India ride Rohit ton to clinch series
Rohit’s 115, Kuldeep’s four wickets help India win by 73 runs and bag their maiden series in SA
PORT ELIZABETH: India created history, beating South Africa by 73 runs in the fifth ODI at the St George’s Park to win their first series in that country. They lead 4-1 with one game to go at Centurion on Friday.
Opener Rohit Sharma (115 off 126 balls, 11x4, 4x6) finally came good in this series as he scored his 17th century, his first in South Africa, to help India get to 274 in their 50 overs. Although the middle order faltered, Rohit’s effort and his partnership with skipper Virat Kohli were enough to give the visitors a score that proved too much for the Proteas.
South Africa tried hard and despite losing early wickets, including that of AB de Villiers, tried to make a match of it. However, once Hashim Amla was run out by Hardik Pandya, it was left for Heinrich Klaasen to shoulder the responsibility and it proved too much.
Amla top scored with 71 while Klaasen made 39 off 42 balls. Spinners Kuldeep Yadav (4/57) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/43) were again among wickets. Pandya with two wickets, including that of De Villiers, a run out of Amla and a catch was the star for India in the second half.
Earlier, Rohit’s century carried India beyond the 200-run mark. It was the first time India crossed the landmark at this venue where they had lost all previous five encounters.
The opener was lucky to get to his ton as he was dropped three short of the milestone. Apart from that, his knock was flawless.
Rohit had been troubled by the pace and bounce on these wickets in earlier games, not just in this series but on the previous tour in 2013. This time he buckled down,
first letting Shikhar Dhawan play the aggressive role and then getting into that mould.
His first boundary, off Morne Morkel, was edgy as it went in the air past a diving JP Duminy at point. He then came down the track and hit Kagiso Rabada for a six over long on to soothe the nerves. That set him going and from there on he never looked back.
Although the pitch supported movement early on, Rohit and Kohli were never really bothered as the Proteas bowlers struggled.
India’s ability to fend off the new ball and not lose wickets has been paying dividend of late. Dhawan had said earlier that the team’s ability to see off the first 10 overs without losing many wickets – just one in most cases, allowed the team to put pressure on the opposition.