Muristek
Cape Town, January 23
India came tantalisingly close to a consolation win in the third and final ODI of the series, but South African bowlers held their nerves under pressure to eke out a four-run win.
Needing 10 runs off the last three overs, India lost three wickets for five runs to end up at 283 all out. No. 7 Deepak Chahar struck 54 off 34 balls to bring India close but could not finish the match, falling on the first ball of the 48th over. Jasprit Bumrah (12) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2) too fell soon enough, and South Africa completed a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series, having won the Test series 2-1.
Chahar had resuscitated the chase after India seemed down and out at 210/6 in 39.5 overs, with all the specialist batsmen gone and only 10.1 overs left in which to score 78 runs.
But Chahar counterattacked, getting his first four off an outside edge of Lungi Ngidi in the 41st over before hitting the next ball for four with a confident pull. Chahar then hit Dwaine Pretorius for consecutive sixers in the 44th over, one over midwicket and the other over point, to raise hopes in the Indian camp. He continued to gather the boundaries and reached his 50 off 31 balls.
However, with only 10 runs needed off three overs, there was another twist as Chahar fell to a slow and wide ball from Ngidi — he went for a big shot and only sent it up, and Pretorius took a good catch. Only two runs came off the 48th over, and India lost their ninth wicket when Bumrah, going for a four, could not clear Temba Bavuma at mid-off — 281/9, seven needed off nine balls. Chahal was the last man out, going for a pull off Pretorius but only lobbing a catch on the off side.
India's chase had been put on track by Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, who added 98 runs for the second wicket.
Earlier, India had rallied to bowl South Africa out for 287, taking their last seven wickets for 73 runs in 14.2 overs.
Opener Quinton de Kock struck an attacking century and Rassie van der Dussen continued his sublime form with a 52-run knock. De Kock struck 124 off 130 balls and added 144 runs for the fourth wicket with van der Dussen.
Brief scores: South Africa 287 (de Kock 124, van der Dussen 52; Prasidh 3/59); India 283 (Kohli 65, Dhawan 61, Chahar 54; Phehlukwayo 3/40, Ngidi 3/58). —