SA vs IND, 3rd ODI: South Africa vs India, Third Match - Who Said What?

India completed a 2-1 series win over South Africa as they beat them by 78 runs in the third and final ODI of the series on Thursday, December 21 at Boland Park, Paarl. After being put in to bat first, India were 101/3 after 18.5 overs. Sanju Samson scored his maiden ODI hundred while Tilak Varma scored a brilliant fifty to help their side reach 296/8 in their allotted 50 overs.

In reply, Tony de Zorzi starred with the bat once again for South Africa but failed to get support from other batters as South Africa were bundled out for 218 in 45.5 overs. Arsheep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for India while Avesh Khan (2/45, 7.5 overs) and Washington Sundar (2/38, 10 overs) picked up two wickets each.

Also Read: 'Everytime you come, they play 'Ram Siya Ram' - KL Rahul's on-field conversation with Keshav Maharaj goes viral

Here are the talking points of the match:

1. Sanju Samson scores maiden ODI hundred

Samson walked in to bat at number five under immense pressure as he could only score 12 (23) in the second ODI. However, he put his past failures behind him and played a splendid innings of 108 off 114 balls smashing six fours and three sixes. He got involved in a 116-run stand with Tilak Varma (52 off 77) and bailed India out of trouble after three early wickets.

2. Tony de Zorzi top scores for SA in consecutive innings

The southpaw top-scored for his team in the second consecutive game scoring 81 off 87 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes in his innings. Zorzi added 59 runs for the first wicket with Reeza Hendricks and later stitched a 65-run stand with Aiden Markram for the third wicket.

Also Read: Twitter erupts as Sanju Samson scores maiden ODI century in series decider against Proteas

3. Arshdeep Singh stars with the ball for India

The left-arm seamer was the pick of the bowlers for India as he registered figures of 4/30 in nine overs. Arshdeep dismissed Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Keshav Maharaj and Lizaad Williams to complete his four-wicket haul. He was also awarded Player of the Series for finishing as the leading wicket-taker of the series with ten wickets from three matches at an average of 9.50 and an economy of 3.51.

Losing Captain, Aiden Markram, South Africa said:

We were certainly up for it, always a nice feeling in a series decider, nice venue and good crowd in, unfortunately we couldn’t get it done. We were good in patches, just couldn’t stitch the momentum up in our favor for long enough. The surface didn’t change much throughout the game, thought 290 was very chaseable. We were good with the ball. Not sure the toss played a major factor today. The Test series is very exciting, two great venues for two Test matches in South Africa, doesn’t get much better than that.

Winning Captain, KL Rahul, India said:

Always love being around the boys. Nice to get back on the cricket field after a disappointing world cup. Have played with a lot of them in the IPL, nice to get out here and play with them. Usually my message is to always enjoy the game, to give your best and not worry about the rest. They’re great cricketers but few of them haven’t played internationally so it’s about giving them some time to adjust. It’s about making their roles clear and they all gave their 100% so nothing more I can ask. Sanju has been a phenomenal performer in the IPL, unfortunately hasn’t got a lot of chances at the top of the order for various reasons but nice to see him do well today.

Player of the Match, Sanju Samson (108 off 114), India said:

Proud of it, especially considering the result as well. Have been working hard, not just for the past couple of months so it’s nice. This format gives you some extra time to understand the wicket and the bowler’s mindset. Batting at the top of the order gives you those 10-20 extra deliveries. The whole country is very proud of how Tilak Verma has stepped up, lot more to expect from him. The seniors have set the standards of Indian cricket and the juniors are coming in and doing the job. It’s not very easy, traveling in between and playing every 2-3 days but they’re getting the job done.

Player of the Series, Arshdeep Singh (10 wickets), India said:

There was always something in the wicket throughout the day. Sometimes it was gripping and stopping. The plan was simple, it was to bowl wicket-to-wicket and get LBWs and bowleds. IPL has been a very good platform for us youngsters, there isn’t a big gap between IPL and international cricket. You understand the mindset of international cricketers and it helps. We are all loving the chances we got. We’d love to give our all in the future as well and do well.