Tony De Zorzi’s maiden century and Reeza Hendricks’ half-century seal a big win for the Proteas.
South Africa leveled the ODI series with a thrashing win against India. South African skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and put India to bat first. After a dominating win in Johannesburg on Saturday, confident India stumbled from the beginning of the 2nd ODI Gqeberha.
It did not take long to pick the first wicket. Indian opener Rituraj Gaikwad once again failed to score in double digits. Pacer Nandre Burger dismissed him in the early overs. South African bowlers troubled almost every Indian batter in the 1st Innings from the onset. Tilak Varma struggled a lot facing the pace bowlers. Varma’s strenuous innings finally came to an end as he tried to make a pull in Nandre’s over and went straight to deep fine leg.
Excellent bowling performance from the Proteas
After losing early wickets, the young opener, Sai Sudarshan, and Indian skipper, KL Rahul, kept the scoreboard rolling till the 27th over. Sai Sudarshan could not comprehend a very short ball from Williams which resulted in a caught-behind. But the young opener, Sai Sudarshan, emerged as the only second Indian to hit back-to-back fifties in the first two ODI matches. Previously, Navjot Singh Sidhu reached this unique feat in 1987 when scored four consecutive fifties in his first four ODI cricket matches.
Indian skipper KL Rahul scored 56 off 64 as his slice shot found David Miller in the covers. Once again, Nandre Burger, the show-stopper, executed a big breakthrough for South Africa. All eyes were on ODI debutant Rinku Singh who got an opportunity after an excellent performance in the T20I against the same opposition. Fans were waiting for a big knock from the new finisher in town, Rinku Singh. Despite having a good start, he could not judge an extraordinary spinning delivery from Keshav Maharaj. Consequently, Rinku was stumped within a blink of an eye.
India’s last hope, Axar Patel, seemed to find himself in a trying time. After a long struggle of 23 balls, he was dismissed by the Protea skipper Aiden Markram just for 7 runs. South African bowlers bundled India up in 46.2 overs. The tailenders managed to put 211 runs on the scoreboard.
South Africa showcases their class in batting
From the very beginning of the second innings, South African batters clearly showed their intent. Whereas Indian bowlers failed to impress a little bit. It seemed that the openers made up their minds to keep slow but steady. Tony de Zorzi scored his maiden ton while chasing the target of 212 runs.
Zorzi was unbeaten till the end and he made 119 runs in 122 balls including nine fours and six sixes. His excellent performance made him the player of the match. On the other hand, Reeza Hendricks (52) reached his fifty before being dismissed by Indian left-handed pacer Arshdeep Singh. Later, Rassie van der Dussen had a good partnership and made 36 runs. ODI debutant Rinku Singh took his wicket in the 42nd over. Besides these two wickets, none of the Indian bowlers picked a single wicket as South Africa chased the target easily in 42.3 overs.
