The Men in Blue were bruised and battered after a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in the Test series. However, team India have turned their fortunes from the Tests, and are currently 3-0 up in the 6-match ODI series against the Proteas.
Advertisement
Virat Kohli’s men thrashed the hosts in Durban and Pretoria, before outplaying South Africa at the Newlands in Cape Town to gain an unassailable lead in the series.
The Indian team played beautifully at Newlands, as they capped off a thumping victory by 124 runs. The wrist-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were also instrumental in India’s victory, as the Proteas batsmen found it hard to play the spinners.
On the other hand, former Indian skipper, MS Dhoni also completed a milestone of 400 dismissals in ODI cricket as a wicket-keeper. These tremendous performances by the Indian team drew praise from everyone, along with former Indian batsman Suresh Raina also posting his regards on Twitter.
Raina congratulated his CSK captain on Twitter, as the legendary keeper achieved this incredible milestone.
Team India smashed 303 for 6 in Cape Town, as skipper Virat Kohli paved the innings perfectly. The 29-year-old had a lucky escape when he was on nought, before he went on to bring up his 34th ODI century, and his second in three innings in South Africa.
The Indian superstar stroked a 159-ball 160, while wickets fell at the other end. The target was a decent one, but was not certainly impossible.
However, the hosts made a mess out of it, and were never in command of the chase. Hashim Amla was dismissed early before skipper Aiden Markram and JP Duminy restored sanity in the batting line-up of the Proteas. However, the rest of the South African batting line-up was clueless against the spin-twins of Chahal and Kuldeep, with the pair picking four wickets each.
The hosts were then eventually dismissed for 179, giving the Men in Blue a 124-run victory. The teams will now travel to Johannesburg for the 4th ODI, as the hosts look to avoid a series defeat, while India will look to seal their first ODI series win in South Africa.
