India will take on South Africa in the 3rd and final ODI match of South Africa’s tour to India on Tuesday at the capital city, Delhi. With both teams winning a game each, the match will be the series decider.
After losing the first ODI by 9 runs, the Men in Blue fought back well and emerged victorious in the second match with Shreyas Iyer’s stunning century. India restricted the Proteas to a total of 278 and chased down the target with 7 wickets in hand along with 25 balls to spare.
South Africa won the toss and opted to make full use of the good batting conditions, but it did not work well. They lost a couple of early wickets. but Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram pot on a century stand. The Indian spinners though got rid of both batters to turn the side. With Mohammed Siraj’s scintillating effort, Proteas were restricted to under 300.
In reply, India also lost the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan (13) and Shubhman Gill (28). But the match-winning partnership of Shreyas Iyer (113) and Ishan Kishan (93) built a century stand before the 3rd wicket. Kishan fell in his 90s, but Shreyas stayed on till the end to make sure that there were no hiccups. In the end, he was well supported by Sanju Samson (30). The Proteas spinners failed to control the game in the middle overs.
India perfectly chased the match and managed to level the ODI series 1-1. With the loss, South Africa may fail to pick up crucial points in the World Cup Super League and it will be difficult for them to find direct qualification for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
India might be playing with a second string, a relatively small squad, in the 3rd match. But still, they have enough quality to seal the series. Shreyas Iyer will be the stand-out batter in the match with his previous performances. He has scored over 150 runs in the two matches he played. He will be once again India’s most vital player. Ishan Kishan is also in full form and he will surely be looking for scoring a ton in the coming match. The wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson was unbeaten throughout the series. With Shreyas Iyer, Samson helped India chase the target raised by South Africa by scoring 86 runs off 63 balls in the first match.
India’s bowling unit was also doing a terrific job throughout the series. Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur were quite effortless in the series. Kuldeep Yadav was also impressive in the game. The bowling in the powerplay was exceptional along with slog overs. Now, they want to concentrate more on the middle orders to pick some extra wickets.
The Proteas on the other hand was all set to secure the series in the first game, but they were completely outplayed in the second ODI. In both games, they lost a couple of wickets in the first 15 overs. The middle orders were the saviours in both games. David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen put on a show in the first match were Janneman Malan and Aiden Markram built a stand in the second match.
Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell looked promising in the bowling department. Lungi Ngidi was the best bowler in the first game while Anrich Nortje played best in the second game.
The pitch at Arun Jaitley Stadium is a batting-friendly one. But it will assist the spinners while the game progresses. With India having a hold in the spin department, the pitch may support India. But South Africa will surely try their best to seal the series to claim vital points in Super League.
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