South Africa Win Series 3-0! The Proteas get over the line in a close encounter as they edge India by 4 runs in the 3rd ODI to complete a sensational clean sweep. Quinton de Kock shone with a century while Deepak Chahar's gutsy fifty went in vain.
The equation us 41 runs off 36 deliveries! South Africa are in a dominant position heading into the final few overs but Deepak Chahar has kept India in the game with his power-hitting.
Wicket! Dwaine Pretorius fets his first wicket of the game as he dismisses Suryakumar Yadav
Wicket! Sisanda Magala strikes for South Africa as he accounts for Shreyas Iyer. The hosts continue to pick wickets as soon as Indian begin to gather momentum in the game. Shreyas Iyer c Phehlukwayo b Magala 26(34).
Wicket! A huge scalp for South Africa as Virat Kohli departs after a hard-fought half-century. Second time in a row that Maharaj has accounted for th former Indian skipper. Kohli c Bavuma b Maharaj 65(84).
Wickets! Andile Phehlukwayo strikes twice in an over as he gets a timely wicket for South Africa, first dismissing Shikhar Dhawan and breaking his 50+ run partnership with Virat Kohli and then accounting for Rishabh Pant, who departs on a first-ball duck.
After losing KL Rahul early, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan have stitched a string partnership together and are looking to take India forward in the game.
Wicket! South Africa get the breakthrough as Lungi Ngidi dismisses Indian skipper KL Rahul. Rahul c Janneman Malan b Ngidi 9(10).
KL Rahul has struck two fours in the very first over to give his side a good start to the chase. The first one was a touch short and wide delivery by Lungi Ngidi which was dispatched to the fence and the second one was flicked for another four. A good start for India and they would hope they carry on in the same manner.
OUT! Prasidh Krishna has two wickets in the last over. First it was David Miller who departed while trying to clear the fence. Kohli took another good catch to complete the dismissal. He then got the wicket of Sisanda Magala on the penultimate delivery of the innings with KL Rahul being the catcher. India have done really well to restrict South Africa to under 300 here. At one point, it looked as if a total of more than 310 would be on the cards for South Africa with Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen going great guns but India stifled the flow of runs with a flurry of wickets to ensure that they need 288 runs to win the final match of the series and avoid a whitewash. Will India be able to get it? Stay tuned to get updates about India's chase.
It has come down to the last game of the tour and India would be hoping to end this sojourn of South Africa on a winning note when they face the hosts in the third and final ODI of the three-match series in Cape Town on Sunday, January 23. Contrary to what many would have predicted, South Africa have already won the series, with an unassailable 2-0 lead following a win in Paarl in the second ODI. India have done well in patches but South Africa proved to be the better team in all departments of the game and rightfully so, they find themselves victorious and on the cusp of possibly pulling off a whitewash of India.
The visitors though, have pride to play for. Not only would India seek to avoid the whitewash, but it would be interesting to see whether they choose to give some new faces an opportunity, considering the fact that the series is already lost. KL Rahul would hope to secure his first victory as captain of the side while the team would be eager to better their performances in Paarl and put up a more competitive display with both bat and ball.
It would surely not be easy for India as they would be up against a very confident South Africa outfit. But it sure is not impossible and the Men in Blue can believe in themselves to come up with a win by the end of the day.
India Squad: KL Rahul(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Ruturaj Gaikwad.
South Africa Squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma(c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Sisanda Magala, Zubayr Hamza, Kyle Verreynne.