South Africa beat India in 2nd of the 3-match ODI series
South Africa now leveled the series 1-1, with the decider to be played on Dec 6 in Vishakhapatnam
Aiden Markram was named Player of the Match for his magnificent century
India took on South Africa for the 2nd of the 3-match ODI series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Cricket stadium in New Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The hosts aimed to attain an unassailable 2-0 lead before arriving to Vishakhapatnam for the 3rd one-day. But the Proteas had different things on mind.
India once again lost the toss and were asked to bat first. Their innings was nothing short of spectacular as Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad led the charge. Kohli cracked a fluent century and Gaikwad blasted his maiden ODI ton, stitching up a massive 195-run partnership for the third wicket. India posted a formidable total of 358/5 in 50 overs.
But South Africa weren’t just fodder. Their chase, spearheaded by a composed Aiden Markram and backed by aggressive knocks from Matthew Breetzke and Dewald Brevis, kept the game alive. Brevis’ fifty and Breetzke’s timely strokeplay ensured the Proteas never lost sight of the target. Even after a wobble midway, they kept their nerve.
In a thrilling finish, South Africa crossed the line with four wickets in hand, successfully chasing 359 and leveling the three-match series 1-1. The match swung back and forth, but it was the Proteas’ depth and temperament that made the difference on the night.
The last match, which will be a decider, is set to be played at Vishakhapatnam on December 6.
Also Read - India Vs South Africa 2nd ODI Highlights
India Vs South Africa 2nd ODI: Toss Update
South African captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat first in Raipur, extending India's streak of consecutive coin toss losses to an unbelievable 20 matches.
Also Read - Where to watch India Vs South Africa 2nd ODI Live Streaming
India Vs South Africa 2nd ODI: Playing XIs
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (WK), Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (C), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (WK/C), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
India Vs South Africa 1st ODI: What Captains Said At Toss?
"We're hoping that as the night comes in, the dew comes in, it gets a bit easier with the ball skidding more. But it's very hard to say what it's going to play like. A lot of positives (from the last game). We did very well to get the game to that point, looking at the way we started in our first 10 overs of our batting, it shows that belief is there." - said Temba Bavuma.
"Honestly, that's the most pressure I've had because we haven't won a toss in a long time. I've been practising, but clearly it's not working. I think we did really well last game."
"A lot of positives from the last game, so just trying to continue that. And, come out here, play hard cricket again. They pushed us last game as well. We know what to expect." - Indian captain KL Rahul said after losing consecutive coin flips in the series.
