South Africa vs India, 6th ODI - 5 Talking Points

Another masterclass exhibition from skipper Virat Kohli made batting look ridiculously easy and earned India a famous 5-1 series win. This happens to be their first series triumph in any format in the Rainbow nation. Although some will say this isn’t the strongest South African side, few individuals showed great class from the Indian contingent, namely Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, and of course, Virat Kohli.

The hosts were made to bat first by Kohli, only to be humiliated by his rampant bowling lineup. There was a time when AB de Villiers was going well and they looked in good touch, but that was for a very short span. Khaya Zondo’s half-century was the only point to cheer for them and South Africa ended up scoring 204 runs before getting bowled out.

Despite losing Rohit Sharma early, the captain first set up a decent 60-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan didn’t seem very comfortable today; after his departure, Rahane and Kohli added 126 runs for the 3rd wicket and rounded off the annihilation of the Proteas. Here are the five talking points from this fairly one-sided encounter.

1. Number 35 for captain Kohli!

It won’t be long before Kohli takes over Tendulkar’s limited-overs records, looking at the way he’s going. He has gone past AB de Villiers on the list of most runs in an ODI career and is just a few runs short of Adam Gilchrist. It was one of the most dominant knocks of his career and the world number 2 side seemed like an associate nation thanks to his assault. Another day, another slay from King Kohli!

2. Record-breaking outing for the spinners

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal once again chipped in with crucial wickets. Chahal provided the most important breakthrough, deceiving AB de Villiers with a smart delivery. The duo picked up 33 wickets amongst themselves, 16 for Kuldeep and 17 for Chahal. These two spinners take the top two spots on the list of most wickets taken by a spinner in an ODI series in South Africa. Clearly, they’ve booked their seats to England for the World Cup.

3. Bumrah – The unsung hero of the series

Amidst all the brouhaha, it’s important to appreciate Jasprit Bumrah’s commendable effort in this ODI series. He’s the third highest wicket-taker in the series, only behind the outstanding spinning duo of India. Most importantly, he was the most economical bowler of the entire series, conceding at just 4.21 runs an over.

4. Thakur impresses after getting a rare chance

Shardul Thakur was awarded his 3rd ODI cap to rest Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The youngster chipped in with an outstanding rendition despite all the pressure surrounding him. He clearly knows he’s playing in the game just because it’s a dead-rubber, but to have motivated himself to register figures of 4/52 is truly remarkable.

5. Proteas top order fails yet again

Barring Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, the Proteas lineup looked very pale on the paper. Beginning from skipper Aiden Markram to all the youngsters, it was one of the most disappointing performances from South Africa on their home turf. A certain Kohli made a mockery of them but having said that, their batsmen showed no resilience throughout the series and the eventual outcome was inevitable.