skied the ball straight into the centurion de Kock’s hands as South African all-rounder, Andile Phehlukwayo, struck a vital blow. Rishabh Pant, who was once again promoted at No.4 found the most bizarre way of getting dismissed, with a first-ball duck, his second in the format.
On the back of Pant’s dismissal, the onus was on Shreyas Iyer and Kohli to steady the ship. The two looked in total control to take India home before Keshav Maharaj delivered the lusty blow, removing former Indian skipper Kohli (65) after he brought up his sixth half-century in his last eight games. At 156/4, India were in a situation of bother for the third game in a row.
The partnership between Iyer (26) and Suryakumar Yadav blossomed, with the later being the aggressor in the partnership, with a 32-ball 39. However, once the two got out, the pressure was on the lower-order to seal the deal, at 210/6. When the game was sliding away from India, Deepak Chahar’s blinder against all odds pushed India to a remarkable win.
Chahar consistently found the boundary and the hopes of an Indian victory only blossomed when the Rajasthan all-rounder struck two massive six off Dwaine Pretorius’ bowling. The all-rounder then backed it up by scoring two boundaries against former IPL teammate Lungi Ngidi, taking India closer to a famous win.
But as the equation lowered down to ten runs, Chahar skied a slower ball straight to Pretorious as South Africa sensed a final chance of making a timely return. When Jasprit Bumrah was dismissed in the penultimate over of the innings, India required seven runs off just nine balls.
However, Pretorius ensured that he took his side over the line with the ball, as the Proteas clinched the third ODI by four runs, completing a 3-0 whitewash over the visitors.
Brief Scores: South Africa 287/10 (Quinton de Kock 124, Rassie van der Dussen 54; Prasidh Krishna 3/59) beat India 283/10 (Virat Kohli 65, Shikhar Dhawan 61, Deepak Chahar 54; Andile Phehlukwayo 3/40) by four runs