Indias bowling woes left exposed as South Africa pull off record chase in Raipur

New Delhi: South Africa defeated India by four wickets in the second ODI to level the series 1-1 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Wednesday, December 3. Invited to bat first, the Men in Blue posted a 359-run target on the board. Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad notched up centuries, but their innings went in vain as the Proteas chased down the target with four balls to spare.

Chasing the target, the visitors got off to a poor start as Arshdeep Singh removed Quinton de Kock early, but Markram batted well at the top of the order and added crucial partnerships with captain Bavuma and Breetzke. Jaiswal dropped Markram on 53 runs, and he made the hosts pay by smashing an 88-ball ton.

After his dismissal, Breetzke joined Brevis to stitch a 92-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Both completed their fifties but failed to finish the job. Their dismissals opened the door for the Men in Blue as they got a little bit of hope, especially after Jansen fell and de Zorzi went off injured. But Corbin Bosch and Keshav Maharaj finished the job for the visitors.

Earlier, Virat Kohli smashed his 53rd ODI hundred, and Ruturaj Gaikwad completed his maiden ton in the format as India scored 358/5 against South Africa. Kohli scored 102 runs off 93 balls, and Gaikwad amassed 105 runs off 83 balls, forging a record 195-run partnership for the third wicket as the hosts recovered from a poor start.

This was Kohli’s second hundred in as many matches after smashing 135 runs in the first ODI at Ranchi on Sunday. Marco Jansen picked up two wickets, while Lungi Ngidi and Nandre Burger also took one wicket each. But the visitors chased down the record target due to the poor bowling and fielding from the Men in Blue.

India clearly missed Jasprit Bumrah’s control and wicket-taking ability in both the powerplay and death overs, as he was rested for the ODI three-match series. In the second ODI, Arshdeep Singh (0/54) was economical but failed to take wickets, while Harshit Rana (1/70) and Prasidh Krishna (2/85) conceded heavily, releasing pressure at crucial phases.

Their inconsistency released the pressure, which was built from the few disciplined phases, and allowed the visitors to rebuild and accelerate freely.

India’s attack looked flat without Bumrah’s expertise and his knack for breaking partnerships by delivering toe-crushing yorkers under pressure. The Men in Blue also lost a three-match ODI series by 2-1 against Australia in his absence.

India started well in the first ODI by taking early wickets, showing that the new-ball bowlers were effective. But once the ball got older, the bowling attack failed to maintain pressure, as the spinners couldn't control the run flow and the pacers struggled with accuracy in the middle and death overs. This allowed the Proteas to rebuild from 11/3 and nearly chase down a 350-run target.

Aiden Markram was batting on 53 runs when he mistimed a shot against Kuldeep Yadav and offered a simple catch at long-on, but Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped it as the Men in Blue struggled on the field. Apart from a flying stop from Tilak Varma, there wasn't much to highlight from the hosts. And while defending a target with a wet ball, the Men in Blue needed something special, which they failed to produce.