India take 2-0 lead after an emphatic 9-wicket in second ODI
Centurion: Yuzvendra Chahal (5/22) and Kuldeep Yadav’s (3/20) magical wrist spin outfoxed a depleted South Africa as India romped to a crushing nine-wicket win in the second ODI here Sunday to reclaim the pole position in the ICC rankings. However ICC will not be releasing the ranking list till the end of the series as it is a convention.
India now lead the six-match series 2-0 as they literally annihilated the home team which had the ignominy of being shot out for a paltry 118 in 32.3 overs — their lowest-ever score at home.
Chahal recorded his career-best ODI figures and was superbly complemented by Kuldeep with none of the Proteas batsmen able to read them off their hands nor off the pitch.
Interestingly Chahal’s figures were best by any Indian bowler on South African soil eclipsing Yuvraj Singh’s 4 for six runs against Namibia at Pietermaritzburg during 2003 World Cup.
It was a walk in the park for the batsmen as Shikhar Dhawan (51 n o, 56b, 9×4) helped himself to a nice half century in company of skipper Kohli (46 n o, 50b, 4×4, 1×6) to get India atop the 50-over rankings, finishing the match in 20.3 overs.
The end of the match bordered on farcical as on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Adrian Holdstock called for lunch with India needing only two runs for a victory.
The umpires went by the book to call for lunch as 19 overs of Indian innings was possible before the break. India played a maiden over before Kohli got a couple to finish off the match.
It was once again the wiry-framed Chahal and chubby- cheeked Kuldeep, who bamboozled the batsmen with their difficult art-form with a collective haul of 8 for 42 – best ever by spin duo in an ODI on South African soil.
While AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis’ absence is an advantage, the performance on South African soil by the spinners will go a long way in shedding the tag of being backyard bullies.
The hosts lost three wickets in six balls without scoring a run as they were reduced from 51 for one to 51 for four never recovered from thereon. Khaya Zondo (25) and JP Duminy (25) added 48 runs for the fifth wicket. But Chahal came into attack again and dismissed both the batsmen in quick succession. The hosts were then eventually bowled out in the 33rd over.
Kohli hails Chahal, Kuldeep
Wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have so far proved to be unplayable against South Africa in the ongoing ODI series and India captain Virat Kohli is confident that they can extract turn from any surface.
The Centurion pitch offered ample assistance to Chahal and Yadav as India decimated South Africa. “The pitch was harder than Durban and the spinners used it. We knew we won’t get grass on the pitch because when it’s seaming, it can be anyone’s game. We knew the wickets would be hard and dry and knew our wrist spinners can get it to turn anywhere. They just didn’t give South Africa any chance,” said Kohli after the match
The Indian captain had no hesitation in opting to chase. “If we set up to chase down totals, we know exactly what we want to do. Rohit and Shikhar’s intent at the top is crucial. They started off well in the last game too.
“We back guys to play positive cricket. It’s (2-0) a wonderful position to be in. We know their middle-order was inexperienced, and we wanted to cash in on that,” he said.
Stand-in captain Aiden Markram said batsmen let his team down. “Not the best performance today. It’s a day about which we have to be really honest with ourselves. There were too many soft dismissals starting from myself. We can’t afford slip-ups now. It might bring out the best in us,” he said.
ICC faces flak
The ICC came in for sharp criticism for its bizarre rules on playing conditions after the play was stopped for lunch with India needing just two runs to win the second ODI against South Africa here Sunday. Both the on-field umpires veteran Aleem Dar and Adrian Holdstock and match referee Andy Pycroft were criticised by TV commentators and cricket pundits, who termed their decision to call for lunch as per ICC’s rigid playing condition rules with India needing just two runs to win as ‘farce’.