India’s tour of disasters continued on January 21 as they failed to defend an above par score of 287 in the second ODI in Paarl and conceded the series to South Africa.
The tourists failed to take wickets in the first powerplay and the middle-overs as the hosts rallied to another comprehensive seven-wicket victory that sealed the three-match series.
Also read 👉 Bavuma & vDD shine as Indians suffer yet another batting collapse
India’s longstanding bowling issues in ODIs came back to haunt them, with their pacers and spinners both struggling to put any sort of pressure on South African batters. Unable to maintain control and a leash on scoring, Indians conceded the 288-run target on a slow, sluggish surface with nearly two full overs remaining.
Experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/67) and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (0/68) were the two biggest disappointments for the tourists on the day. At no stage in the game, they looked like threatening to build inroads or maintain a tight grip on run-scoring.
A sense of disappointment would also be around wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Despite the conditions and the ODI regulations suiting his style, Chahal seemed a far cry from the bowler he was in his early days when batters hadn’t yet gotten hold of his and Kuldeep Yadav’s variations. On paper, Chahal had respectable figures of 1/47. But the Men in Blue needed a way lot more from their only attacking spinner.
Amidst all this, Jasprit Bumrah once again shined the brightest, finishing with figures of 1/37 off his 10 overs. Lack of support at the other end meant South Africa could cut down risks against him. But for the 28-year-old to still give away less than four an over against an in-form Proteas batting unit showcases his class and ability.
The partnership of Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan was a joy to watch during the 2nd Betway ODI 🇿🇦💚
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 22, 2022
Full highlights available on the CSA App: https://t.co/ONGtFRdwfO#SAvIND #BetwayODISeries #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/cW7fpRrR7d
SA got off to a magnificent start with the bat as openers Janneman Malan (91) and Quinton de Kock (78) gave their team a stand of 132 runs for the first wicket before it was broken by Shardul Thakur (1/35). Both De Kock and Malan looked like scoring hundreds of their own. But the duo would have been satisfied to have almost ruled India out of the contest with their partnership.
The good work done by those two meant that the South African middle-order only needed to steer the ship towards the winning post, which thirties from skipper Temba Bavuma (35), Aiden Markram (37*) and Rassie van der Dussen (37*) were sufficient enough to do.
Rassie van der Dussen's last three innings against India:
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 21, 2022
👉 41*
👉 129*
👉 37*
They haven't dismissed him in 229 deliveries 🤯 #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/u7dxYWm03C
India produced an iffy but eventually good batting performance to post a score of 287 earlier on, having decided to bat first after winning the toss. Openers Shikhar Dhawan (29) and KL Rahul (55) gave them a solid start. But then, Dhawan and following batter Virat Kohli (0) got out on successive balls.
Rahul, though, stood firm and looked to rebuild with the ever-aggressive Rishabh Pant. While Rahul crossed his fifty, Pant went on to blast an outstanding 85 off just 71 balls, including 10 fours and two sixes. When those two were in song and reconstructing the innings wonderfully, it seemed for a brief that India may even reach above 320-330.
But then, as has been the case all tour, India lost wickets in a bunch to suffer another mini-collapse that saw both Rahul, Pant as well as Shreyas Iyer (11) and Venkatesh Iyer (22) departing. Thanks to a fine lower hand from Thakur, however, India reached near the 290-mark. Thakur gave another evidence of his promise with the bat, scoring a vital 40 off 38 balls.
South African spinners were the heroes of the win for their side, as they once again outbowled their Indian counterparts with Tabraiz Shamsi (2/57) leading the pack and Keshav Maharaj (1/52), Markram (1/34) proving economical.
Brief scores
India 287/6 in 50 overs (Pant 85, Rahul 55; Shamsi 2/57) lost to South Africa 288/3 in 48.1 overs (Malan 91, de Kock 78; Bumrah 1/37) by 7 wickets
