SA Vs India 3rd ODI: Team India clinches another thriller; leads series 2-1

It was just another familiar start to the 3^rd one day international between the Men in Blue and the Proteas at Newlands, Cape Town, with MS Dhoni losing the toss yet again. SA skipper Graeme Smith had no hesitation in deciding to bat first. Out came the Proteas with revenge in their minds. The scenes of the last match had not been forgotten. India’s leading pacer Zaheer Khan gave a tough time to openers Amla and Smith; one could see how they struggled with the bat. Khan gave an early breakthrough in the form of Amla, while the skipper hung on. Ingram and AB started off well but failed to stick to the crease. Duminy and Smith kept the momentum going for SA, but the centre of attraction was debutant Faf du Plessis who created roars amongst the crowd with an impressive knock of 60, that being the highest individual score in SA’s batting. The lower order did not help much and the Indian bowlers managed to restrict the Proteas to a modest total of 220 runs with just 4 balls to spare. Once again Zaheer’s experience fetched him 3 wickets, while Harbhajan and Munaf bagged 2 wickets each along with Yusuf’s one wicket.

The Indian team looked slightly imbalanced without its experienced opening batsmen. Nevertheless, the responsibility fell on the shoulders of the young brigade to lead the team to a deserving victory. With the likes of Sehwag, Tendulkar and Gambhir missing out, Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma came out in the middle to fill in their shoes. It was not an easy task. Vijay fell early to the pace of Dale Steyn, while Sharma continued to survive. Kohli showed some aggression with his powerful boundaries but could not hold on to it for long. Sharma followed suit as he was bowled by an excellent delivery by Morne Morkel. The duo of Yuvraj and Dhoni did not work as they departed one after the other. At one point, it looked like there was no hope any further. But, the best was yet to be seen; one man known for those humungous and power-packed sixes stepped onto the field and changed the course of the game – 59 runs from just 50 balls, with 6 fours and 3 sixes. The statistics say it all. Yusuf Pathan proved just why the selectors made no mistake in naming him for the World Cup squad. He smashed the SA bowlers left and right and drew India closer to the target, until Steyn caught hold of him, dismissing him at a crucial stage. And it wasn’t over then. India’s newly discovered “all-rounder”, Harbhajan Singh came out and did what he does the best – tame the opposition. The Proteas were reduced to nothing more, but helpless spectators of the great Indian phenomena. Ashish Nehra, finally, smashed a boundary to seal the victory for India.

India now leads the series 2-1.