South Africa V India, 4th ODI Review: South Africa Keep Series Alive with Well Earned Victory

South Africa finally registered a victory in the 6 match ODI series against India and saved themselves from the blushes of suffering a series defeat with two more matches to spare. The Proteas have never lost a match when they have worn the Pink jersey and they kept their unbeaten record intact at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

For yet another time Rohit Sharma fell early as the right-handed opener was dismissed by KAGISO Rabada pretty cheaply. Again it was the duo of Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Virat Kohli who helped India recover from the early hiccup. Both started off from where they left in the previous encounter and started off with some delightful shots.

Dhawan, in particular, was looking in exceptional touch and along with Kohli struck some exceptional shots to get going. The duo shared a stand of 158 runs for the 2^nd wicket but with Kohli approaching yet another international century it was Chris Morris who brought an end to his innings with a slower delivery. Kohli came dancing down the track and ended up hitting it straight to the cover fielder David Miller.

Shikhar Dhawan went on to complete yet another century and his trademark celebrations were on display yet again. However, during the last 15-20 overs, India failed to press on the accelerator and made only 116 runs in the last 20. It was a sensational comeback by the hosts’ bowlers as they restricted India to 289/7 in their allotted 50 overs.

South Africa started off on a positive note with openers Hashim Amla and Aiden Markram beginning with a couple of fluent drives and punches. It was Jasprit Bumrah who got India the first wicket of Aiden Markram but JP Duminy and Amla kept going. Again it was wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav who dismissed Amla with a well-flighted delivery as Bhuvneshwar Kumar completed a sensational catch in the outfield.

AB de Villiers struck some lusty blows before Hardik Pandya sent him back to the pavilion. However, following his dismissal, it was the duo of David Miller and Heinrich Klassen who totally changed the complexion of the game with some audacious hitting, For the first time in the series the wrist spinners were taken apart as South Africa coasted home quite comprehensively in the end.

It was Andile Phehlukwayo who struck some lusty blows during the last couple of overs of the match and eventually chased the total down for the Proteas. So as it stands now, India are firm favourites to win the series but South Africa keeps the series alive with a well-earned victory

Brief Scores

India 289/7 in 50 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 109, Virat Kohli 75, Lungisani Ngidi 2/52, Kagiso Rabada 2/58)

South Africa 207/5 in 25.3 overs (Heinrich Klassen 43, David Miller 39, Kuldeep Yadav 2/51)

South Africa won by 5 wickets (D/L method)

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