| 1.5 : 1.5: K Rabada to R Sharma, FOUR! Delectable stroke. But half the help is done by Rabada who bowled a low full toss around off. Rohit gets his stride out and just times his cover drive to perfection. First quadruple of the match. |
| 2.5: M Morkel to S Dhawan, FOUR! Shot! My colleague was just looking at the field set-up and observed that there is no mid off in place. The man there is at a very wide position, almost at extra covers. Dhawan gets a full delivery and he seems to have heard my colleague. Just times his push down the ground through that vacant position and earns a boundary. |
| 3.6 : 3.6: K Rabada to R Sharma, OUT! Excellent, excellent catch from Rabada, Rohit's wretched run with the bat continues. The last three deliveries were in the same zone and were driven back to the bowler. Rabada delivers this one again on a fuller length around off. All Sharma can do is spoon it back aerially towards the bowler. Now comes the terrific part of this wicket. Kagiso dives forward in his followthrough and seems to have taken it inches over the ground with his fingers underneath that. Th |
| 4.3 : 4.3: M Morkel to S Dhawan, FOUR! Streaky but Dhawan will take it. Length delivery angling away from him, he is lat in getting his bat down to defend that. The ball takes the inner half of his blade and goes past the off stump and the keeper to the fence behind. |
| 6.1 : 6.1: M Morkel to S Dhawan, FOUR! Authoritative. Short in length around middle and leg, Dhawan is waiting for that and just swivels and pulls it away over the man in front of square on the leg side. Pollock on air reckons that since the southpaw didn't look comfortable in the Tests against the short ball, this tactic is used by the Proteas. Our statsman Vic here, observes that Shikhar didn't look in control here as well. |
| 7.2 : 7.2: K Rabada to V Kohli, FOUR! KOHLI LOOKS VULNERABLE AT THE START. Period. Length ball just outside off, Virat could have left it alone all day long. But he pokes at it and luckily gets it well past second slip. The ball speeds away to the third man region for a boundary. |
| 7.4 : 7.4: K Rabada to V Kohli, FOUR! Sloppy. Full around middle and off, Kohli gets across and flicks it away through mid-wicket. The man there was late to get down to his left and lets it through for a boundary. |
| 13.2 : 13.2: C Morris to S Dhawan, FOUR! The binary monotony is broken! Short delivery around middle and leg, Dhawan hangs back and pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 13.4 : 13.4: C Morris to S Dhawan, FOUR! Another short ball, pulled away nicely. Dhawan swivels and plays the shot aerially through backward square leg for another boundary. The stand between the two moves to 48 now. |
| 14.2 : 14.2: L Ngidi to V Kohli, FOUR! When you don't get the length and line you desire, you manufacture it. The universe knows that Kohli is strong off his pads. Hence Ngidi has been bowling around the off and middle stumps. Does so yet again on a length. Kohli walks down and across to just blast it well past mid on for a boundary. It also brings up the 50-run partnership between these two. |
| 16.3 : 16.3: L Ngidi to V Kohli, SIX! BOOOM! This is bowled on a good length just outside off. Kohli walks down and converts it to a fuller length. Gets underneath the ball and just smashes it straight back for half a dozen. That traveled as straight as a line drawn with the help of a scale. What's more, he holds his pose after playing that just for the cameras to do their bit. |
| 18.6 : 18.6: A Phehlukwayo to S Dhawan, SIX! That's hit with some style. Fuller in length around leg, Dhawan slinks down the track and whips it away to the on side. It seemed as if he has picked out deep square leg in the deep but the ball sails over the fence. Another over where 11 runs have come. |
| 19.1 : 19.1: C Morris to V Kohli, FOUR! The Virat Kohli chip shot. Landed on a length around off and middle, he charges down and just lifts it over mid on. Clears the man easily and gets a boundary. |
| 19.6 : 19.6: C Morris to S Dhawan, FOUR! Now this is getting too easy for Shikhar. Length delivery around middle and leg, he gets inside the line and just wrists it through mid-wicket. There is a man in the deep who is running towards the ball but he cannot do anything about that. Takes Dhawan to 62. 10 runs off the over yet again. |
| 21.2 : 21.2: M Morkel to V Kohli, FOUR! 46th ODI fifty in style! Fuller in length around off, Kohli gets under it and spanks it over mid off for a one-bounce boundary. What a knock this has been! Terrific to say the least. |
| 22.4 : 22.4: A Phehlukwayo to S Dhawan, FOUR! Well played! Length delivery just outside off, Dhawan transfers all his weight on the back foot and just deftly guides it past short third man for a boundary. |
| 22.5 : 22.5: A Phehlukwayo to S Dhawan, FOUR! Flicked through third man! Read that right. This is hurled on a length angling away. Dhawan looks to flick it away but gets it off the leading edge over the short third man for a boundary. Lucky chap. |
| 23.3 : 23.3: M Morkel to V Kohli, FOUR! Edged but safe. In hindsight, one can say that it is deliberately played. Speared in that corridor of uncertainty, Virat looks to defend it. But he ends up getting an outside edge, a soft one, that dies down before it could reach the diving hands of Klaasen behind. Misses him and goes to the fence behind. |
| 25.5 : 25.5: L Ngidi to S Dhawan, FOUR! Andile makes a mess of it. Length ball angling away, Dhawan stays back and cuts it past backward point. Phehlukwayo runs to his right from third man and gets to the ball with a dive. But as he was completing that, his left hand ended up scooting the ball over the fence. |
| 26.4 : 26.4: JP Duminy to V Kohli, FOUR! Superb! Nicely flighted outside off on a fuller length, Kohli gets his front foot out and drives it crisply through covers. Has enough in it to roll away to the fence. |
| 31.1 : 31.1: C Morris to V Kohli, OUT! The bowling change has done the trick for the Men in Pink! Who is the man walking back? The thorn in their flesh, Virat Kohli, who is dismissed after 281 runs. Morris hurls it on a length outside off, Virat walks down and across to hit it over covers. Fails to get the desired elevation and ends up finding Miller stationed there to perfection. He seldom misses such dollies and takes this nicely with a couple of steps to his left. Virat is not happy with what he has |
| 32.4 : 32.4: K Rabada to S Dhawan, SIX! On to 98 in some style. Fuller in length, Dhawan just gets inside the line and heaves it over deep mid-wicket for half a dozen. |
| 33.1 : 33.1: C Morris to S Dhawan, FOUR! Shikhar Dhawan gets to his 13th ODI century in style. This is full in length, Dhawan just pushes it down the ground and hurries to the other end to complete his 100th run. But the ball is so well timed that it beats the diving mid off fielder and goes to the fence. The southpaw raises both his arms towards the dressing room with a smile. He has been audacious at times and commanding throughout. He is the first Indian to hit a century in his 100th ODI. |
| 33.3 : 33.3: C Morris to A Rahane, FOUR! The confidence of the batsman at the other end seems to be rubbing on Rahane too. This is a length ball, Rahane just swipes across the line and gets it well over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 35.3: M Morkel to S Dhawan, OUT! The Big Giraffe gets the Big Fish! The break breaks the momentum for India as they lose a wicket almost immediately after the break. Full and outside off, slanting away, Dhawan looks to go over the top but the ball hits the toe end of his bat. It goes low to AB de Villiers at mid off who makes no mistake. The Proteas are jubilant - a rare moment in this series for them. How long will this joy be? End of a wonderful knock from Dhawan. However, has this wicket give |
| 36.3: L Ngidi to A Rahane, OUT! Caught and now Rahane throws it away. That door gets opened a bit more. A needless shot under the circumstances. Perhaps the message has been to keep scoring quickly. A short ball, outside off, Rahane instinctively goes for the pull but there is some steep bounce in that, which induces a bit of a top edge and hence a miscue. It is short ground but not short enough for the ball to sail beyond the ropes. Kagiso Rabada at the mid-wicket fence pouches it calmly. So af |
| 37.2 : 37.2: M Morkel to MS Dhoni, SIX! What timing! Only MS knows how has that crossed the ropes. A short ball outside off, Dhoni initially goes hard at it, looking to play the upper cut. But then the ball stops off the surface a bit. Strange, considering that the speed gun shows it to be 141 kph. The ball seems to be carrying off the miscue towards sweeper cover but somehow, it goes over the fielder. Andile Phehlukwayo at the boundary, waits, waits, waits, then leaps but still misses. |
| 37.4 : 37.4: M Morkel to S Iyer, FOUR! Fine shot. Authoritative from Iyer. Comes forward and drives it down the ground. Aiden Markram from mid on gives it a chase but comes second in the race. |
| 41.3 : 41.3: L Ngidi to MS Dhoni, FOUR! Outstanding work in the field. A length ball outside off, MS throws his bat at it and gets a thick outside edge. The ball races towards the third man fence but Andile Phehlukwayo dives to his left and almost saves the boundary. The ball however, does not respect him for the effort and scoots away to the fence. |
| 43.1 : 43.1: L Ngidi to S Iyer, FOUR! Up and over! A length ball outside off, Iyer clubs it over mid off and clears the fielder, finds the fence as well. |
| 43.2 : 43.2: L Ngidi to S Iyer, OUT! Not this time! A length ball again, this time Iyer looks to go over the leg side but does not have enough strength to clear long on. Easy catch for Chris Morris. |
| 45.1 : 45.1: C Morris to H Pandya, FOUR! Rubbish, on this track. Or on any track. A half-tracker, a loosener from Morris, pulled with disdain over mid-wicket for a one-bounce boundary. The stand moves to 10 from 11 balls. |
| 46.6 : 46.6: K Rabada to H Pandya, OUT! It is a bird, it is a plane, it is superman but it is not AB! W-H-A-T-A-C-A-T-C-HHHHHHH! Stunning. Absolutely. Aiden Markram it is. The ball is full and outside off and Hardik bashes it with brute power. The ball goes over cover and seems like it has cleared the fielder. But no, Markram leaps full stretch, sticks out his right hand and takes a stinger! Take a bow, skipper. Brilliant. |
| 49.1 : 49.1: C Morris to MS Dhoni, FOUR! CLOBBERED! 19 needed from 5 now! Full and outside off, Dhoni blasts it wide of cover and finds the boundary! |
| 49.3 : 49.3: C Morris to MS Dhoni, OUT! Bhuvi is run out but India will not mind. Dhoni is back on strike. A low full toss outside off, MSD hits it hard towards long on and calls for two. JP Duminy collects the ball calmly and returns a straightforward throw to Morris. Simple run out, which is not even referred upstairs. |
| 49.4 : 49.4: C Morris to MS Dhoni, FOUR! Up and over! Short and outside off, Dhoni leaps and cuts it over cover for a boundary! |
| 0.5 : 0.5: B Kumar to A Markram, FOUR! Shot! That should get the captain going. On a length outside off, Markram gets on top of the bounce and punches it through the covers, on the up, for a boundary! |
| 1.5: J Bumrah to A Markram, FOUR! Not in total control. A length ball outside off, Markram deliberately opens the face of the bat to guide it towards third man but gets it off the bottom edge, wide of first slip to the fence. 279 more needed from 289 balls. |
| 2.4 : 2.4: B Kumar to H Amla, EDGED, FOUR! This would have been a wicket if this had been a Test match. Kumar bowls this on a length outside off, then gets it to nip back in. Generates extra zip and bounce off the deck which catches Amla by surprise. He fends at it but only gets an outside edge. Luckily for him, the ball goes wide of first slip to the third man fence. |
| 4.1 : 4.1: B Kumar to A Markram, FOUR! Edged and through again! Kohli brought third man up inside the circle and moved the slip wide. Markram looked to push at that ball and got a bit of an outside edge. It went onto the ground and raced past that wide slip and went fine than short third man! |
| 5.2 : 5.2: J Bumrah to H Amla, FOUR! Shot! Typical Amla. Short and outside off, Amla gets across and punches it through the covers and finds the gap. |
| 6.6 : 6.6: B Kumar to H Amla, FOUR! What a shot. On a length outside off, Amla punches it through the covers. Kuldeep Yadav races to his left and dives but cannot stop the ball. |
| 7.2 : 7.2: J Bumrah to A Markram, OUT! LBW! The decision stays as it is! Don't think it was the wisest of calls to review this in the first place. The ball landed outside off, Markram walked across and then looked to heave. But missed the ball and got hit, just over the knee roll. It looked plumb and Aleem Dar agreed. Markram had a long look at Amla and then both these players signalled for the review. Hawk Eye showed it to be hitting the stumps. Waste of a review. |
| 11.4 : 11.4: H Pandya to H Amla, FOUR! Up and over! Fine shot. Half volley outside off, Amla leans and lofts this over cover for a boundary. Welcome one for South Africa. 139 more needed from 98 balls. The stand moves to 20 from 26 deliveries while Amla is now on 31 from 36. |
| 12.2 : 12.2: K Yadav to JP Duminy, OUT! Adjudged LBW! Well, not a convincing appeal at all but the umpire has raised his finger. Duminy might have picked the last ball but he certainly did not pick this one, nor does he look like picking to agree with the decision of the umpire. Looks totally gutted. To be honest, that did not look out at all. Duminy came way down the track, but was nowhere near the pitch of the ball. Missed his flick and was hit on the pads. Kuldeep was the only one appealing and tumb |
| 13.5 : 13.5: H Pandya to de Villiers, FOUR! CLOBBERED! A short ball, around off, de Villiers is ready, gets on top of it and swats it through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 14.1 : 14.1: K Yadav to H Amla, OUT! Game awareness, tick. Boundary-line awareness, tick. Terrific catch, oh yes! Amla, thanks for being out there for 40 balls! Spin is amidst it all, again. This is nicely tossed up around off and middle, Amla slinks down a couple of steps and lifts it aerially towards long off. Bhuvneshwar stationed there goes backwards and takes it, but then seems to be going over the ropes and hence throws it in the air, goes out, comes in and completes the catch. Seems to be a good |
| 14.6 : 14.6: K Yadav to D Miller, FOUR! Tossed up on the stumps, Miller gets down and sweeps it powerfully through backward square leg for a boundary. |
| 15.4 : 15.4: Y Chahal to de Villiers, SIX! BANG! This is nicely tossed up outside off, de Villiers gets down on one knee by moving across and slog sweeps it high and handsome over the deep mid-wicket fence. |
| 15.5 : 15.5: Y Chahal to de Villiers, SIX! Tripe! Chahal bowls a half-tracker and that's a gift for someone like AB. He goes back and has enough time in the world to collect a biggie. Does so with a pull over deep mid-wicket. |
| 16.5: H Pandya to de Villiers, OUT! Know what's precision? Picking out the man stationed on the fence to perfection. And AB de Villiers has done just that. Fuller in length, angling in, de Villiers flicks it away off his pads. Does so aerially and the ball flies straight to Rohit Sharma at fine leg. He didn't have to move an inch. Know who moved a lot? Hardik Pandya. He was up and running to his mate who had managed to hold on to the catch to give him the big scalp. India have the hosts needing |
| 17.6 : 17.6: Y Chahal to D Miller, OUT b Yuzvendra Chahal. South Africa have lost their fifth wicket. |
| 18.1 : 18.1: H Pandya to D Miller, FOUR! Full in length, Miller clears his front leg and goes over mid off. Clears the man easily and collects a boundary. |
| 18.2 : 18.2: H Pandya to D Miller, FOUR! Short and wide, punished yet again. Miller has enough room on offer and he cuts it fiercely over point. Makes enough contact and collects another boundary. |
| 18.3 : 18.3: H Pandya to D Miller, FOUR! A troika of boundaries for Miller and the hosts require another 82 now. He gets his front leg out of the way and blasts it through mid-wicket. Succeeds in finding the fence there. |
| 19.5 : 19.5: Y Chahal to H Klaasen, FOUR! Wow! Klaasen can bat! Sees this tossed up ball on the stumps, and selects the option of getting down and bashing it over mid-wicket. Succeeds in getting a one-bounce boundary to his name. The runs needed come down to 74. |
| 20.3 : 20.3: K Yadav to H Klaasen, FOUR! Klaasen seems to have downloaded google translator, reckons our scorer here. Dhoni had shouted just before this ball was delivered, that Heinrich would look to get inside the line and play it to the leg side. The batter does the exact opposite as he gets down and plays the reverse sweep over backward point for a boundary. |
| 20.5 : 20.5: K Yadav to D Miller, SIX! Ho, ho, ho! That's out of here! Nicely tossed up around off, Miller gets down one knee and BLASTS it over wide long on. The ball goes and lands in the second tier. It has gone in the car park, reckons the on-air commentator. 58 off 43 needed. |
| 21.3 : 21.3: Y Chahal to H Klaasen, FOUR! Atrocious! Chahal anticipates the batter to go after him and hence darts this short and wide outside off. This is almost outside the tramline. Klaasen moves across to the ball and pulls it over square leg for a one-bounce boundary. Looks funny as even Dhoni had moves behind the batter. |
| 21.4 : 21.4: Y Chahal to H Klaasen, SIX! Know how to take full toll of the freebie? Ask Klaasen. This is a Free Hit and so he knows he cannot be dismissed. Bashes this high over the long on fence for another biggie. Can we have a 10 in the sport, please? |
| 22.1 : 22.1: J Bumrah to H Klaasen, FOUR! Oh dear! The spinners are having a bad night not only with the ball, but also on the field. This is hurled outside off, Klaasen gets a thick outside edge towards third man. The wet outfield comes to his aid. Yadav at that position got to the ball but it spins away just a bit. Hits him on the foot and goes away to the fence. The look on Kohli's face says it all. |
| 23.2 : 23.2: Y Chahal to D Miller, SIX! Bad night for Chahal? Understatement. Lucky Miller? Very much! He gets another long hop on the stumps, all he has to do is go back and pull. Does so with utmost ease and collects a maximum over deep mid-wicket. Why lucky but? Because of the lives that he has got till here. 28 off 28 needed. |
| 23.4 : 23.4: Y Chahal to D Miller, OUT! Chahal gets his revenge, though not sure we can call it that. Chahal bravely floats it around middle and gets it to turn in just a touch. Miller gets his front foot across and then tries to defend with a straight bat. Misses the ball completely and is caught adjacent to the stumps. Dar raises that dreaded finger. Plumb, shows the Ball Tracker, too. Thankfully for Chahal and India, it is not a no ball! 28 off 27 needed. Chokers, anybody? |
| 24.1 : 24.1: K Yadav to H Klaasen, FOUR! Well played. Short in length, spinning in a touch. Klaasen goes back and lofts it over covers for a boundary. |
| 24.5 : 24.5: K Yadav to A Phehlukwayo, FOUR! This is a night where every shot seems to be coming off for South Africa. Phehlukwayo has his intentions of reverse sweeping this displayed on a billboard. Seeing this, Yadav floats it wider. Doesn't matter for Andile who goes through with his shot and gets it through backward point for a boundary. |
| 24.6 : 24.6: K Yadav to A Phehlukwayo, SIX! Up, high and above! Tossed up at a slower pace around off, Phehlukwayo gets down and slog sweeps it over the deep mid-wicket fence for another biggie. Just 9 needed now. 17 from this over and that probably averts the Proteas from being the chokers. |
| 25.2 : 25.2: Y Chahal to A Phehlukwayo, SIX! Phehlukwayo looked clueless against the wrist spinners in the previous games and look at him now. Slinks down the track in a flash and hits it straight over the bowler's head for another biggie. Just two less than a boundary required now. |
| 25.3 : 25.3: Y Chahal to A Phehlukwayo, SIX! Phehlukwayo finishes off in style as SOUTH AFRICA AVOID A SERIES DEFEAT TONIGHT! Gets down to this tossed up ball and plays the slog sweep for the umpteenth time. Gets two more than a boundary to end the game. |
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