SA vs IND 2018, 3rd ODI: Waiting for AB de Villiers for inspiration - Aiden Markram

After losing the first two matches of the series by massive margins, the onus was on young Proteas skipper Aiden Markram to resurrect host’s campaign in the six-match ODI series.

Winning the toss, Markram defensively elected to bowl first and conceded a total of 303 to the visitors, powered by his counterpart Virat Kohli who scored a mammoth 160, supported by southpaw Shikhar Dhawan.

South Africa gave a firm reply when Markram was batting with JP Duminy during the pursuit of India’s total. Like the tale of the series, it all changed once Protean nemesis was brought into the attack in the form of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

Since their introduction, the entire batting line-up of South Africa fell like a pack of cards and India took an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the series after winning the match by 124 runs.

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During the presentation, young Markram accepted the South Africans still have no clue about the wrist spinning duo of Chahal and Kuldeep. The losing captain hoped their team would feel a major boost in the presence of AB de Villiers in the Pink ODI.

“Very disappointing. Yet again not upto scratch. Virat played beautifully and their spinners played a massive part again. But we managed to claw our way back. They are world class spinners. Our batsmen are struggling to pick their spinners. They are landing the ball in the right areas more often than not. Credit to them. If ABD would be back, it might serve as a massive inspiration,” said Aiden Markram during the presentation ceremony.

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