8 Dec ’13 : Ind vs SA 2nd ODI : South Africa crush India, clinch series
Durban : South Africa took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series with a convincing 134-run win over India in the second ODI at Kingsmead here Sunday.
Hundreds from Hashim Amla (100) and Quinton de Kock (106) helped the hosts score 280 for six after a wet outfield had delayed the start and shortened the match to 49 overs per side.
Indian batsman once again struggled to cope with the pace and bounce of South African pacers and were bowled out for a paltry 146 in 35.1 overs.
Rohit Sharma (19) at least put up a brief fight and tried to apply himself. Shikhar Dhawan (0) and Virat Kohli (0) were too ambitious with their shot play.
Ajinkya Rahane (8), though, was unlucky to be dismissed, caught behind of Morne Morkel. Richard Illingworth of England got the decision horribly wrong with the ball missing the bat by a mile.
Suresh Raina, who has been constantly criticised for his lack of ability on bouncy pitches, battled hard for his 36 before falling to Morkel.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (19), Ravindra Jadeja (26) and Ravichandran Ashwin (15) only managed to delay the inevitable.
Dale Steyn (3/17), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (4/25), Morne Morkel (2/34) and Vernon Philander (1/20) troubled the batsmen with their pace and guile.
Earlier put into bat, South African openers de Kock and Amla gave their team another flying start by stringing together a 194-run stand.
Both the openers had scored 152 runs for the first wicket in the first ODI with de Kock scoring 135 and Amla adding 65 runs.
To their credit, Indian bowlers fought back valiantly and restricted the hosts to 86 in the final 15 overs.
South Africa lost four wickets for just 22 runs giving India a way back into the match.
Pacer Mohammad Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers taking three wickets for 48 in his eight overs.
An injured Yuvraj Singh makes way for Ajinkya Rahane while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma have been replaced by Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers makes one change too – Vernon Philander comes in for Wayne Parnell.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav.
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Jaques Kallis, AB de Villiers (captain), JP Duminy, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
