In the end, it boiled down to the two middle orders. India’s middle order barring skipper Virat Kohli came under the pump after another debacle whereas South Africa’s middle order stepped up when their side needed them the most as the hosts completed a stunning comeback to seal the series 2-1. Keegan Petersen, Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen came up with vital contributions in South Africa’s 7-wicket win on Friday (January 14).
Petersen took very little time this morning to get to his half-century but Jasprit Bumrah kept the fielding side interested by going past the outside edge on a few occasions. But whenever there was an opportunity to score, South Africa didn’t miss out.
After all that drama surrounding DRS yesterday, there was a bit more in store this morning. Kohli decided to use up a review when Van der Dussen missed a ball while attempting to drive but with the bat making contact with the ground, the noise interested the Indian fielders. The replays were inconclusive since the ball went past the bat the same time it made contact with the ground and as a result, the batter was given the benefit of the doubt.
To add to India’s frustration, Cheteshwar Pujara dropped a regulation chance at slip. With the seamers continuously beating the outside edge without any luck, Bumrah finally managed to create a glorious chance that was put down at slip. Petersen, who was batting on 59 at that point, added more runs to his tally.
Shardul Thakur finally gave India some respite with Petersen dragging one onto his stumps but the wicket clearly came a bit too late. Post the dismissal, India did create some pressure by keeping things tight but Temba Bavuma broke the shackles with two gorgeous boundaries off Bumrah. Just minutes before the lunch break, Thakur rapped van der Dussen on the pads and the batter survived the review as the replays showed the ball to be only clipping the stumps, much to India’s disappointment.
Only 41 runs were left for South Africa to seal the deal post the lunch break and Kohli turned to Ravichandran Ashwin for one last time. However, van der Dussen used the sweep shot to perfection to fetch six runs and bring the equation down to 35. An erratic Umesh Yadav leaked runs at the other end and the shoulders dropped sensing the inevitable as Bavuma eventually guided South Africa home to complete an excellent come-from-behind series win.
Brief scores: India 223 (Virat Kohli 79; Kagiso Rabada 4-73) & 198 (Rishabh Pant 100; Marco Jansen 4-36) lost to South Africa 210 (Keegan Petersen 72; Jasprit Bumrah 5-42) & 212/3 (Keegan Petersen 82; Shardul Thakur 1-22) by 7 wickets
