SA vs IND, 3rd ODI, Review: Virat Kohli and spinners blow South Africa away

India have defeated South Africa by 124 runs in the third ODI of the six-match series at Newlands in Cape Town on Wednesday. The hosts didn’t have any answers to the wrist-spinners of India and were completely bogged down while playing them in the middle overs. The visitors cannot lose the series now and are clear favourites to win the series comprehensively. However, Virat Kohli was the difference between the two teams who literally batted out of his skins after coming out to bat in the second over of the innings.

South Africa won the toss and there was no hesitation in the mind of Aiden Markram to field first. While the hosts brought Andile Phehlukwayo back in the side at the expense of Tabraiz Shamsi, the Men in Blue had no reason to change their winning combination. Though they were rocked early as Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a six-ball duck by Kagiso Rabada. He had also got the better of Virat Kohli on the duck as well by pinning him in front of the stumps, only to be overturned off the review.

Kohli special greets Cape Town

Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan absolutely tonked the bowlers after a steady start. The latter was especially in the mood to score big on the day and was well on the path. But the brilliance of Markram on the field cut-short his knock on 76 which he had scored off just 63 deliveries. The wicket came at a right time for the hosts as they squeezed the runs soon after. The visitors also lost the wickets after that at regular intervals with the spinners taking control on a sluggish pitch.

Amidst all the happenings at the other end, Virat Kohli was playing a different level of cricket altogether. He was in no hurry whatsoever and kept on rotating the strike. He was a little scratchy in his stay but made sure he didn’t throw away his wicket. Meanwhile, he notched up his mammoth 34th ODI ton in the 40th over and was set to launch an assault. But India kept on losing wickets at the other end which didn’t help the cause of the captain fantastic. Though he kept his cool and played until the end for his side.

He stitched a crucial unbeaten partnership of 67 runs with Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the seventh wicket and scored his third score of more than 150. He finished the Indian innings with a lovely pull over deep mid-wicket which proved his class on a tough pitch. In the end, India posted a hefty total of 303 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 50 overs as Kohli remained not-out on 160 off 159 deliveries with 12 fours and a couple of meaty blows over the fence.

JP Duminy was the pick of the bowlers as he picked a couple of important wickets in the middle overs of Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane. All the other bowlers apart from Lungi Ngidi scalped a batter each but went for runs as well.

The chase which went wrong from the word go

South Africa needed someone like Hashim Amla to bring all his experience together in a run-chase to keep his team in the hunt to win the series. But he was caught plumb in front by Jasprit Bumrah on the first ball of his spell. Though the duo of the skipper Aiden Markram and Duminy added 78 runs for the second wicket, most of which came when the pacers were bowling. The former played some delightful strokes in between which gave the home supporters a sigh of relief.

Even Duminy looked solid only until the wrist-spinners came to the fore. It was Kuldeep Yadav to provide the breakthrough after Markram played all over the pitched up delivery and lost his balance. MS Dhoni was not going to miss the chance and whipped off the bails in a flash which was also his 400th dismissal in the ODI format. There was a complete draught of boundaries then as the batsmen continued to struggle against the spinners. They played them in a better way but bogged down which increased the pressure on them.

With the things not moving on with the spinners, Kohli decided to bring his fast bowlers on and reaped instant rewards as Bumrah scalped David Miller to end any realistic chances of their victory with required rate soaring above 10. Chahal and Kuldeep soon joined hands again to end the misery of South Africans. Both yet again shared 8 wickets between them for just 55 runs as the home side was bundled out for 179 runs.

The lower order literally had no idea what the ball was doing and it was no surprise that they unravelled quickly. While Chahal ended with the figures of 4/46, Kuldeep was even more miserly conceding only 23 runs for his four wickets and finished the innings in the 40th over. Virat Kohli was named Man of the Match for his stupendous knock which eventually made the difference in the end.

India now lead the series by 3-0 and would love to continue being ruthless and win the series in the Pink ODI on February 10 itself. Though the hosts are expecting AB de Villiers to get fit in time for the game and will be hugely bolstered in the batting department. Hopefully, his presence will work wonders for them in the remainder of the series.

Brief Scores

India 303/6 after 50 overs (V Kohli 160*, S Dhawan 76; JP Duminy 2/60)

South Africa 179 after 40 overs (JP Duminy 51; K Yadav 4/23, Y Chahal 4/46)

Result: India won by 124 runs

Man of the Match: Virat Kohli