South Africa vs India, 5th ODI- 5 Talking Points

After a thumping victory at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, South Africa oozed confidence. On the other hand, India wished to snatch the winning momentum and close out the series. However, the fifth One-Day International turned out to be one-sided affair as India humbled the Proteas by 73 runs

Subsequently, Virat Kohli’s men won the series and also retained their top spot in ODIs. After Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to field, the Indians were on top with a couple of prolific partnerships and eventually managed 274 runs for the loss of seven wickets.

South Africa were in contention for a chunk of their run-chase. Nevertheless, wickets at regular intervals pushed them terminal behind from where they couldn’t recover. There were several intriguing moments throughout the game and in our article, we take a look at five of them.

#1 Rohit Sharma storms back into form

Sharma’s form had been a matter of concern for India ever since the start of the series. However, after a string of low scores, the Mumbai batsman raced his way to his 17th ODI century today. He started off cautiously, however, his knock gained momentum as he spent more time in the middle.

The South African bowlers tested him out with short-pitched deliveries, but he was up to the challenge. Meanwhile, Rohit also stitched together a 105-run partnership off 109 balls. During his innings, he smashed 11 boundaries and four humungous sixes.

The opener was eventually dismissed in the 43rd over for 112 when he tried to cut Lungi Ngidi only to find Heinrich Klassen’s webbings behind the wickets.

#2 Rohit-Kohli infamous run-out

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, individually, are the best limited-overs batsmen doing the rounds in international cricket. However, running between the wickets has been a headache when they are out together in the middle.

Before today’s contest, the Kohli-Sharma stand has suffered six run-outs in ODIs. While Virat has been the victim four times, Rohit has been dismissed a couple of times. It was the skipper’s turn today as he perished to a direct-hit from JP Duminy, patrolling the point region.

Kohli was stranded mid-pitch after Rohit refused the run. Thereafter, he had no chance of getting back as Duminy threw the stumps down.

#3 South Africa pulling things back in the death overs

When Kohli and Sharma were motoring along, South Africa had every reason to be worried. However, the end of their partnership changed the complexion of the innings. Ajinkya Rahane became the second victim to a run-out as he was short of the crease strolling during his 18-ball stint.

However, Rohit and Shreyas Iyer carved a partnership of 60 runs to bring India back into contention. Nevertheless, the Proteas bowlers were right on the money and hardly dished out loose deliveries for the Indians to work with. The last ten overs fetched 55 runs at the cost of four wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar carted a couple of boundaries, but couldn’t take the Men in Blue over 274 runs in their allotted 50 overs.

#4 Amla’s stern resistance

Hashim Amla hasn’t been in the greatest of nicks in the series, however, the Durban-born cricketer played a gutsy hand of 71 runs off 92 balls. He didn’t blaze away but managed to keep the scoreboard moving and never allowed the run-rate to mount alarmingly.

His opening partnership with Aiden Markram, the South African skipper, set the tone for the team to trace down the target. After Markram’s dismissal, the Proteas suffered a mini-collapse as they slumped from 52/0 to 65/3 in a space of 19 balls.

Nevertheless, Amla held the fort and shepherded his team without much fuss. En route his knock, the opener also accomplished 7500 runs in ODI cricket. He was eventually dismissed by a direct hit from Hardik Pandya as Amla fell tantalisingly short of the crease.

#5 Spinners back in action for India

The Indian spinners had a torrid time in the previous game. They were carted across the stadium, especially Yuzvendra Chahal as India tasted their maiden defeat in the series. However, the tweakers were back to their best and strangled the South African batsmen in Port Elizabeth.

While Kuldeep notched four wickets, Chahal also added to the wickets column with a couple of scalps. The pacers nipped out the first three wickets to push South Africa back. However, the spinners came to the party and ripped art their middle and lower-order.

Chahal sparked the carnage by castling David Miller which also broke a 50-run stand between Amla and Miller. Heinrich Klassen tried his heart out but perished to Kuldeep’s wrong urn. The wrist-spin bowling duo was also consistent as they bowled 58 dot deliveries.