South Africa vs India, 3rd ODI - 5 Talking Points

What happened today in Cape Town is just beyond description. Three individual performances of the highest order from Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal helped India take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the six0match ODI series. Shikhar Dhawan chipped in with a crucial knock in the beginning as well, which propelled India to a score above 300.

But the game was all about the Indian skipper’s majestic knock. He notched a 159-ball 160 and remained unbeaten, helping his side cross the 300 runs threshold towards the end with some crucial boundaries. Dhawan finally had something to cheer about in the series as he registered a timely half-century in quick time.

It was the same old story with the bat for South Africa. They looked in a decent position at 79/1, but the wrist spinners came in and turned the game around. From 79/1, they lost their next 9 wickets for a mere 100 runs and were bowled out for 179. Yadav and Chahal returned with 4-fers and Kohli was awarded the player of the match trophy for his exceptional rendition. Here are the five talking points from the 3rd ODI.

1. “King Kohli” reigns supreme

Is he the greatest ever limited-overs player? Well, this doesn’t sound very debatable these days and there will come a day when there won’t be any doubts regarding this status. The way Virat Kohli is amassing numbers, its hard for the rest to stay in correspondence with this guy. He brought up his 34th ODI century and 55th overall, which is taking him closer to the iconic Tendulkar records.

2. Chahal-Kuldeep: The Proteas’ nightmare

18 overs, 69 runs, one maiden and 8 wickets. These are the collective figures of Chahal and Kuldeep, who once again ran past the Proteas batting lineup with ease. The chinaman gave away just 23 runs in his 9 overs and though Chahal was a tad bit expensive, taking a hit towards the end from the tail. He was also the one who provided important breakthroughs. As it stands, the Proteas don’t seem competent enough to face this wrist spinning duo.

3. Another day, another stunning stumping from Dhoni

One of the greatest ever personalities behind the stumps, MS Dhoni registered his 400th dismissal in limited-overs cricket with a sensational stumping. There was nothing much Aiden Markram could’ve done to return back home. Dhoni orchestrated it with some instructions and Yadav executed the plan with perfection. He whipped the bails off in style and there were smiles all around the Indian camp.

4. Dhawan’s blazing knock

A much-needed knock for Shikhar Dhawan, who managed to score some crucial runs at a brisk pace. He scored a 63-ball 76 and looked good to go big. But as it turned out, he lost patience and thus missed out on a well-deserved hundred. Take nothing away from him as he was the one who gave the side a stellar start, which paved way for another sensational knock from the Indian skipper.

5. Amla and Rohit continue their poor run

Two of the finest OID cricketers of this generation, Hashim Amla and Rohit Sharma are struggling for runs right from the outset of this tour. Both failed miserably in the Tests and are unable to score runs against the white ball. Whilst Amla got out on the second ball he faced, Rohit was dismissed for a 6-ball duck. Both the players are too good to experience such a lean patch, but expect them to come back stronger from this slump.