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India vs South Africa, 3rd ODI: All-round India hammer SA by 124 runs to take 3-0 lead
After posting 303/6, thanks to Virat Kohli`s 160 not out, India`s spin twins Kuldeep Yadav (4/23) and Yuzvendra Chahal (4/46) dismissed the hosts out for 179 in 40 overs.
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And the last wicket has fallen! India dismiss SA for 179 to win by a mammoth 124 runs. Kuldeep takes his fourth wicket by trapping Ngidi (6) in front to signal third win on the trot for the visitors, who now take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the six-match series. Besides Kuldeep (4/23), his spin partner Chahal (4/46) excelled once again as the duo continues to torment the hosts, taking their combined tally of wickets in three matches to 21.
Virat Kohli's 160 not out set it up for India and Kuldeep-Chahal provided the finishing act. So it's confirmed now that for the first time in history, an Indian ODI team will leave South Africa without losing the series. Having said that, Team India will, in all likelihood, leave with the trophy tucked under in its arm.
Yuzvendra takes his fourth wicket. Imran Tahir is his latest victim. Goes for a big shot but finds Virat Kohli in the wide mid-on area. Tahir made 8. South Africa 167/9 in 38.4 overs.
Kuldeep Yadav joins Yuzvendra Chahal on 3 wickets. Kuldeep dispatches Andile Phehlukwayo for 3 as Virat Kohli takes a simple catch at extra cover. South Africa 158/8 in 37.3 overs. Target 304
Yuzvendra Chahal now removes Khaya Zondo for 17. Third wicket for him. The batsman goes for a big shot but only finds substitute Manish Pandey at extra cover. It's very much over for the Proteas. South Africa 156/7 in 37 overs. Target: 304
Kuldeep Yadav traps Chris Morris in front of the wickets to take his second wicket. South Africa 150/6 in 35.2 overs. Now it's sort of a formality for the tourists. Highly unlikely the Proteas will get anywhere close to the target of 304.
South Africa 149/5 in 35 overs. The asking rate is now over 10. It will now take a minor miracle for South Africa to reach the target from here.
And to make things worse, Jasprit Bumrah has David Miller caught behind for 25. Second wicket for Bumrah. South Africa 129/5 in 32.3 overs. The target of 304 now appears to be very much out of South Africa's reach, to be honest.
Now the asking rate is close to 10. Khaya Zondo has consumed 28 balls to score 10, while David Miller has consumed 41 for 25. Somebody will have to cut loose. South Africa 128/4 in 32 overs. Target: 304
Plenty of dot balls from South Africa, which means the required run rate is going up by the over. South Africa 111/4 in 28 overs. The asking rate is reaching 9, which means somebody will have to take a chance to keep the team in the hunt. David Miller or Khaya Zondo, one of them will have to up the ante.
Fifty for JP Duminy, 25th in ODIs. It's been a good innings under the circumstances. But there is more work to be done by him, if South Africa are to make a match of it. Wait, as we praise him, he is out lbw to Yuzvendra Chahal. Second wicket for him. South 95/4 in 21.4 overs.
Here is another wicket for India. This time it's Yuzvendra Chahal who does the job. He traps debutant Klaasen in front of the wickets for 6. The batsman consults with Duminy whether or not to review and after a little chat walks off. Needing 304 to win, South Africa 90/3 in 20 overs. Duminy 49, Miller 1 at the crease.
Kuldeep Yadav gets the much-needed breakthrough off his first ball and removes Aiden Markram for 32. The South Africa captain fails to read the ball and gets stumped. 400th dismissal for MS Dhoni. He has now in the illustrious company of Kumar Sangakkara (482), Adam Gilchrist (472) and Mark Boucher (424). India are back in the contest. Heinrich Klaasen joins JP Duminy at the crease. South Africa 79/2 in 17 overs. Duminy 45*, Klaasen 0*.
Yuzvendra Chahal has bowled three overs but he hasn't been as effective as he had been in the previous two ODIs. Both Duminy and Markram look fairly comfortable against him. The tables have turned a little with this partnership. South Africa 74/1 in 15 overs, Duminy 41*, Markram 31* in pursuit of 304.
50 up for South Africa. Good partnership between JP Duminy and Aiden Markram. Both have played according to the merit of the ball. It will give a lot of hope to the rest of the batsmen. South Africa 51/1 in 11 overs. Duminy 30*, Markram 20*, chasing India's 303/6.
South Africa need a good partnership after losing Hashim Amla early on, and JP Duminy and Aiden Markram know that very well. Both batsmen have been cautious in their approach, which is the need of the hour. They have gone for shots only when there have been opportunities. Otherwise, they have been extremely cautious. South Africa 34/1 in 7 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah strikes in his first over, traps Hashim Amla for 1. Just the start India needed. The rest of the Proteas batsmen don't give much confidence, so this is a huge wicket for the tourists. South Africa 1/1 in 1.1 overs in pursuit of 304.
India finishes the innings on 303/6. Virat Kohli remains unbeaten on 160. What an innings it has been from him. Hits Kagiso Rabada for a six and a four off the last two balls of the over to take India past 300. Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar add an unbeaten 67 for the seventh wicket. It's a very good total at this venue, where the highest chase ever achieved is 258. Among the South African bowlers, JP Duminy stands out with 2/60. South Africa will now have to play out of their skin to pull one back in this series which they trail 2-0.
Six by Kohli off Chris Morris. Kohli picks him up early and hits towards wide long-on. David Miller runs from long-on and manages to pouch the ball with two hands but in the process, he crosses over the rope. Great effort there. India 288/6 in 49 overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets a reprieve as David Miller drops him off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada. But it was a difficult chance, and many fielders in the world wouldn't have been able to reach there, running to their right from mid-wicket. India 276/6 in 48 overs.
India will now feel good about their chances. Remember, the highest chase achieved at this venue is 258 and India are already past that total. In fact, they should get around 300. India 270/6 in 47 overs. Kohli 137, Bhuvneshwar 9 at the crease.
A desperate Imran Tahir appeals for lbw against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the umpire says no. He reviews it and replays show the ball is missing the leg stump. India 245/6 in 44 overs, Kohli 123*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1*.
Kedar Jadhav's turn to get back to the dressing room. Edges Andile Phehlukwayo through to keeper Klassen for 1. India 236/6 in 43 overs. Kohli 117*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 0*. All hopes of a solid total totally depend on Kohli now.
Kohli continues to lose partners at the other end. This time it's Dhoni who leaves him alone. Tries to hit Imran Tahir out of the park but finds Lungi Ngidi at long-on. He made 10. India 228/5 in 41.3 overs. Kedar Jadhav joins the Indian captain at the crease.
Yet another century for Virat Kohli. He is simply unstoppable. While other Indian batsmen are struggling on this wicket which has slowed down with time, Kohli looks unaffected. That's his quality. His second century in this series, overall 34th. India 214/4 in 39.1 overs.
The pitch has slowed down considerably. The Indian batsmen will do well to score around 270 from here. Basically, one of these two batsmen, Kohli or Dhoni, will have to stay there till the end of the innings.
Fourth wicket goes down for India and it's Hardik Pandya this time, edges Chris Morris through to debutant wicketkeeper Klaasen behind the wickets. He made 14. India 188/4 in 33.5 overs. MS Dhoni joins Virat Kohli at the crease.
Here goes down another wicket. Ajinkya Rahane falls to JP Duminy for 11 as Andile Phehlukwayo takes a nice catch running backwards at mid-off. Really, that was unnecessary. Rahane comes out of the crease and tries to hit back over the bowler's head. There was no need to play an extravagant shot like that so early in his innings. India 161/3 in 28 overs. Hardik Pandya has joined Virat Kohli at the crease.
Here comes the wicket for South Africa against the run of play. Dhawan will be really disappointed with himself. Comes out of the crease against JP Duminy before mistiming it and stand-in captain Aiden Markram takes a nice catch at short midwicket. Dhawan departs for 76. India 145/2 in 24 overs.
Kohli also completes his fifty, 46th in ODI cricket. India 132/1 in 22 overs. Dhawan 74* Kohli 53*. India are heading towards a big score. South Africa are trying one bowler after another but nothing has paid dividends so far.
100 up for India. They are 105/1 in 18 overs. Dhawan 59*, Kohli 41*. Seventh century partnership between these two batsmen. 25th ODI fifty for Dhawan. It appears things will only get worse for the South Africans from here.
India 79/1 after 15 overs. Dhawan 41*, Kohli 35*. India are back on track after losing Rohit Sharma very early in their innings for a duck. Both these batsmen are looking in great touch and the South African camp looks terribly worried. They desperately need quick wickets to get back into the contest.
That's the end of the first Powerplay. India 50/1 in 10 overs. Kohli 25*, Dhawan 24*. 50-run partnership between these two batsmen. Kohli has had a shaky start, quite a few times he has edged the ball but luckily for him nothing untoward has come of those edges.
Commentator Mike Haysman finds it strange that Morne Morkel is not playing this game. He says the lanky bowler has taken 13 wickets in the last four games he has played here. Valid point. Seems like South Africa have left him out on account of his average performance in the first two games of the series. India 28/1 in six overs, Kohli 13*, Dhawan 14*.
Rabada almost got his second wicket. Loud appeal for lbw and the umpire raises his finger. Virat Kohli reviews it and it turns out there was an edge before the ball hit the front pad. To add insult to injury, Kohli gets a four off the last ball of the over. India 8/1 in 3 overs.
Kagiso Rabada does it in the first over itself. After troubling quite a few times, he manages to remove Rohit Sharma off the last ball of the first over of the game. The ball takes the inside edge and Klassen does the rest behind the wickets, his first international catch. India 0/1 in 1 over. Just the start the Proteas needed.
The surface at Cape Town is full of runs, reckons Neil McKenzie. Kepler Wessels is of the opinion that South Africa should have batted first. That's a negative move, according to him. India's impressive chasing performances in the previous two games seem to have influenced the decision, adds Sanjay Manjrekar.
Lungi Ngidi had a great maiden Test series against India and South Africa will hope he parlays that success into ODIs now. Klaasen comes into the side on account of Quinton de Kock's injury. Shamsi had an ordinary outing in the second ODI, as a result Phehlukwayo returns to the side.
Here are both the playing XIs.
Here comes the toss update. South Africa have won the toss and decided to bowl at Cape Town. They have made three changes. Lungi Ngidi and Heinrich Klaasen are going to make their ODI debuts today, while Andile Phehlukwayo comes back in place of Tabraiz Shamsi. India, meanwhile, are unchanged. No surprises there, to be honest.
After posting 303/6, thanks to Virat Kohli's 160 not out, India's spin twins Kuldeep Yadav (4/23) and Yuzvendra Chahal (4/46) dismissed the hosts for 179 in 40 overs. SCORECARD