South Africa (288/3) defeat India (287/6) by 7 wickets to win 2nd ODI, seal series 2-0

[Cover Drive Six]

India in the ODI series against SA in South Africa

1992-93 - Lost
2006-07 - Lost
2011 - Lost
2013 - Lost
2018 - Won
2022 - Lost

[MP2011]

It should be Bhuvi's last ever International game but obviously it won't be.

[90MPH]

India have been shockingly abysmal on this tour - barring the first Test.

Their body language seems poor, maybe they are burnt out but still you wouldn’t think they would perform this badly.

[PakEngFan]

SA D has comfortably beaten India.

[Amjid Javed]

Looks like India's white ball teams both need freshening up, they seem to have gone stale.

[MenInG]

South Africa eased to a comfortable win in the second ODI against India to add a richly-deserved 50-over series triumph to their victory in the Test series against the tourists.

Some outstanding spin bowling from Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj and Aiden Markram helped restrict India to 287/6 in the first innings, despite a typically vibrant 85 from Rishabh Pant seemingly having set the away side up for a far bigger total.

Quinton de Kock set the standard in the chase with an early salvo that put the Proteas ahead of the required rate, with each of the South African top five contributing as they reached the target with 11 balls remaining.

Set a target of 288 to win the match and the series, De Kock got things off to a blistering start, racing to 20 off just 10 balls as Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first over (the second of the innings) was slammed for 16 runs.

De Kock raced to his half-century having faced just 36 deliveries and, with Janneman Malan keeping things steady at the other end, the opening pair put on 132 for the first wicket to break the back of the chase.

India very nearly missed the opportunity to remove De Kock, with both KL Rahul and Pant taking some convincing to review an LBW shout when the left-hander missed a full toss from Shardul Thakur. But they did gamble on the review and the decision was overturned, sending De Kock back to the pavilion for a match-defining 78 off 66.

Temba Bavuma kept the momentum going, scoring at a run-a-ball for his 35 before sending a leading edge back to Yuzvendra Chahal. And Malan fell nine runs short of his century when the excellent Jasprit Bumrah returned to the attack and castled the opener’s stumps with a beauty.

South Africa still required 74 to win when Malan was sent packing, but had more than 14 overs in which to do so, and Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen made it look easy with a calm partnership that saw the Proteas across the line without the loss of a further wicket.

Both Markram and Van der Dussen finished unbeaten on 37, wrapping up a seven-wicket victory to win the series.

South Africa are 2-0 up with one to playSouth Africa are 2-0 up with one to play
Earlier India had won the toss and opted to bat first in Paarl, and it looked like a good decision as Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan put on a composed 63 for the first wicket.

The loss of two quick-fire wickets – Dhawan for 29 and Virat Kohli for a five-ball duck – slowed India’s progress temporarily, but Pant soon picked the momentum up with a wonderful knock from number four.

With Rahul playing the anchor role at one end, Pant let fly, with the pair putting on 115 runs for the third wicket before Rahul fell for a steady 55.

The tourists looked set to rack up a big score with their in-form keeper at the crease, but Shamsi picked up the big wicket to send Pant packing for an 85 that featured 10 fours and a six.

And the spinner picked up his second soon after as Shreyas Iyer fell for 11.

India still had their eye on a big total, but a silky piece of wicketkeeping from De Kock did for Venkatesh Iyer, and the Proteas kept control of the rate as India added just 104 runs in the final 17.3 overs.

Shardul Thakur (40*) and Ravichandran Ashwin (25*) both finished unbeaten, but the total seemed short at the time and so it proved, with South Africa making the chase look easy to secure a famous series win.

The final match of the series will be held in Cape Town on 23 January.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2457142

[MenInG]

India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant on Friday said that the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not a concern and everyone in the team knows about the quality the pacer has. Quinton de Kock (78) and Janneman Malan (91) rose to the occasion with the bat as South Africa defeated India by seven wickets in the second ODI to gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. For South Africa, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram remained unbeaten on 37 each. Bhuvneshwar conceded 67 runs in his eight overs in the second ODI and he did not end up picking even a single wicket.

"We are always looking to improve, I do not think there is much concern about Bhuvneshwar Kumar's form, we are playing an ODI series after a long time so we are just getting used to the momentum. We are disappointed to lose the series but we are looking to learn from this," said Pant while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.

"Shardul batted well down the order in both the games, it is a positive for us. Venkatesh Iyer bowled for us today, there are a lot of positives that we can take from this series," he added.

Earlier, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul played knocks of 85 and 55 respectively as India posted 287/6 in the allotted twenty overs. Shardul Thakur and Ravichandran Ashwin also played handy unbeaten innings of 40 and 25 respectively. For the Proteas, Tabraiz Shamsi returned with two wickets.

"I think the track was slightly on the slow side. I thought we had enough runs on this wicket, in the last game, batting was difficult in the second innings as the wicket got slower and slower. Today, it was the same but South Africa batted well in the middle phase and hence they were able to chase down the target," said Pant.

"I and KL had a good partnership in the middle, if we would have carried on, we would have gotten 15-20 runs more to the total," he added.

The third and final ODI will be played on Sunday in Cape Town.

NDTV

[MenInG]

Paarl: India captain KL Rahul acknowledged the fact that there are certain things India are not good at currently and the team is trying to get better at those things like building partnerships and middle-order coming to the party and scoring runs, adding that in big tournaments it becomes crucial along with bowling well in the middle overs.

“We are trying to get better at things we haven’t done well in the past. Partnerships, middle-order becomes crucial when we are entering a big tournament, want to get better at bowling in the middle overs and these are the few things which are really obvious and right in front of us.

“We have spoken about it and it’s only up to us to get better, learn from it and find a way,” said Rahul at the post-match presentation.

Boland Park did not offer typical South African conditions with the pitch playing on the slower side.

“It does feel like one of the wickets at home and I don’t think it was a pitch where they could have chased down 280 that easily. Credit to them, they are showing us the importance of partnerships and putting pressure early on against the bowlers.”

Rahul could still find positives from the first two games despite heavy losses.

“The way Shikhar and Virat batted in the first game was very good, and today Rishabh batted, the way he managed the first 20 balls and then he took down the spinners.

“He is a really important member of the team and Shardul, too, showing us he can bat lower down and make a good contribution. Jasprit has been the standout bowler for us and Yuzi has been good today,” the skipper said.

“The energy has been great, it’s been tough on the body staying in the bubbles. We love challenges and we have come short in the first 2 games, we will look ahead to the third game and try and win that one. Too early to say (about team changes for the next game),” added Rahul.

After the Test series triumph, South Africa have also sealed the ODI series. Not many believed that the hosts could upstage the mighty Indians.

“Coming into this series from the Test side, no-one had much faith in us and that gave us a lot of motivation. The performances in the last month have been really good. Spinners have done a splendid job. It’s a great thing,” skipper Temba Bavuma said.

“We pride ourselves on fast bowlers, but to see the spin bowlers winning the game for us, that really makes us a side to reckon against. I enjoy captaincy and I enjoyed it since domestic cricket.

“I see it to something to forget about myself and try and see how I can inspire the other guys in the team. 3-0 sounds a lot better than 2-1,” said Bavuma making it clear that his team is aiming to complete a whitewash of India.

Bavuma said the team did not expect to seal the series that comfortably.

“We wanted to win the series and weren’t really expecting it to do after the 2 games. A lot of positives to take from our performances. Great to have him (Quinton de Kock) in the side and he reminded us again why he is such a valuable player for us.

“As a team, we have a lot of self-belief and confidence in our ability. We are not a team that prides itself on having superstars or relying on individual performances. We really try and put in a team effort.”

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news/...africa-1011696

[Nasty Naz]

A bit surprising how poorly India have played considering SA are missing their best pacers.

We should also credit Pakistan for how well they batted throughout the tour there. Pretty rare feat for Pakistan considering how poorly they generally bat in Australia & SA conditions.

[Last Monetarist]

Sorry mate. Yes I was wrong. I don't seem to remember a lot of games these days. As a kid I remembered every game of every series. Perhaps reflects the amount of cricket they play these days.

I have to confess here, truth be told I had to look that one up, as I can't remember much that happens outside Test matches as well. Can't distinguish between one white ball match and the other.