A fantastic batting performance by the likes of Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan saw South Africa defeat India by 7 wickets in the second ODI in Paarl. The result also means that the Proteas have won the ODI series with a game to spare as they have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead.
While Rishabh Pant (85) and KL Rahul (55) got half centuries for India, the visitors’ bowling department lacked bite in the contest as de Kock and Malan set up the win for the hosts. Both came close to a century, but fell short with de Kock getting 78 and Malan scoring 91.
Rassie van der Dussen (37*) and Aiden Markram (37*) took the Proteas home with more than few deliveries to spare on a hot day at the Boland Park.
Having won the toss and opted to bat first, India began at brisk pace with Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul on the move from the get go. While Dhawan was the more aggressive batter in the partnership, Rahul played with patience.
The left hander, who scored 79 in the first ODI, picked up from where he had left off and was troubling SA’s bowlers a fair bit in the early phase of the innings. The openers wasted no chances and quickly brought up the half-century stand in the 9th over of the innings, as India looked set to pile on the runs.
However, South Africa struck as Temba Bavuma turned to his spinners and it was Dhawan who was the first to fall. The southpaw scored 29, hitting five boundaries, before an attempted hoick over the legside off Aiden Markram landed safely in the hands of the new man Sisanda Magala.
Virat Kohli checked into the game on the back off that and checked out an over later, playing an uppish drive off Keshav Maharaj which Bavuma gleefully held on to at short cover. Kohli was sent packing for a duck as SA fought back.
In walked Rishabh Pant at number 4, joining captain KL Rahul, and the duo had their task cut out, and almost gifted South Africa another wicket. Both batters were at the same end after a moment of miscommunication but the Proteas could not capitalise with Maharaj unable to collect the ball at the bowlers’ end.
Pant and Rahul recovered from then on in and while one counter attacked the skipper continued to be watchful, as they thwarted SA’s bowlers. Rahul was more than happy to keep the scoreboard moving at his end while Pant made the Proteas pay for the missed run-out, attacking the slower bowlers regularly as the duo piled on the runs.
Pant completed his fifty of 43 deliveries before going through the gears, being particularly severe on the spinners, helping resurrect the innings, at good clip. The duo put on a 115-run stand for the third wicket as India rode that and reached 171/2 at the end of 30 overs, perfectly placed to accelerate in the second half of the innings.
South Africa though had other ideas, 8 runs later, Rahul was dismissed by Magala for 55, caught by Rassie van der Dussen and 4 more runs later, the fluent Pant’s innings came to an end as well. The southpaw was on the attack but Tabraiz Shamsi but was caught by Markram at long on while trying to clear the ropes for a well made 85.
That brought the two Iyer’s together in the middle, with the task of ensuring that the momentum would not be lost. But the duo would only add 24 runs to the cause together before Shreyas was trapped LBW by Shamsi for 11 off 14 deliveries, swinging the momentum in South Africa’s direction with less than 15 overs to go in the innings.
Venkatesh Iyer and Shardul Thakur, both of whom can make good use of the long handle took charge after that, taking their time initially before looking to pick up the pace.
Iyer, who hit a monster six early in his knock, though could not continue with Thakur and was stumped sharply by Quinton de Kock for 22 off 33 deliveries off Andile Phehlukwayo, as SA continued to apply the brakes on the Indian innings at crucial moments. Shardul and Iyer had put on 32 and were setting up to tee off in the final overs of the innings.
With R Ashwin for company after that, Shardul looked to accelerate in the last phase and found the boundaries at one end. Ashwin meanwhile hit a six as well even as SA’s bowlers looked to tie them down on a surface that was tough for stroke making.
The duo were able to dig India out of a hole with a handy partnership, adding 48 to the cause with Ashwin remaining unbeaten on 25 and Shardul finishing on 40 not out. India posted 287/6.
In response, South Africa started off brilliantly with Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan going great guns right from the get go. The openers started off with 23 runs from the first 2 overs after which they kept up with the momentum, causing India’s bowlers a lot of trouble.
De Kock was the more aggressive of the two, taking on the bowling and bringing out some of his best shots in the process. So good was his attack that Rahul had to turn to Ashwin much earlier than he would have wanted but that too did not help.
While the southpaw kept piercing the field at will, Malan was more than happy to keep the strike rotating and give his senior partner the chance to demolish the bowlers.
De Kock did not need too many invites to do that on a hot day in Paarl, and quickly raced away to his half century off only 36 deliveries. India’s attack looked flat, especially Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had almost nothing going his way on the day.
South Africa were coasting and the openers had knocked the stuffing out of the Indian attack, on a pitch that the visiting batters found tough to get going on. The hosts however were having no such issue on the day, and India, on a hot day were feeling the pinch even more.
De Kock looked set to score a century as the openers raced away to a hundred stand in 96 deliveries. The southpaw though would not get his ton, and a short while after, 32 runs later, a full toss would be his undoing as Shardul Thakur trapped him LBW for 78 off 66 deliveries. De Kock had peppered the bowlers with 7 boundaries and 3 sixes as India looked for another wicket after that, hoping to fight back.
But the hosts were not in the mood to let things slip as captain Temba Bavuma walked in to join Malan, who at the other end got to his fifty as well. Both the openers had played a solid hand and it was seemingly getting tougher for India to find another breakthrough as Bavuma too settled in very quickly.
While Bavuma played the more cautious role in the partnership, it was Malan who started to up the scoring rate at his end. By the end of the 30th over, SA had raced away to 180/1 with Malan now eyeing a century and Bavuma having played a fair number of deliveries, happily milking the bowling to keep India out.
India’s bowlers had nothing going their way and were made to look pedestrian. However, in the 35th over, Bumrah found the breakthrough, much to India’s relief, as Malan was knocked over for 91 off 108 deliveries, after hitting 8 boundaries and a six. At the time, SA needed less than 80 runs to clinch the series.
Off the next over, Yuzvendra Chahal struck as he foxed Bavuma and had him walking back, caught and bowled for 35 of 36 deliveries.
The two wickets, much to India’s disappointment, did not slow SA down as Rassie van der Dussen attacked Ashwin at the first possible chance while Aiden Markram took on Chahal after they had safely negotiated an over from Bumrah.
The duo put on 74 runs for the fourth wicket and remained unbeaten as SA stormed over the line for a seven-wicket win, clinching the ODI series in style at 2-0 with a game still to go.
Brief scores: India 287/6 in 50 overs (Rishabh Pant 85, KL Rahul 55; Tabraiz Shamsi 2/57, Aiden Markram 1/34) lost to South Africa 288/3 in 48.1 overs (Janneman Malan 91, Quinton de Kock 78; Jasprit Bumrah 1/37, Yuzvendra Chahal 1/47) by seven wickets
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