South Africa vs India, 2nd ODI - 5 Talking Points

India comprehensively beat the Proteas in the 2nd ODI in Centurion. They won the match by nine wickets taking a 2-0 lead in the series. The Indian bowlers completely dismantled the South African batting in the first innings. Not a single batsman crossed the 25-run mark. Although their openers played very cautiously in the initial stage of the game, they failed to convert their starts into anything substantial.

As a result, Proteas were bundled out at just 118 runs. All the batsmen queued back to the pavilion one after the other. One of the best chasing teams in the world, India got through the minimal target with ease and won the match by nine wickets. Here are the five talking points from the game:

1. The wrist spinners weave magic yet again

After a brilliant outing in the first ODI, the Indian wrist spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav came back much stronger in this game. With some turn and bounce on offer, they were absolutely ruthless in their approach. They completely dominated the batsmen and the partners-in-crime picked eight wickets.

Chahal scalped his maiden fifer in ODIs. He dismissed the likes of Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, and Khaya Zondo who had all got a good start. The leggie was perfectly assisted by the left-arm chinaman, Yadav. He picked the wicket of Aiden Markram who made his international captaincy debut. The Proteas batsmen once again failed able to read them either off the hand or the pitch.

2. South Africa yearn for Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers’ presence

The South African camp definitely missed the presence of their veteran batsmen, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis who missed this match due to finger injuries. While de Villiers is expected to make a comeback in the fourth ODI, Faf is out of the remainder of the series.

The Proteas were in a similar situation even in the first ODI. But it took an extraordinary fight back from their skipper, Faf to get them back in the game. Du Plessis scored a brilliant century under pressure in that game and helped the Proteas put up a respectable total on the board. However, things went from bad to worse in this game as the inexperienced middle-order was exposed and it crumbled.

3. Forgettable captaincy debut for Markram

After Faf du Plessis was ruled out, there was speculations about South Africa’s next captain. Many expected Hashim Amla or David Miller to shoulder the captaincy responsibility. However, Cricket South Africa (CSA) surprised everyone with the decision to name Markram the captain for the next five ODIs.

Captaincy is not new to Markram. Earlier, he led the South Africa U-19 team in the 2014 World Cup and looked very excited to be leading the national side. However, things didn’t quite unfold anywhere near his expectations and he ended losing his first ever game as the captain. And very miserably.

4. Easy chase for India

After dethroning the Proteas from the No.1 spot, India is now ensuring that they make their grip at the top. Playing one of the top sides in the world in their own backyard, the Men in Blue would have expected tougher competition.

Chasing just 119 runs, India couldn’t have asked for anything better. It was all over in just 20.3 overs and they now lead the series 2-0. Although Rohit Sharma got out early, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli ensured that they didn’t lose any wickets further. They composed a composed partnership and sealed the chase for India.

5. Ordinary South African spinners

Defending a minimal total, the Proteas bowlers didn’t have much to bowl with. While the Indian spin twin shared eight wickets, Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi were absolutely ordinary. They could’t trouble either Kohli or Dhawan despite the fact that there was purchase on offer from the surface.

After what they saw in the first game, South Africa added Shamsi to the line-up and now they had the exact same duo matching class for class. A leggie and a chinaman, but the result was a mirror image. They bowled a total of 8.3 overs got no wickets and gave away 48 runs at a cumulative economy of 5.78.