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India vs South Africa, 2nd ODI - As it happened...
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In the 2nd ODI India beat South Africa by 22 runs to level the five-match series 1-1. Riding on Dhoni's laboured 92-run knock Team India first managed to put up a challenging total of 247 in front of the visitors. And then Indian bowlers bowled as a unit to defend the total successfully. With this win India kept their proud record intact of never losing at game at Holkar Stadium. India skipper MS Dhoni once again proved his critics wrong with his fine knock and 4 catches behind the wickets. He is certainly the man of the hour.
Over 43.4 || Score 225/10 (Rabada 19*)
Bhuvi to continue. Tahir Out! Perfectly pitched ball and the right-hander got a thin edge of his bat to give a simple catch to Dhoni. Boundary of the next ball from Morne Morkel's willow. Off the third ball Raina took a sharp catch at slips to seal the match for India.
India win the match by 22 runs to level the five-match ODI series 1-1 against South Africa.
M Morkel c Raina b Kumar 4 (2b)
Imran Tahir c Dhoni b Kumar 9 (12b)
Over 43 || Score 221/8 (Rabada 19 Tahir 9)
Yadav to bowl the over. Rabada smacked the third ball for a boundary towards extra covers. The southpaw hit another boundary towards fine leg to collect eight from the over. Poor bowling by the speedster.
Over 42 || Score 213/8 (Rabada 11 Tahir 9)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back to bowl his 8th over. India are looking for wickets here. Three runs from the over. South Africa need 35 more off 49 balls.
Over 41 || Score 210/8 (Rabada 9, Tahir 8)
Yadav to continue. India have an upper hand but it can still be anyone's game as Rabada and Tahir can bat. SA need 38 runs from 54 balls and they have two wickets in hand.
Over 38 || Score 207/8 (Rabada 8, Tahir 7)
Turbanator with his last over. Rabada took a single off the 2nd ball as SA touched the 200-run mark. Behardien Out! Dhoni took a fine catch behind the wickets as Behardien trudged back towards the pavilion utterly despondent.
F Behardien c Dhoni b Harbhajan Singh 18 (33b)
Over 39 || Score 199/7 (Rabada 7, Behardien 18)
Yadav with his sixth over. Rabada is showing full face of the bat. It means the 20-year-old can bat a bit. South Africa need 49 more runs while India 3 wickets to win the match.
Over 38 || Score 195/7 (Rabada 6, Behardien 15)
Rabada played a crunching cover drive off Mohit to get his first boundary. The match is heading towards a nail-biting finish. Seven runs from the over.
Over 37 || Score 188/7 (Steyn 1, Behardien 13)
Steyn Out! This bowling change worked for India as Umesh Yadav picked up his first wicket in the form of Dale Steyn. One again Kohli was the fielder on this occasion. Rabada has joined Behardien at the center. India are mere three wickets shy to win the match.
DW Steyn c Kohli b Yadav 13 (16b)
Over 36 || Score 186/6 (Steyn 13, Behardien 12)
Bhajji with his penultimate over. Can he take a wicket or two here to take India closer towards the victory? Two runs from it. South Africa need 62 more runs to seal the match and they have 4 wickets in hand.
Over 35 || Score 184/6 (Steyn 12, Behardien 12)
Mohit with his 4th over. Behardien is capable of changing the fortunes of the game single-handedly. So Behardien should be Indian bowlers next target. Decent over by the medium pacer.
Over 34 || Score 181/6 (Steyn 11, Behardien 10)
Bhajji to continue. Steyn hoisted the bowler towards long on for a huge six. Then came a boundary from an outside edge. Good over for the visitors as they scored ten from it.
Over 33 || Score 171/6 (Steyn 1, Behardien 10)
Big blow for South Africa. AB de Villiers Out! Virat Kohli took another outstanding catch at short cover region to send the skipper back in the hut. It's a great opportunity for Team India to win the match and level the series. Dale Steyn has walked in to bat.
AB de Villiers c Kohli b MM Sharma 19 (20b)
Over 32 || Score 167/5 (AB 19, Behardien 8)
Harbhajan Singh is back into the attack. Decent over by the offie as he conceded mere four runs, all came in singles.
Over 31 || Score 163/5 (AB 17, Behardien 6)
Skipper AB Deviliers wicket would be key for South Africa now. Bhuvi and Axar are bowling in tandem at the moment. After losing three wickets in a heap, Proteas are certainly at the back-foot. India should keep the pressure intact by not giving them easy singles. Required rate in still under five so that's not an issue for the visitors.
Over 27 || Score 142/5 (AB 2, Miller 0)
Miller out for a golden duck. Bhuvi bowled peach of a delivery to get the southpaw caught behind the wickets. India is back with a bang. Farhaan Behardien and AB are in the middle for the visitors.
DA Miller c Dhoni b Kumar 0 (1b)
Over 26 || Score 141/4 (AB 0, Miller 0)
Double blow for South Africa as they lose Faf du Plessis as well. Axar Patel is on a roll here. Faf tried to hit the bowlers over short covers fielder but Kohli took a stunner to send the batsman back to the pavilion. India is back in the match.
F du Plessis c Kohli b Patel 51 (56b)
Over 24 || Score 134/3 (AB 0, Du Plessis 45)
Axar strikes! The offie trapped Duminy in frOnt of the wicket and this time field umpire Kulkarni didn't take much time to raise his finger. Skipper AB de Villiers is the new man to the crease.
JP Duminy lbw b Patel 36 (46b)
Over 23 || Score 131/2 (Duminy 35, Du Plessis 43)
Now it seems that match is slipping away from the hands of India. The third wicket stand is getting dangerous with every passing over. Yadav conceded three boundaries in the over. Two came from Duminy's willow and one from Faf. India need a couple of wickets here to get back into the match.
Over 22 || Score 118/2 (Duminy 27, Du Plessis 38)
Raina to continue. Faf and Duminy are now milking away the Indian bowlers. They are scoring runs with an ease. Faf has started hitting boundaries at will. He hit two consecutive fours in the over.
Over 21 || Score 110/2 (Duminy 25, Du Plessis 32)
Strike bowler Umesh Yadav is back into the attack. India need wickets now to win this match as they don't have much runs to defend. Expensive comeback by the speedster as he leaked eight runs, including a boundary which came from Faf's willow.
Over 20 || Score 103/2 (Duminy 24, Du Plessis 27)
Suresh Raina is set to bowl his opening over. The offie went for runs as he gave away ten in the over. In the mean time South Africa have crossed the 100-run mark and Faf and Duminy too added a 50-run stand for the third wicket.
Over 19 || Score 93/2 (Duminy 19, Du Plessis 22)
After losing both openers in a heap, Faf and Duminy are steadying the South African ship. They are running hard between the wickets, stealing the singles and even hitting an odd boundary whenever getting a loose ball. They have already added 41 runs for the third wicket.
Over 17 || Score 79/2 (Duminy 16, Du Plessis 12)
Mohit Sharma has been introduced into the attack for the first time in the innings. The medium pacer bowled a tight over first up, conceded mere two runs.
Over 16 || Score 77/2 (Duminy 15, Du Plessis 11)
Bhaji and Axar should stop giving easy singles every now and then to put some pressure on the batting side. But that's not happening at the moment as Faf and Duminy are playing the balls in gaps to get singles.
Over 14 || Score 68/2 (Duminy 11, Du Plessis 6)
Bhajji and Axar are finishing their overs quickly. Duminy and Faf are happy to take singles at the moment. They might look to attack the fifth bowler. To say the least, the match is evenly poised at the moment.
Over 11 || Score 58/2 (Duminy 7, Du Plessis 2)
Spinners are bowling in tandem for India. And both - Axar and Bhajji have picked a wicket apiece thus far. Faf and Duminy are in the middle for the visitors. In the meantime a quick over left-arm spinner in which he gave mere two runs.
Over 10 || Score 56/2 (Faf 1, Duminy 4)
Quinton de Kock Out! Harbhajan Singh picked up his first wicket as he forced the batsman to go for a big shot and make a mistake. And Kock trapped in his net as was caught at deep long off by Mohit Sharma.
Q de Kock c MM Sharma b Harbhajan Singh 34 (36b)
Over 8 || Score 43/1 (Kock 25, Du Plessis 1)
Faf is the new man to the crease after the fall of Saffers first wicket. Harbhajan to continue. Another tight over by the Punjab Ranji skipper.
Over 7 || Score 40/1 (Kock 23, Du Plessis 0)
It's a double bowling change! Axar Patel set to bowl his first over. Hashim Amla Out! After hitting the bowler for a boundary, the opener once again tried to dance down the wicket to hit him for a six. But on this occasion he missed the line and Dhoni dislodged the bails in a flash.
HM Amla st Dhoni b Patel 17 (17b)
Over 6 | Score 36/0 (Kock 23, Amla 13)
First bowling change. Offie Harbhajan Singh to replace Yadav. Tight over first up by the veteran as he gave mere four runs.
Over 5 | Score 32/0 (Kock 21, Amla 11)
Bhuvneshwar set to bowl his third over. This time, the medium pacer didn't give much room to the batsmen to free their arms. But India need wickets here as they don't have a big score to defend.
Over 4 | Score 29/0 (Kock 18, Amla 11)
Another expensive over as Umesh Yadav conceded two boundaries in it to leak 11 runs. Solid start by the visitors.
Over 3 | Score 18/0 (Kock 11, Amla 7)
Bhuvi to continue. New ball is not at all moving in the air as the bowler is looking ordinary. Bhuvi is not learning from his mistakes and bowling on a wrong line. Good over for the Saffers as seven came from it.
Over 2 | Score 11/0 (Kock 4, Amla 6)
Tearaway bowler Umesh Yadav is set to bowl the 2nd over. First ball was a gentle loosner and Amla collected his first boundary with the help of a thick outside edge. That was the only bad ball in the over. The bowler conceded five runs.
Over 1 | Score 5/0 (Kock 4, Amla 1)
Bhuvneshwar to bowl the first over for India. Amla opened the visitors account with the help of a single off the 2nd ball. Quinton de Kock flicked the first ball he faced to towards mid-wicket to get a boundary. Five runs from the over.
MS Dhoni has once again silent his critics with a laboured knock of 92. Last ball six has shifted the momentum slightly towards the hosts. Now the onus is on Indian bowlers to defend the total of 247.
Over 50 | Score 247/9 (Dhoni 92, Sharma 0*)
Rabada to bowl the final over. Dhoni made room for himself off the first ball by moving on the leg side, Rabada followed him, no runs scored. Rabada fired another short ball, mistimed by Dhoni, no runs scored. Rabada bowled a length ball to Dhoni who failed to connect the bat with it. Dhoni once again made room for himself off the fourth ball, Rabada once again followed it him and Dhoni refused the single. Rabada's penultimate delivery was a slow bouncer, no runs scored. Rabada once again bowled a bouncer to end the over, Dhoni connected on that occasion and it sailed over deep midwicket for another Six!
Over 49 | Score 241/9 (Dhoni 86, Sharma 0*)
Steyn to bowl his final over. Dhoni once again refused a single off the first ball and hit the second one towards wide of long-off for a boundary. Dhoni worked the third ball towards long-off for no run. Steyn fired another short ball, Dhoni anticipated it early and pulled it past square leg for another boundary. The skipper moves to 85. Dhoni tapped the fifth ball towards short cover for a single. Nine from the over and Dhoni will be on strike in the final over to be bowled by Rabada.
Over 48 | Score 232/9 (Dhoni 77, Sharma 0*)
18 balls to go, here comes Rabada. He started with a wide ball and Dhoni refused a single off the first ball which he played towards deep cover. Dhoni hit the second ball towards mid-off and refused another single. Dhoni defended the next ball towards point for no run. Rabada followed it with a length ball and Mahi tonked it over long-off for another four! Dhoni moves to 76. Another wide from Rabada. Dhoni defended the fifth ball back to the bowler for no run. Dhoni took a single off the last ball to keep strike. 7 from the over.
Over 47 | Score 225/9 (Dhoni 72)
Steyn is back in attack. Second ball was short and wide and Bhajji whacked it over covers for a boundary. Third ball was full and wide, Bhajji went for the big shot but edged it to the keeper! Bhajji departs for 22 but he has added valuable 56 runs with Dhoni. Umesh Yadav is the new man in. He recently scored a ton in the Ranji trophy and today, he just needs to give some company to Dhoni. Oh wait, Steyn fired a bouncer at him and he drilled it past midwicket for a boundary!
UT Yadav c de Kock b Steyn 4 (3b)
Harbhajan Singh c de Kock b Steyn 22 (22b)
Over 46 | Score 217/7 (Dhoni 72, Singh 18*)
Morkel to bowl his final over. Five from the over.
Over 45 | Score 212/7 (Dhoni 70, Singh 15*)
Tahir to bowl his final over. Dhoni worked the second ball past fine leg for a booundary. Fourth ball was in Dhoni' zone and he slapped it straight down the ground for another Six! 16 from the over! Dhoni, the magician, is back with a bang!
Over 43 | Score 196/7 (Dhoni 57, Singh 13*)
Morkel to continue. Four from the over.
Over 43 | Score 192/7 (Dhoni 56, Singh 11*)
Duminy brought back for another spell. He started with a short ball, Dhoni slapped it high over long-on to bring his fifty off 57 balls. Bhajji attempted a sweep shot off the third ball, it went towards deep midwicket and a misfield produced another boundary. The next ball was once in Bhajji's zone and he hammered it over long-on for a Six! Useful runs for India. Both these batsmen can hit some big blows. 17 from the over.
Over 42 | Score 175/7 (Dhoni 49, Singh 1*)
Morkel to bowl his 8th over. Two from the over.
Over 41 | Score 173/7 (Dhoni 48, Singh 0*)
Rabada to continue. He started with a short ball and Dhoni pulled it past square leg for a boundary. Dhoni was offered width off the third ball and he played a cut shot, the fielder at short third man misfielded and the ball went all the way for another boundary. Two valuable strokes from the captain.
Over 40 | Score 165/7 (Dhoni 40, Singh 0*)
Tahir to continue. He struck again and he bowled slower through the air, Bhuvi was down the wicket and was bowled! Harbhajan is the new man in. He has the reputation of being a big-hitter and India need a cameo from him. A wicket maiden from Tahir.
B Kumar b Imran Tahir 14 (32b)
Over 39 | Score 165/6 (Dhoni 40, Kumar 14*)
Rabada to bowl his 7th over. Six from the over. Reaching 200 runs should be Dhoni's first target.
Over 38 | Score 159/6 (Dhoni 38, Kumar 12*)
Tahir to continue. Four from the over.
Over 37 | Score 155/6 (Dhoni 36, Kumar 10*)
Duminy to continue. Bhuvi swept the second ball past fine leg for a boundary. Dhoni charged down the wicket off the fifth ball which was bowled quicker and launched it over deep square leg for a Six! India finally have a decent over here – 13 runs off it. The captain is fighting here for his team.
Over 36 | Score 142/6 (Dhoni 28, Kumar 6*)
Tahir to bowl his seventh over. Four from the over.
Over 35 | Score 138/6 (Dhoni 27, Kumar 3*)
Duminy to continue. One from the over. Dhoni must be thinking of a plan, of what should be a decent total and when should he change gears. With Bhajji still to come, we can expect a few more runs from his willow.
Over 34 | Score 137/6 (Dhoni 27, Kumar 2*)
Morkel is back for another spell. Three from the over. South Africa would be pretty happy by conceding less than 5-6 runs.
Over 33 | Score 134/6 (Dhoni 25, Kumar 1*)
Duminy to continue. Another economical over, just two runs from it.
Over 32 | Score 132/6 (Dhoni 24, Kumar 0*)
Steyn to bowl his 8th over. Six runs off it.
Over 31 | Score 126/6 (Dhoni 19, Kumar 0*)
Duminy into his fifth over. Just one run from it. The visitors are in total command of the game now.
Over 30 | Score 125/6 (Dhoni 18, Kumar 0*)
Steyn to continue. Another one goes as Patel was trapped in front of the wicket. Bhuvi is the new man in.
AR Patel lbw b Steyn 13 (27b)
Over 29 | Score 123/5 (Dhoni 17, Patel 13*)
Duminy to continue. Patel charged down the wicket off the last ball and launched it over long-off for a Six! Good shot that! Eight from the over.
Over 28 | Score 115/5 (Dhoni 16, Patel 6*)
Steyn to bowl his third spell. Just one from the over. There are 22 more overs remaining. These two should now be looking to bat through the innings.
Over 27 | Score 114/5 (Dhoni 16, Patel 5*)
Duminy to bowl his third over. Three from the over. It would be interesting to see how Dhoni shapes up his innings from here onwards. Axar Patel can bat, we have seen that in the IPL, not sure if he can handle this fearsome pace attack.
Over 26 | Score 111/5 (Dhoni 15, Patel 3*)
Rabada has been brought back into the attack. Axar survived a run-out chance off the second ball as a result of a casual approach. The last ball drifted down the leg side and Dhoni worked it fine for a boundary.
Over 25 | Score 105/5 (Dhoni 10, Patel 1*)
Tahir to continue. A maiden over.
Over 24 | Score 105/5 (Dhoni 10, Patel 1*)
Morkel to bowl his sixth over. The ploy has worked once again, a short ball to Raina and he got into a poor position and was caught behind. Gone for a duck. Poor stroke from Raina and it has once again exposed his inability to play the short ball.
SK Raina c de Kock b Morkel 0 (5b)
Over 23 | Score 102/4 (Dhoni 10, Raina 0*)
Tahir to continue. His fourth ball spun sharply and Rahane has been bamboozled round his stumps! That's another massive blow for India. Raina is the new man in.
AM Rahane b Imran Tahir 51 (63b)
Over 22 | Score 101/3 (Rahane 51, Dhoni 9*)
Morkel is back in attack. He tested Rahane with a bouncer, it was too high and Rahane timed it well above the wicketkeeper's head for a boundary. It has been a fine innings from the right-hander barring that goof up with Kohli. Rahane now needs to convert this fifty into a big score.
Over 21 | Score 93/3 (Rahane 46, Dhoni 6*)
Three from the over. Quiet overs for India, good move by AB to get some quick overs bowled by Behardien since Dhoni will take some time before going for his strokes.
Over 20 | Score 90/3 (Rahane 44, Dhoni 5*)
Behardien brought into the attack. Four from it.
Over 19 | Score 86/3 (Rahane 41, Dhoni 2*)
Tahir to continue. MS Dhoni is the new man in. Four from the over.
Over 18 | Score 82/3 (Rahane 41)
Steyn to continue. Rahane worked the last ball towards mid-off where a catch was dropped by Behardien, the batsmen run a single, Kohli went for the second, Rahane was unmoved at the non-striker's end and a furious Kohli is once again run-out! Massive moment in the game. SA have the wicket they desperately wanted.
V Kohli run out 12 (18b)
Over 17 | Score 76/2 (Rahane 37*, Kohli 10*)
Tahir to continue. Five from the over.
Over 16 | Score 71/2 (Rahane 35*, Kohli 7*)
Steyn has been brought back into the attack. Three from the over.
Over 15 | Score 68/2 (Rahane 35*, Kohli 4*)
Imran Tahir brought into the attack. Four from the over. AB needs to bring Steyn back into the attack before Kohli settles with spinners from both ends.
Over 14 | Score 64/2 (Rahane 33*, Kohli 2*)
Duminy to continue. Five from the over. India need another partnership here.
Over 13 | Score 59/2 (Rahane 30*, Kohli 0*)
Morkel to continue. He bowled a slower one to Dhawan, who hit it straight to Duminy at short cover. Soft dismissal that and Dhawan would be very disappointed with the way he has thrown it away. Virat Kohli is the new man in. Dhawan and Rahane added 56 runs for the second wicket.
S Dhawan c Duminy b Morkel 23 (34b)
Over 12 | Score 57/1 (Dhawan 22*, Rahane 29*)
JP Duminy comes into the attack. He started with a short ball and Dhawan pulled it past midwicket for a boundary. Nine from the over.
Over 11 | Score 48/1 (Dhawan 16*, Rahane 26*)
Morkel to continue. Four from the over. Sensible batting from these two. After scoring boundaries, they are now looking to rotate the strike. Possibly waiting for the spinners to arrive.
Over 10 | Score 44/1 (Dhawan 14*, Rahane 24*)
Rabada into his fifth over. He tried a short ball against Rahane, it wasn't short enough and was dispatched past square leg for a boundary.
Over 9 | Score 39/1 (Dhawan 14*, Rahane 19*)
Morkel to continue. The first ball was once again short and wide and Rahane smashed it over covers for another boundary. Different knock from Rahane today. He is not used to playing such strokes, frequently in the 50-over format. Morkel ended the over with another length delivery which had width and Dhawan whacked it past long-off for a boundary.
Over 8 | Score 30/1 (Dhawan 10*, Rahane 14*)
Rabada to bowl his fourth over. He bowled a length ball to Dhawan with width on offer, Dhawan slashed hard at it and it raced past covers for a boundary. Six from the over.
Over 7 | Score 24/1 (Dhawan 5*, Rahane 13*)
Morne Morkel comes to bowl his first over. Quiet over, just four from it.
Over 6 | Score 20/1 (Dhawan 5*, Rahane 12*)
Rabada to continue. A maiden over from the 20-year-old youngster. He has given so much more venom to this South African pace attack. Young, quick and very effective!
Over 5 | Score 20/1 (Dhawan 5*, Rahane 12*)
Steyn to continue. He started with a length ball with width on offer and Rahane worked it cleanly over covers for a boundary. Rahane was offered more width, off the fourth ball and he hit an even better short over extra-cover for another boundary. Poor bowling from Steyn there. Steyn bowled the fifth one at the pads and Rahane timed it beautifully past long on for another boundary. Three from the over. Much-needed boundaries! 12 from the over.
Over 4 | Score 8/1 (Dhawan 5*, Rahane 0*)
Rabada to continue. He bowled a length ball to Dhawan who drove it handsomely past extra-cover for a boundary, first of the innings. Both these batsmen need some boundaries, which should give them loads of confidence. Dhawan has already hit one.
Over 3 | Score 4/1 (Dhawan 1*, Rahane 0*)
Steyn to continue. Dhawan took a risky single off the second ball to get off the mark. Just one from the over. The Indian batsmen are looking under tremendous pressure after just three overs.
Over 2 | Score 3/1 (Dhawan 0*, Rahane 0*)
Rabada to bowl the second over. Rohit almost created a run-out opportunity for South Africa off the first ball, no damage done though. He third ball was much quicker than what Rohit expected and it uprooted the off-stump with a hint of inswing! Ajinkya Rahane is the new man in. Superb start for the visitors.
RG Sharma b Rabada 3 (10b)
The crowd has started chanting "Dhoni! Dhoni" from the first over itself. And we thought he was losing fans due to bad form?
Over 1 | Score 1/0 (Rohit 1*, Dhawan 0*)
Good first over from Dale Steyn. Rohit took a risky single off the last ball to get India off the mark! Hitman will have to play another special innings here. He has been in superb nick right throughout the series.
India's playing XI: RG Sharma, S Dhawan, AM Rahane, V Kohli, MS Dhoni (c&wk), SK Raina, AR Patel, Harbhajan Singh, B Kumar, MM Sharma, UT Yadav
South Africa's playing XI: HM Amla, Q de Kock (wk), F du Plessis, AB de Villiers (c), DA Miller, JP Duminy, F Behardien, DW Steyn, K Rabada, M Morkel, Imran Tahir
It is quite surprising to see that India have replaced Amit Mishra with Axar Patel considering the leggie bowled beautifully at Kanpur.
TOSS: MS Dhoni won the toss and they have decided to bat first.
Changes for India: Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, R Ashwin have been replaced by Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Mohit Sharma
South Africa are playing with the same XI
On the other hand, there is a lot of pressure on MS Dhoni to play a formidable knock after his knock in the first ODI was blamed to be the reason behind India's loss.
There will be a lot of pressure on the Indian spinners as a result of an injury to Ashwin, who had been bowling brilliantly for India right throughout the series.
MS Dhoni-led India registered their first win against South Africa in the ongoing tour when they defeated the AB de Villiers-led side by 22 runs in the second ODI played at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore.
South Africa Innings