Kohli, Thakur takeIndiato51serieswin
India captain cracks 35th ODI century in chase after Shardul’s fourwicket haul restricts South Africa to 204
CENTURION: There was no stopping India skipper Virat Kohli as he scored his third century of the series here at the SuperSport Park. It was the 35th of his career and helped him become the first batsman to get to 500 runs in a bilateral series.
His knock dominated the mood at the stadium so much that the fact that India scored a resounding eight-wicket win with 17.5 overs to spare in the last ODI to clinch the series 5-1 became merely a footnote to the day’s play.
It is the biggest loss South Africa have suffered in a home series.
The India skipper had gone for the kill in dead rubber with a full strength team as the song, a dirge in reality, remained the same for South African batsmen.
After sealing the series in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, Kohli had said that he could bring in a few fresh faces but at the same time insisted that winning the series in a thumping way would be the priority.
Any other captain would have used this opportunity to blood in a few youngsters, but the India skipper faced such a torrid time, and criticism in the first half of the series that he probably thought a great score-line in ODIs would bury the loss in the Test series. They brought in Shardul Thakur in place of out-of-form Bhuvneswar Kumar as the only change while the hosts went in with four changes.
The hosts duly obliged, helping his cause as their batting folded once again showing neither guts nor gumption on a wicket that was very good for batting. They folded for 204 in the 47th over and in reply India cruised along despite losing Rohit Sharma early once again.
The India skipper remained unbeaten on 129 (96 balls; 19x4, 2x6). With Friday’s knock, Kohli went past teammate Rohit Sharma for most runs in a bilateral series, finishing with 558 runs (Avg 186; Strike Rate: 99) and remaining unbeaten on three occasions. Rohit had scored 491 against Australia at home in 2013-14. Out of the two times Kohli was dismissed in this series, one was through a run-out, meaning that the South African bowlers got him out just once.
While the South African batsmen struggled, with only Khaya Zondo showing patience, composure and willingness, Kohli simply blazed through.
Kohli had scored two centuries in the series ahead of this game, 112 not out at Durban in the first match and 160 not out at Cape Town in the third match.
Although the India skipper had been fortunate on a few occasions, with catches getting missed and a couple of umpiring decisions going his way, there has been no doubt that he has looked unbeatable.
The India skipper who had been targeted with short deliveries in Test matches and also in the earlier part of this series, took the Proteas bowlers on Friday head on, hammering their short deliveries. He managed to get on top of the bounce and keep them on the ground as the South African bowlers, all hit-the-deck-kind, struggled to ruffle him.
In fact, while Cape Town was an example of stamina and daring, Friday’s knock was about his skills and aggression against the short-pitched ball.
Earlier though, South Africa wasted a good start. With AB de Villiers and Khaya Zondo adding 62 in about 11 overs, it looked like they’ll put up a decent total. But once De Villiers was out, misjudging pace of a Chahal delivery, the batting caved in. Perhaps it was the fear of spinners that led them to give three of the top five wickets to medium-pacer Shardul Thakur while trying to attack him. And if it was, it showed how psyched out they’ve been. More than skills, they’ve been found short in mind.