India vs South Africa | Visitors secure historic series win in style
BCCI
Rohit Sharma’s classy century on a tricky surface saw India post a competitive total of 274 while batting first, which was enough to secure their first ever series win against the Proteas. South Africa, however, kept losing wickets at regular intervals to concede the series with a game to play.
Brief
South Africa won the all-important toss and Aiden Markram didn’t skip a beat before announcing that he would like to bowl first on the wicket. He also revealed that Chris Morris had a stiff back which meant that Tabraiz Shamsi would be replacing him for the game. Virat Kohli also admitted that he would have liked to bowl first on the surface but was quite happy to bat first as well while announcing that he had retained the same lineup from the last game.Â
Rohit finally comes good on SA tour
After a maiden to start the innings, it was Shikhar Dhawan who got India started on the day as he targeted Kagiso Rabada with three boundaries in two overs. That gave Rohit Sharma, who had been struggling in the series thus far, some confidence and he hit the Proteas bowler for a huge six to get into the flow of things. Riding on the confidence of his century in the previous game, Dhawan hit Morkel for three boundaries in the seventh over before a mistimed pull shot found Andile Phehlukwayo at
Running between wickets cost India 300-plus score
On the third ball of the 26th over, disaster struck for India as Kohli’s
South African top order crumble after strong start
With a competitive 275 runs on the board, both Markram and Hashim Amla knew they needn’t try anything adventurous at all. Less pressure saw the duo start the innings on a positive note as they traded singles at regular intervals with a boundary each in the first three overs. As the overs passed by, the singles converted into doubles and sometimes even triples as South Africa reached the 50-run mark in just the ninth over. While Markram took on the role of the hitter, Amla played along. However, the flawless partnership soon came to an end when the hasty skipper gave away his catch to Kohli at mid-off off Jasprit Bumrah’s delivery. And as has often been the case with SA in the series so far, Markram’s wicket was followed by two big dismissals, JP Duminy and AB de Villiers, in the next 13 runs that reduced the hosts to 65/3 in 13 overs. David Miller came next to steer the ship to safety alongside Amla as their 54-run partnership saw the Proteas finish the half-way line at 115/3.
South Africa crumble in the face of wrist spin, again
Just when the partnership between Amla and Miller looked dangerous, Chahal scalped his wicket in the 26th over as the southpaw completely failed to read the Indian’s delivery. Amla brought up his
