India chased down a target of 279 with 25 balls to spare in the second ODI, levelling the series 2-2 against South Africa and keeping themselves alive in the series.
Ishan Kishan playing as a specialist number 3 scored a whirlwind 93 off just 84 balls, though he fell short of his hundred, his partner on the other end Shreyas Iyer did not with an unbeaten knock of 113 off 111 balls.
The Proteas were restricted to 278, with Siraj being the pick of the bowlers and bagging 3 wickets in the economic spell of 10 overs, giving away just 38 runs. The debutant Shehbaz Ahmed got India their first breakthrough and his debut wicket in the form of batter Janneman Malan.
Dhawan revealed that the toss worked perfectly in India’s favour as due to the dew factor, batting became easy in the second half.
“The ball was coming on nicely but it was keeping low. So our plan was to take on the bowlers in the first ten overs,” Dhawan said at the post-match presentation.
“Once the dew came into the picture, it was skidding on. So the back-foot shots were easy to execute. I am glad. Thanks to (stand-in captain) Keshav (Maharaj) that he chose to bat,” Dhawan said with a laugh,” Dhawan said the toss of coins also worked perfectly for the team as South Africa chose to bat first.
Ahmed who donned the blue jersey for the first time ended up with the figures of 10-0-54-1 which certainly impressed skipper Dhawan as he praised and mentioned his contribution which was vital to the team.
“I am very pleased with the bowlers, especially Shahbaz, the way he bowled in the first ten overs and got us the breakthrough.” Dhawan added
India will now move to the capital city Delhi where they will play the final ODI which is a series decider for both India and South Africa.
Team India are playing with their B team as the A has headed to Australia to gear up for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The third ODI which is a series decider will be played in Delhi at 1:30 PM on Tuesday, October 11.
