South Africa revealed what India failed to do in the last game as the hosts won the game easily. The rigid partnership by the openers led to a good start and eased the game, giving chance to the middle order to stand and complete the game.
Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan played a wonderful knock as both the openers held a partnership for 132 runs. Captain Bavuma too played.
Quinton was the first wicket as India got a breakthrough by Thakur who ensured captain Rahul to take the DRS as the umpire’s initial call was not out. Quinton scored 78 off 66 balls. Malan played an intense inning of 91 runs which managed to comfort the hosts to snatch away the trophy. Captain Bavuma too played a fine knock of 35 runs.
The bowling unit yet again failed to create a mark of their presence as the batsman didn’t feel any competition and the game naturally seemed one side as only the hosts were witnessed to show up with the performance. Venkatesh Iyer got 5 overs to make an impact but was not able to take any wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar with a poor economy failed to stop the opening pair from scoring.
The runs scored by team India could have been defended but the extreme performance by the hosts made the game an easy win. With this win the hosts win the ODI series along with the Test series, leaving India with a lot of questions on the team’s performance.
Coach Dravid has a lot to think and the unstable captaincy for team India makes a huge impact on the downfall of team India. With the last game left, India might allow Ruturaj as well as Suryakumar to be included in team XI.