Yashasvi Jaiswal's century propels India to ODI series victory over South Africa

GEKLAP! That’s how the Proteas team must feel after India stormed to an emphatic series-winning victory against South Africa at the VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

In South Africa's defence, though, it's not an easy task to go up against a fired-up India at home, when the hosts have their backs to the wall, and their pride is at stake. The Proteas knew before the first ball was bowled that they would have to play out of their skins to win this game, but it was not meant to be for the blokes from Mzansi.

India’s chase revolved around a standout performance from Yashasvi Jaiswal, who struck his first century in One-Day Internationals. His innings set the tone for a dominant reply, supported by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who both produced fluent half-centuries to close out the match with authority.

South Africa’s innings

South Africa were sent in to bat and managed 270, built around a brilliant century from Quinton de Kock. But the Proteas lost control of their innings after a strong start, slipping from 168/2 and adding only 102 more while losing eight wickets.

De Kock and captain Temba Bavuma stabilised after the early loss of Ryan Rickelton, who departed without scoring. De Kock then lifted the scoring rate with a hooked six against Prasidh Krishna, followed by another six over extra cover and a slog-sweep off Ravindra Jadeja. The pair added 113 for the second wicket before Bavuma was caught at backward point for 48 off 67 balls.

Matthew Breetzke’s busy 24 from 23 balls kept the momentum going, and de Kock reached his century from 80 deliveries with a pulled six against Harshit Rana. But once Breetzke was trapped lbw by Krishna, the innings began to unravel.

Aiden Markram fell for 1 when he drove Krishna to Virat Kohli at cover, and De Kock was bowled for 106 from 109 balls as Krishna completed a strong return spell. Kuldeep Yadav continued the slide with figures of 4/41, removing Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch. Keshav Maharaj ended unbeaten on 20 from 29 balls as South Africa pushed past 250.

India take control

India’s reply was decisive from the outset. Jaiswal and Rohit put on 155 for the first wicket before Rohit top-edged a slog sweep off Keshav Maharaj to Breetzke at deep midwicket. Rohit’s 75 came from 73 balls and included seven fours and three sixes.

Kohli continued his strong record at the venue, finishing unbeaten on 65 from 45 deliveries with six fours and three sixes. India reached 271/1 with 10.1 overs to spare to seal the series 2-1.

The teams meet again soon, with many of the same players set to feature in the five-match T20 series starting on Tuesday.