Chahal puts South Africa in a spin as India win second ODI

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took career-best figures as India cruised to a thumping nine-wicket one-day International victory over a woeful South Africa yesterday, though their moment of triumph was reduced to a farce by the umpires.

Aleem Dar and Adrian Holdstock stuck to the rules and called for a lunch break with the tourists needing just two runs to win at Centurion.

That ensured the final act was played out 40 minutes later in front of a sparse crowd, a decision that left both teams bemused.

Chahal finished with 5-22 in 8.2 overs, ripping through the middle-order as India won the toss and skittled their hosts for 118, South Africa’s lowest total in home ODI matches. India then reached the target in 20 overs to humiliate their hosts.

After winning the opener of the six-game series in Durban, India looked in control of the chase as Shikhar Dhawan (51 not out from 56 balls) and captain Virat Kohli (46 not out from 50 balls) made light work of the home attack.

The third match in the series will be played in Cape Town on Wednesday.

The decision to call for lunch with the game all but over will be the major talking point to come out of the match, but it should not overshadow what was a dominant display from a highly impressive Indian unit.

Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav also recorded his career-best figures of 3-20 in six overs as South Africa slipped from 51-1 to lose their last nine wickets for 67 runs.

“The spinners were outstanding, it was a hard surface so they were getting pace and bounce off the wicket as well,” Kohli said.

“We want to play positive cricket and take the opposition on. We know their middle order is inexperienced and we want to cash in on that.”

The home side were led by Aiden Markram, 23, in just his third ODI game with experienced batsmen Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers missing with finger injuries.

“There were a couple of soft options [shots], starting with myself, so I am going to have to lead from the front and do better going forward,” Markram said.