South Africa vs India, 6th ODI - India Player Ratings

Team India crushed South Africa in the sixth and the final ODI of the series by 8 wickets. The thundering win handed a scoreline of 5-1 in the favor of the Indian side. This certainly would go down as one of the biggest wins for the Indian side and a remarkable achievement for the Indian captain Virat Kohli. Also, at the very same time, the defeat has certainly swept off the Proteas totally.

They really need to get back to the drawing board to get their act fixed. Coming in to the final game, the hosts had nothing but pride to play for. On the other hand, team India had total domination on their minds as they arrived in to the game. Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl first. South African batsmen could never really get going and the wickets kept tumbling.

Barring Khaya Zondo, who scored a fighting 54, no other batsman stepped up to the occasion for the hosts. On the other hand, Shardul Thakur, playing his first game of the series, bagged a four wicket haul. In the run chase, it was the same old story for the Indian team. Virat Kohli anchored the run chase with utmost perfection to hand India a comprehensive win.

Here are the India Player Ratings for the Centurion ODI:

Shikhar Dhawan – 2/10

Shikhar Dhawan has been one of the top two batsmen for team India in the series. Taking on the opposition bowlers had been his approach in the series. However, coming in to this game, Dhawan ended up getting in to a shell. He struggled for 34 deliveries to score his 18 runs in the match. He hit two boundaries during his stay at the crease.

Rohit Sharma – 2/10

Rohit Sharma was the star of the show for India in the previous ODI. A lot was expected from him in this game too. Also, on the personal level, Rohit was expected to back up his good work with another good show. But Rohit failed to control his temptations and ended edging one to the keeper in an attempt of a pull shot. He scored 15 off 13 balls before getting dismissed.

Virat Kohli – 9.5/10

Virat Kohli played yet another masterclass knock in the match. Kohli hit his 35th ODI ton and also, his third in this series. En route his sensational ton, Kohli entered the record books for the highest aggregate by an Indian batsman in a bilateral series.

Kohli anchored the run chase in the best possible way. Albeit his strike rate suggests that the innings would have been laced by big shots, it is startling to see a lot of running involved in the game. Virat remained unbeaten on 129 that came off just 96 deliveries with 19 fours and a couple of sixes to see India home by 8 wickets.

Ajinkya Rahane – 7/10

Ajinkya Rahane played the role of the second fiddle to Virat Kohli in the run chase for team India. The target of 204 was not a daunting one but it did require some chasing to be done. Shikhar Dhawan struggled to get going and his dismissal brought Rahane to the crease. Rahane played patiently enough to help Kohli anchor the run chase. He remained unbeaten on 34 off 50 deliveries.

Shreyas Iyer – 5/10

Shreyas Iyer was under tremendous pressure coming in to the game when it came to the fielding aspect. He was the culprit on quite a few occasions for misfields in the last two games. But Iyer showed great composure in this game by fielding very well. He took a brilliant catch to see off Aiden Markram. With the bat, his services were not needed on the day.

MS Dhoni – 5/10

MS Dhoni will have to wait a little longer to reach the 10000 run mark in ODI cricket. His services with the bat were not needed in the match. Earlier in the game, he was good as ever with his keeping. He pocketed one catch early in the innings to dismiss Hashim Amla.

Hardik Pandya – 6/10

Hardik Pandya had a decent outing with the ball on the day. After being tipped as the weak link of the Indian bowling in the first half of the series, Pandya came out exceptionally well in the second half with the ball. In this game, he gave away only 39 runs in his quota of 10 overs. Also, he got the wicket of Morne Morkel towards the end of the South Africa innings. With the bat, his services were not needed on the day.

Shardul Thakur – 8/10

Shardul Thakur got his first game of the tour in the match. The young Mumbai pacer took very little time to hit his straps right. He managed to dismissed Hashim Amla in his fourth over of the match, albeit with a poor delivery. He then accounted for the the dismissal of Aiden Markram.

Later, he came back to the attack to send Farhaan Behardien packing on 1. Lastly, he dismissed Andile Phehlukwayo to bag a four-fer. He finished with figures of 4/52 in his 8.5 overs on the day. He would have certainly liked it even more had he leaked fewer than 52 runs.

Kuldeep Yadav – 5/10

The Indian wrist spinners have done an exceptional job on the tour. Kuldeep Yadav finished the series as the leading wicket taker. In this game, he returned with figures of 1/51 in his complete quota of 10 overs. He dismissed the hard hitting Chris Morris in the game. However, he failed to contain the run flow in the match today. Kuldeep finished the series with 17 wickets to his name.

Jasprit Bumrah – 7.5/10

Jasprit Bumrah has been the most successful pacer in the ODI series. Bumrah was at his best yet again. He bowled tight lines with the new ball. While Shardul Thakur went away for runs, Bumrah controlled the run flow. He bowled 8 overs on the day, including a maiden over. Also, he dismissed Heinrich Klaasen in the middle overs. Towards the end, Bumrah got the wicket of Imran Tahir as well to finish with figures of 2/24.

Yuzvendra Chahal – 8/10

Yuzvendra Chahal continued his good show with the ball in the series. The leggie not only picked two key wickets but also managed to choke up the run flow. Chahal only gave away 38 runs in his quota of 10 overs. He got the big wicket of AB de Villiers with a flipper in the game. That certainly was a big wicket in the context of the game. Also, he dismissed Khaya Zondo on 54 at a crucial juncture in the game.

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