South Africa tried an experiment with their ODI squad and handed the captaincy to two-match veteran Aiden Markram. But the story didn’t change and their batting looked thinner without Faf du Plessis. Virat Kohli won the toss and inserted opposition’s batsmen into bat and it was Indian wrist-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who ran through the South African batsmen.
So lethal have been Chahal and Kuldeep that they’ve bowled South Africa out with so much time left in the day that India will be batting before lunch. They have shown immense control with their bowling even on the flattest of pitches. But Centurion has provided them a slow turner and they’ve taken full advantage. Eight wickets for 42 runs in 14 overs.
Yuzvendra bagged his first five-wicket haul in ODIs as he dismissed Chris Morris as South Africa’s final wicket. He had got two wickets in the 1st ODI at Durban last week, got the wickets of Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Khaya Zondo, Morne Morkel and Morris as India bowled out South Africa for 118 in 32.2 overs.
Also read: Mid-innings report - SA vs Ind (2nd ODI)This is South Africa’s lowest total in an ODI on home soil. Their previous lowest score was 119 against England at Port Elizabeth in November 2009. Talking about his spell, the youngster said, “Great feeling, my first five-wicket haul in ODIs, it’s a good feeling to perform well for the country. There was a bit of spin, so my idea was to vary my pace.”
He further added, “This wicket was much better when compared to Durban, the turn was consistent. The captain always backs me, MS [Dhoni] gives me ideas, I have played a fair bit of matches and I know what to do now.”
Chahal’s spell took a boost with de Kock’s wicket in the 13th over and then continued to pick up wickets in his second spell getting Zondo, Duminy, Morkel, and Morris in every over he came on to bowl starting from the 27th over. His bowling figures are the second best recorded by an Indian bowler against the Proteas in ODIs. Former left-arm off-spinner Sunil Joshi tops the list with 5 for 6 in Nairobi in 1999.
Along with Chahal, it was Kuldeep was the next best bowler in the first innings as he finished with 3 for 20, which is also his best bowling performance in an ODI bettering the 3 for 34 he got in the previous match at Durban. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah also picked up one wicket each.
