South Africa chased down a record 359-run target to beat India by four wickets in the second ODI. Markram’s century (110) and fifties from Breetzke (68) and Brevis (54) were key, overshadowing tons from India’s Virat and Ruturaj.
South Africa registered a memorable four-wicket win against India in the second ODI at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Wednesday. The Proteas chase down the 359-run target in 49.2 overs, registering the joint-highest target chased down against India in ODIs. After securing a record-breaking win, South Africa have now recorded three successful run-chases of 350 or more, the joint-most in ODIs alongside India.
Bavuma hails ‘unbelievable’ record chase
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said that his side can take positives from this win. The Proteas skipper also opened up about the injuries of Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi. “Happy to have crossed the line. Coming into this game we were all thinking how can we get better with the ball. There were partnerships at the top, better showing from us, unbelievable game, record chase and it shows how well we have to play against this Indian side. I tried to build a partnership with Aiden, try to take the game deep and it was all about the partnerships,” Bavuma said during the post-match presentation.
“The ploy to send Brevis early went in our favour. We can take a lot of confidence with this win. The guys who are here are the best, there is a high level of competition for positions, the batters know they have to be at their best. Performances like these do good for our confidence. I am not a doctor so I am not sure. It does not look good, but they will go through the medicals and if need be we have the guys to replace them,” the South Africa captain added.
Kohli, Gaikwad tons propel India to 358
India was put to bat first by the Proteas, who had the hosts down at 62/2 after dismissals of Rohit Sharma (14) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (22). Virat (102 in 93 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Ruturaj (105 in 83 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes) put on a 195-run stand for the third wicket, putting India in command. Later, KL Rahul (66* in 43 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Ravindra Jadeja (24* in 27 balls, with two fours) finished off in style with a quickfire 69-run stand for the sixth wicket. Marco Jansen (2/63) was the top bowler for the Proteas.
Markram’s ton anchors record chase
Proteas started off the chase with a flurry of boundaries, but they lost Quinton de Kock early. After that, skipper Temba Bavuma (46 in 48 balls, with three fours and a six) and Markram had a 101-run stand. Markram struck his fourth ODI ton and first as an opener, scoring 110 in 98 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes.
Another partnership of 92 runs between Matthew Breetzke (68 in 64 balls, with five fours) and Dewald Brevis (54 in 34 balls, with a four and five sixes) changed the game in favour of Proteas. In the end, despite Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi’s injuries making things easier for India, Keshav Maharaj (10*) and Corbin Bosch (25*) took SA to a memorable win with four wickets and four balls in hand. Arshdeep Singh (2/54) was the top bowler for India, while Harshit Rana (1/70) figures’ changed for worse after one poor over. Prasidh Krishna’s poor show, conceding 82 in 8.2 overs was a massive point of difference in SA’s win. An exciting decider awaits on Saturday.(ANI)
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