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KL Rahul’s ODI captaincy got off to a disastrous start as India were whitewashed in the three-ODI series by Temba Bavuma-led South Africa. Deepak Chahar revived the run chase but his wicket in the 48th over led to India losing the third ODI by four runs. With the whitewash, Rahul became the first Indian captain to lose his first three ODIs in a row.
It was India’s first whitewash in the format since February 2020 where Virat Kohli-led India lost the three-ODI series on New Zealand tour. This is also the fifth time India lost a bilateral ODI series (three or more ODIs).
Chahar’s 54-run knock could not save India from loss but kept the game alive till the last over. South Africa won the match by just four runs which is the narrowest margin of win in an ODI for the hosts over India. Previously, the five-run win over in Kanpur in 2015 was their narrowest win against India in the format.
Chahar shared a 55-run partnership with Jasprit Bumrah for the eighth wicket. It is the second highest partnership for India for eighth or lower in ODIs against South Africa. It went past Shardul Thakur and Bumrah’s unbeaten 51-run partnership in the first ODI as well. Chahar also became the fifth Indian batter to score a half-century against South Africa in 50-over format while batting at seven or lower position.
In the run chase, Virat Kohli scored 65 runs from 84 deliveries. Once again, Kohli could not manage to hit a century despite scoring fourth fifty in five ODIs. The former Indian skipper has now gone without an ODI century for 18 innings which is the longest margin between centuries in his career. The previous longest drought of centuries came in 2011 when Kohli went century-less for 17 innings.
Despite the defeat, India managed to score 283 runs while chasing 288. This is the third-highest ODI total by a team while chasing at the venue. Sri Lanka and Australia have scored 327 and 296 respectively against South Africa while chasing. However, the record for highest successful run chase belongs to hosts. They chased down 259 against England in 2020.
Earlier in the first innings, South African Quinton de Kock scored 124. It was De Kock's sixth ODI century against India in 16 innings. He became the fastest to six ODI centuries against India. The southpaw also became the fourth wicketkeeper-batter to score 1,000 or more ODI runs against India.
