Cape Town: An all-round performance helped South Africa beat India by four runs in the third One-Day International match and complete the whitewash 3-0 here at Newlands on Sunday.
India lost their skipper KL Rahul early while chasing a target of 288. Rahul (9) nicked the ball to the right of Janneman Malan at first slip off Lungi Ngidi.
Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli quickly rebuilt the innings, adding 98 runs for the second wicket. Both Dhawan and Kohli looked in great form as they continued to take on the South African attack. Dhawan's gritty knock helped him register his half-century off 58 balls.
However, Andile Phehlukwayo got the breakthrough as he removed Dhawan for 61. Phehlukwayo dismissed aggressive Rishabh Pant for a duck in the same over. Kohli brought up his fifty but could not convert it to a big one as Keshav Maharaj picked the crucial wicket of the former India captain for 65.
Temba Bavuma took the important catch after running back from cover point. South Africa ensured to cut short Shreyas Iyer (26) and Suryakumar Yadav's (39) stay in the middle.
Deepak Chahar's brought down the asking rate, whacking the South African attack with two maximums and five boundaries. However, just when he gave India hopes, Ngidi ended Chahar's (54 off 64 balls) entertaining innings.
With just 5 needed off 5 deliveries, Yuzvendra Chahal (2) holed out at point region off Pretorius and India folded on 283. Earlier, de Kock's 124 off 130 balls powered South Africa to post 287 after being put into bat.
The hosts suffered two early blows, thanks to Deepak Chahar who struck for India in his second over. The pacer dismissed Malan (1) as the batter got the outside edge and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant caught him.
However, de Kock took the revenge by smashing two boundaries in that over. India then got the big wicket of South Africa skipper Bavuma (8), who looked for a quick run but a direct hit by Rahul forced him to return to the dugout.
By the end of powerplay, South Africa were on 53/2. Chahar was on fire as he bagged his second wicket, removing Aiden Markram. Markram (15) looked good at the crease but ended up holing out to substitute fielder Ruturaj Gaekwad at deep square leg.
The batting partners de Kock and van der Dussen then went onto stitch a solid 144-run stand for the fourth wicket. The duo gained momentum, with de Kock bringing up his second consecutive fifty in the series and overall 28th in the format.
The wicketkeeper-batter moved into the 90s with two boundaries and a maximum off Chahal. In no time, De Kock celebrated his 17th ODI century. De Kock and van der Dussen marshalled the innings beautifully on the back of some drop catches by Indian fielders.
Van der Dussen registered his half-century off 53 balls. Bumrah finally got the much-needed breakthrough as he got the better of de Kock, who tried to clear the fence but ended up giving a catch to Dhawan in the deep. Van der Dussen, who was yet to be dismissed in this series, was finally sent back to the dug out by Chahal for 52.
The South African went for a sweep but the ball went high towards the leg side and Iyer ran to his right from deep midwicket to get his hands on the ball. Prasidh Krishna claimed three wickets before India bundled out South Africa.
Brief scores
South Africa 287/10 in 49.5 overs (Quinton de Kock 124, Rassie van der Dussen 52; Prasidh Krishna 3/59)
India 283/10 in 49.2 overs (Virat Kohli 65; Andile Phehlukwayo 3/40, Lungi Ngidi 3/58) by 4 runs. (UNI)
