India Vs South Africa, 3rd ODI: Jaiswal's Maiden Ton, Bowlers Propel Men In Blue To Series Victory

Yashasvi Jaiswal saved his best for the last, hitting an undefeated century — his first in one-day internationals — powering India to a nine-wicket victory in the third and final game in Visakhapatnam and a 2-1 series win against South Africa on Saturday (December 6, 2025).

Jaiswal (116 not out, 121 balls) and his senior opening partner Rohit Sharma (75, 73 balls) compiled 155 runs in 25.5 overs to lay a sound foundation, before Player of the Series Virat Kohli teed off with a belligerent 65 not out off 45 deliveries. India finished with 271 for one in 39.5 overs, chasing a 271-run target at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.

Quinton de Kock made a refined 106 off 89 balls, his 23rd ton in ODIs, but it remained a shiny footnote as Indian batters dictated the course with authority.

Rohit guided understudy Jaiswal, who was playing only his fourth ODI, through some early turbulent phases, and also did the bulk of the scoring. The 38-year-old reached his fifty in 54 balls, tranquil by his standards but those magical swivel pull shots, three of them sailing for sixes, lent the innings a touch of aggression.

Jaiswal and a typically assertive Kohli later added 156 runs for the second wicket as India calmly went past the target to whip some frenzy among a nearly 27000-strong crowd. In the process, the 23-year-old southpaw became just the sixth Indian to score a hundred in all three international formats, after Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill.

Earlier, a largely disciplined bowling effort also played its part in keeping South Africa to a manageable total, an effort led by pacer Prasidh Krishna (4/66) and Kuldeep Yadav (4/41).

India Vs South Africa, 3rd ODI: Toss Update

India captain KL Rahul won the all-important toss and elected to field first. Tilak Varma replaced Washington Sundar in the Indian playing XI, while Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi missed out for South Africa due to injuries.

With KL Rahul winning the toss in Vizag, India broke a remarkable streak of 20 consecutive one-day international coin toss losses. Meanwhile, Temba Bavuma said he would have bowled first as well.

India Vs South Africa, 3rd ODI: Playing XIs

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman

India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (wk/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna

India Vs South Africa, 3rd ODI: Squads

India: KL Rahul (C/WK), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (C), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Prenelan Subrayen.

The ODI series will be followed by a five-match T20I series, starting December 9 in Cuttack. Shubman Gill is expected to return to the side from injury, having reportedly been declared fully fit and available for selection by the Sports Science team of the BCCI's Centre of Excellence.

(With PTI inputs)