Cricket: South Africa level ODI series against India with record-breaking chase in Raipur
South Africa hold their nerve in high-scoring thriller
We are only at the halfway point of South Africa’s tour to India, but we have already been treated to a feast of incredible cricket, and we just witnessed arguably the best match of the series so far.
India came into the match in Raipur with renewed confidence after bouncing back from their 2-0 series sweep in the Test leg of this tour with a hard-fought 17-run victory in the first ODI in Ranchi last weekend.
After losing their 20th toss in a row and being asked to bat, the Men in Blue got themselves into a strong position thanks to yet another incredible knock from Virat Kohli, who confirmed our cricket predictions by scoring his second century in succession.
Partnered by Ruturaj Gaikwad, the pair delivered a stunning 195-run stand for the third wicket, while stand-in skipper KL Rahul scored 66 runs of 43 deliveries to navigate his side to a mammoth total of 358/5 after 50 overs.
South Africa’s top-order collapse ultimately led to their downfall in Ranchi, but a change in the batting order at the top worked a treat this time around, with Aiden Markram leading from the front, scoring 110 off 98 balls after the early loss of Quinton De Kock.
Temba Bavuma, Matthew Breetzke and Dewald Brevis all played crucial quick-fire innings in the middle overs to keep the Proteas in the contest, while Corbin Bosch and Keshav Maharaj saw the Proteas over the line with just four balls remaining.
The victory marked the highest run chase against the Indian cricket team ever, tied with Australia’s feat achieved back in 2019 in Mohali, and sets us up for what should be a thrilling contest in Visakhapatnam this weekend.
Indian bowling under scrutiny after another sub-par outing
With the experience of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul back in the Indian squad, the team’s batting lineup has looked solid, and the performances have stacked up, with the team scoring 349 in Ranchi and 358 in Raipur.
However, the same cannot be said for the bowling unit, which conceded 332 and 362 in the same two matches. While dew played its part in the second ODI, forcing the ball to be changed four times in the match, it still does not excuse the lack of bite in the Indian attack.
Harshit Rana was good at times, but could only deliver figures of 1/70, while Prasidh Krishna proved expensive, giving up 82 runs for his two wickets in 8.2 overs. Kuldeep Yadav also went for runs, finishing with 1/78.
Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers, but even his 2/54 (10) was far from impressive, and with Jasprit Bumrah ruled out for the final ODI, Gautam Gambhir has plenty to ponder ahead of the match in Visakhapatnam, which his side must win to avoid a rare limited-overs home series defeat.
