Agencies
Mumbai, Oct 25: Whenever, a youngster goes to take the first lessons of cricket, coaches teach him the importance of the three ‘D’s – dedication, determination and discipline. Well for once a different set of ‘D’s ruled the Wankhede Stadium here Sunday as South Africa destroyed India by runs to win the ODI series 3-2.
The ‘D’s were De Kock (109, 87b, 17×4, 1×6), Du Plessis (133 retired hurt, 115b, 9×4, 6×6) and De Villiers (119 n o, 61b, 3×4, 11×6). They all have their first names in front of the ‘D’s, but it was demoralising decimation when the trio put the Indian bowling to sword and took South Africa to 438 for four in their quote of 50 overs.
There has been only one occasion when the opposition has chased down a 400-plus target. It was South Africa who did that against Australia at Johannesburg in 2006. To achieve the 439 runs target to win the game, the Indians needed two big contributions from two among the top three. But that never happened and with the early loss of Rohit Sharma (16) and Virat Kohli (7), the hosts were always fighting a lost cause. Ajinkya Rahane (87, 58b, 9×4, 2×6) played a blinder, but the moment he holed out to Farhaan Behardien at deep mid-wicket off Dale Styen, it was just a matter of time that the South African’s put the final nail in the Indian coffin.
While chasing down any target set by the South Africans, it is always better to add another 25 runs to it simply because of their brilliance on the field. Kohli perished to a brilliant catch by De Kock behind the stumps while the outfielders converted many fours into twos as India batted. With each passing over, the required rate increased and with it the hopes of the fans, who had come to celebrate a late Dussera, vanished.
But then the Wankhede saw some stupendous batting feats by the South Africans. They were 176 for one in 25 overs and in the remaining 25 they scored 262 runs at an average of more than 10 runs per over. This is one game, that the Indian bowlers will want to forget as quickly as possible as they were hit to all parts of the park. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/106) and Mohit Sharma (1/84 in seven) were hit with disdain while Axar Patel went for 24 in the 43rd over, with Du Plessis hitting the left-arm spinner for three huge sixes.
There were two partnerships in the South African innings – first De Kock and Du Plessis put on 154 runs for the second wicket followed by a stand of 211 in less than 20 between Du Plessis and ABD. At that point of time, it seemed that the Indian bowlers were just wanting to go through their motions and finish their bowling stint at the crease as quickly as possible. It was ‘Mayhem at Mumbai’ with the hosts at the receiving end.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock c Kohli b Raina 109, Hashim Amla c Dhoni b Mohit 23, Faf du Plessis retired hurt 133, AB de Villiers c Dhoni b Kumar 119, David Miller n o 22, Farhaan Behardien c Raina b Harbhajan 16, Dean Elgar n o 5, Extras (lb-2, w-9) 11, Total (for four wickets) 438.
Fall: 1-33, 2-187 , 3-398, 4-430.
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-0-106-1, Mohit Sharma 7-0-84-1, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-70-1, Axar Patel 8-0-65-0, Amit Mishra 10-0-78-0, Suresh Raina 3-0-19-1, Virat Kohli 2-0-14-0.
India: Rohit Sharma c Tahir b Abbott 16, Shikhar Dhawan c Amla b Rabada 60, Virat Kohli c De Kock b Rabada 7, Ajinkya Rahane c Behardien b Steyn 87, Suresh Raina b Rabada 12, MS Dhoni b Tahir 27, Axar Patel c Miller b Steyn 5, Harbhajan Singh c sub (Morris) b Steyn 0, Bhuvneshawr Kumar c Miller b Tahir 1, Amit Mishra lbw b Rabada 4, Mohit Sharma n o 0; Extras: (lb-1, w-4) 5; Total: (all out in 36 overs) 224.
Fall: 1/22, 2/44, 3/156, 4/172, 5/185, 6/195, 7/201, 8/210, 9/219.
Bowling: Dale Steyn 7-0-38-3, Kagiso Rabada 7-0-41-4, Kyle Abbott 7-0-39-1, Farhaan Behardien 8-0-55-0, Imran Tahir 7-1-50-2.