Team India created history
as they clinched their first ever bilateral ODI series win on South African
soil by beating Proteas by 73 runs in the fifth One-day International (ODI) at
St George's Park on Tuesday. No Indian men's side since its first tour in South
Africa back in 1992 has ever won a series across any format.
Now that we have won the
series, I feel Captain Kohli would not mind playing around with the lineup for
the match coming up tomorrow. Not take risks big enough to sacrifice the match
but just enough to let the other boys get the feel of playing in South Africa.
The very experience is terrific, I would say.
Winning the ODI series was
not the only takeaway, We have ascended to the top spot in ICC ODI rankings.
And we will stay there irrespective of how the final ODI match will go.
When we did create history,
we did it in a fashionable way indeed. It was an emphatic 73-run win over South
Africa in South Africa. Point to be noted that we have assumed the top spot for
the fifth time. The fifth ODI saw a very clinical performance by the men in
blue. We were made to bat first and we put 274 runs on the board. Rohit Sharma
coming back with a bang in this match made all the difference. Contributing to
almost half the final total, Rohit Sharma’s 115 from 126 deliveries helped not
only India win but also earned him the man of the match award. A well deserved
one for the timely knock. Ngidi took four wickets.
South Africa’s Hashim Amla
also woke up and hit some runs finally. 71 runs. But his timely knock did not
do what Rohit Sharma’s did. Kuldeep Yadav’s four wicket haul combined with two
wickets each from Hardik Pandya and Y Chahal helped India make history. The
South Africans collapsed to the wrist spinners yet again.
India's run of consecutive bilateral series wins
Against
|
Host
|
ODIs
|
Wins
|
Losses
|
NR
|
Captain
|
Zim
|
Zim
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
MS Dhoni
|
NZ
|
Ind
|
5
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
MS Dhoni
|
Eng
|
Ind
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
Virat Kohli
|
WI
|
WI
|
5
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
Virat Kohli
|
SL
|
SL
|
5
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
Virat Kohli
|
Aus
|
Ind
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
Virat Kohli
|
NZ
|
Ind
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
Virat Kohli
|
SL
|
Ind
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
Rohit Sharma
|
SA
|
SA
|
5*
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
Virat Kohli
|
The last and final match of
the ODI series.
The match is being played
at Centurion. With a highest score of 392, this ground has seen some massive
knocks and fantastic cricket. India looks to be the favourites of this match.
And why not. The team has been playing consistently well with all players having
played an important role at some point or the other during the tournament.
While India might change
the squad a bit, South Africa will want to play their best squad. Which
unfortunately for them has not worked so far. It will be a special day as the
South Africans play n honour of Nelson Mandela.
India Probable XI : Virat
Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer / Manish
Pandey, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar
Kumar/ Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa Probable
XI: Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram (c),
Jean-Paul Duminy, Tabraiz Shamsi / Imran Tahir, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso
Rabada, Lungisani Ngidi, Morne Morkel, AB de Villiers, Heinrich Klaasen (wk),
David Miller
Key Players
Batsmen
Shikhar Dhawan
Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma
Hashim Amla
David Miller
Heinrich Klaasen
Bowlers
Kuldeep Yadav
Y Chahal
Hardik Pandya
L Ngidi
K Rabada
Morne Morkel
Do listen to our audio
podcast by Rahul to get more views.
Indu
P.S. Please note that the
above-expressed opinions are purely the Editor’s. We do not take
responsibility, nor can we
guarantee the performance of the players. All the best !!!
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