After a rare blip in the Pink ODI at the Wanderers, Team India bounced back in Port Elizabeth to register their first-ever One-Day International victory at the venue. This 73-run win also helped India to win their maiden series in the rainbow nation. The last ODI game will be played at Centurion on Friday, while India has already named the series by 4-1.

Chasing 275, South Africa was off to the best start in this ODI series, as both Hashim Amla and Aiden Markram punished the bad balls. They shared 52 runs for the first wicket but latter failed to convert yet another start into a match-winning score.

Also Read: If beats South Africa, India can become top-ranked in ODIs

JP Duminy couldn’t succeed at the number three for the second game in a row and Hardik Pandya got his edge with tight line and length. It seemed to be Pandya’s day with the ball as he dismissed AB de Villiers in the second game in a row.

However, Hashim Amla kept one end tight and reached to his first half-century in the series. His brilliant knock of 71 runs cut short with an excellent throw by Pandya, who turned everything gold with his touch. Heinrich Klaasen tried to follow his match-winning effort with yet another special performance, but the towering required run-rate battered him.

After a rare off day in the Johannesburg, Indian spin-twin of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal came roaring back in this game and shared six wickets in between. First Chahal took his revenge from David Miller after conceding the game for India in the last game. Kuldeep was quick in bundling the tail-enders and managed a four-for in the process.

Also Read: South Africa announced new skipper for India T20I series

Hardik, too, was brilliant with the ball and leaked only 30 runs in 9 overs to take two top-order wickets, including that of De Villiers. South Africa’s stay ended at 201, where only four batsmen managed a double-digit score on the board.

It was the first One-Day win for India at the St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth in six attempts. Also, they have won the series for the first time in South Africa and break the jinx of not winning any bilateral series, excluding T20Is, here.