‘Kuldeep and Chahal Are Brave Bowlers,’ Says Virat Kohli

India dominated with both bat and ball to thrash South Africa by 124 runs in the third ODI in Cape Town on Wednesday. The Indians rode on skipper Virat Kohli's unbeaten 160 to post a total of 303/6 in their allotted 50 overs.

Wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav then ran through the South African batting line-up with four wickets each as the hosts folded for 179 runs in 40 overs. India now lead the six-match series 3-0.

At the post-match press conference, Kohli said he has no words to explain Kuldeep and Chahal’s brilliant performances in the ODI series so far. He expressed that the opposition doesn’t seem to have any answer for them.

The captain said the wrist spinners have been successful because they don’t hesitate to toss the ball up and bowl on attacking lines.

While speaking about his century, Kohli said the pitch got slower after the 30th over and therefore he had to change the way he was batting until then. The skipper added that he was struggling with cramps while batting during the 90s, but he managed to pull through because he wanted to take the team to a good position.

When asked whether the team is looking to defeat South Africa 6-0 in the series, Kohli said that the thought is still a far-fetched one.

We just want to continue playing the way we are. There’s no way we can lose the series now. We’ll have more intensity when we step out for the fourth game. Winning six games is too far-fetched. We want to focus on one game at a time.

Virat Kohli

Kohli slammed his 34th ODI century to help India post a competitive total even as the visitors' untested middle order failed to click.

Continuing his glorious run in the tour, Kohli, who had slammed 112 and 46* in the first two ODIs, shouldered the Indian innings single-handedly.

The Delhi batsman smashed 12 boundaries and two sixes over the course of the 159 balls he faced in the middle.

(With inputs from IANS)