India clinched their maiden ODI series win on South African soil, taking an unbeatable 4-1 lead after outclassing the hosts by 73 runs in the fifth One-Day International (ODI) at the St George's Park on 13 February.
Opener Rohit Sharma led the tourists striking his 17th ODI century before chinaman Kuldeep Yadav returned figures of 4/51 to bowl the Proteas out for 201, in their chase of 274.
The Proteas started off fluently with skipper Aiden Markram (32) and Hashim Amla (71) putting on 52 runs in the first powerplay before first change seamer Hardik Pandya struck thrice in quick succession.
Pandya first removed Markram caught by skipper Virat Kohli at mid-off before inducing Jean Paul Duminy (1) to edge a length delivery off to Rohit at first slip. Pandya then struck again after a couple of overs with the wicket of dangerman AB de Villiers (6) caught behind by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Despite losing his partners, Amla continued to fight a lone battle, reaching his 35th ODI fifty, his first in 13 innings even as he reached the milestone of 7,500 runs in 50-over cricket.
The joy was shortlived for the Proteas, with Pandya showing his magic in the field this time with a brilliant direct throw to dismiss Amla.
The team under Kohli achieved which neither among Mohammed Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid or Mahendra Singh Dhioni could achieve – win a full fledged series in the ‘Rainbow Nation.’
No Indian men's side since its first tour in South Africa back in 1992, have ever won a series across any format. They did win a one-off T20 match in 2006 – their first ever shortest format but it was a single match event.
After the memorable victory, Twitterati erupted with joy after the historic win. Touting this as ‘Virat Kohli’s India’, former cricketer Mohammed Kaif congratulated the 'special team’ on a stellar performance.
Former cricketer Virender Sehwag hailed the team for showing remarkable consistency at the overseas turf.
Sports commentator and journalist Harsha Bhogle congratulated the men in blue for their dominating display.
The Indian cricket control board BCCI reveled in the moment of pride.
Twitter users showered praise for team India’s collective effort and Rohit Sharma’s spectacular spell that helped the team seal the win. Many slated the win as the perfect gift on the Valentine’s Day eve.
(With IANS inputs)
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