Johannesburg – On Sunday, India easily defeated South Africa in Ranchi to square the three-match One-Day series at 1-1. South Africa was punished for a careless way to conclude their innings.
The Proteas fell well short of the 300-run barrier, which seemed to be a par total on a flat and leisurely paced surface, scoring only 57 runs in the last 10 overs of their innings.
With Shreyas Iyer’s outstanding 113 not out and an opportunistic 93 from Ishan Kishan leading India to win, there was never any pressure.
The two benefited from the tougher ball since scoring was simpler, and they also attacked the South African spinners. With several of the key players playing in Australia, Shreyas’s second ODI century would have sent a message to the Indian selectors less than a year before the 50-over World Cup.
He and Ishan scored 161 runs together as a pair for the third wicket, with Shreyas hitting 15 fours and Ishan, a T20 specialist, scoring 93 off 84 balls with four fours and seven sixes in his innings.
Ishan hit three sixes off of Keshav Maharaj’s bowling, two of which came in the 21st over, altering the direction of the Indian innings. The Indians maintained a comfortable lead above the needed scoring rate and will go with confidence to Delhi on Tuesday for the decisive game.
South Africa’s difficulties at the close of their own innings turned out to be quite expensive. Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks’ 129-run third wicket partnership had given them a perfect foundation for their innings.
Hendricks scored 74 while Markram struck 79 despite not being selected for the three-match T20 series and missing the first ODI last Thursday.
Temba Bavuma and Tabraiz Shamsi missed Sunday’s game due to what the team’s management characterized as a “minor illness,” thus Maharaj served as the team’s captain in their place.
Hendricks and Markram carefully constructed their alliance. As many solid shots were hit straight to fielders, Markram sometimes seemed agitated. Hendricks, though, had more patience.
Hendricks played in that stress-free, elegant style of his, hitting nine fours and a six, with two lofted cover drives serving as the highlights of the Proteas innings. Hendricks was given his first opportunity since South Africa’s tour of the UK, where his form was outstanding and presented a challenge for the national selectors.
Just weeks before the Proteas begin their campaign in the T20 World Cup, concerns will undoubtedly be raised about Bavuma, whose own form, particularly in T20s, has dropped off a cliff.
Along with Bavuma’s performance, South Africa’s innings conclusion would have raised questions before to that tournament. The Markram/Hendricks combination had given the team the ideal starting point, but Markram’s dismissal, which occurred three balls after Heinrich Klaasen’s 30 off 26-ball innings, shifted the tenor of the game.
The Proteas were unable to consistently find the boundary in the last 10 overs, despite the presence of David Miller, who scored 35 runs off only 34 balls. They only managed five throughout that time, and one of them came as a result of Mohammad Siraj’s careless throw that went over the stumps.
When India formed a solid partnership, the game was essentially over. Due to the loss, it is very certain that South Africa will not automatically qualify for the 50-over World Cup in 2019 and will instead go to Zimbabwe in June of that year.
Quick results: South Africa 278/7
India 282/3
India prevailed by 7 wickets.