December 12, 2013
Brief Scorecard: South Africa 301 for 8 (de Villiers 109, de Kock 101, Miller 56*, Ishant 4-40) v India – Match Rained Out
Quinton de Kock broke the record for the most runs in a three-match bilateral series
December 12, 2013
Brief Scorecard: South Africa 301 for 8 (de Villiers 109, de Kock 101, Miller 56*, Ishant 4-40) v India – Match Rained Out
Quinton de Kock broke the record for the most runs in a three-match bilateral series
PRETORIA: The sun shone brightly in the afternoon and so did Ishant Sharma. But just after the break, clouds rushed in over Centurion and in no time the heavens opened up.
It rained through the evening, not letting the Indians play a single ball. Finally, the third ODI was called off, leaving South Africa 2-0 winners of the series.
Earlier, despite the consistent rain on match-eve, the groundsmen did a great job to ensure a 1.30 pm start to the match. And Ishant (4-40) looked a completely different bowler. He hit the right length, got the ball to move off the seam and troubled all South African batsmen.
But it was not enough to stop South Africa from scoring 301-8 in their allotted 50 overs. The hero once again was Quinton de Kock (101 off 120 balls).
The left-hander, who is not a part of the Test team, became the first South African to score three consecutive ODI centuries while his skipper AB de Villiers (109 off 101 balls) was in his usual fluent self as the hosts recovered from a stuttering start.
South Africa had rested Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Jacques Kallis in this match and when they were reduced to 28-3, India were fancying their chances.
The prolific Hashim Amla was unlucky to find his flick off a leg-side full-toss by Mohammad Shami land in square-leg's grasp. But Ishant, in his first spell, worked up a good pace as the top-order struggled to cope.
Ishant induced edges off Henry David and JP Duminy's bats with deliveries that moved just a bit off the seam and Suresh Raina at second slip gulped both catches.
But De Villiers and De Kock couldn't be subdued. De Kock, though, gave a couple of half chances (on 37 and 47) but the Indian fielders let the opportunities slip.
De Kock soon cut down on the risks and for the next 25-odd overs it was an uphill struggle for the Indian bowlers. AB and De Kock played within themselves, looking for the singles and waiting for the loose deliveries.
The Indian spinners, during this phase, looked ineffective and the bad ball, too was on offer. Both the players often danced down the track and forced Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to bowl short.
De Kock completed his century with a single and there was a huge roar in appreciation of the youngster's milestone. Ishant, though, had the last laugh when he got De Kock with a fuller delivery.
The Delhi lad, who completed 100 wickets in ODIs, bowled well at the death as well and even the marauding AB couldn't get on top of him.
The South African captain completed his 16th ODI century in style and when he looked to go for the final push, Umesh Yadav had him leg-before with one that swung in late. David Miller (56 off 34 balls) provided the late flourish as South Africa went past the 300-mark.
Courtesy: PTI
