Aiden Markram’s fine ton cancelled out Virat Kohli’s second successive hundred as SA chased down a target of 359 to clinch a four-wicket win and level their one-day international (ODI) series 1-1 in Raipur on Wednesday.
India, who lost openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first 10 overs, regained their footing when Kohli (102) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (105) added 195 runs for the third wicket, before an unbeaten stand by captain KL Rahul (66) and Ravindra Jadeja helped them post 358-5.
Markram (110) scored his fourth ODI hundred in 88 balls, forming crucial partnerships with captain Temba Bavuma (46) and Matthew Breetzke (68), before Dewald Brevis scored a swift fifty as SA inched towards their target.
Tony de Zorzi added a quick 17 runs from 11 balls before he was forced to retire with a hamstring injury, but Corbin Bosch and Keshav Maharaj guided the visitors with four balls to spare, achieving SA’s third-biggest successful ODI run chase.
Bavuma was impressed with how the side chased down a record total.
“We happy to have crossed the line,” Bavuma said.
“I think coming into this game we were thinking how we can get better with the ball. With the bat we had to put on a stand up front.
“The partnership with Aiden and Breetzke carrying on his form and Bosch showing a lot of maturity finishing it off.
“Unbelievable game, and I think it was a record chase, and it showed how tough it is to play against this Indian side.
“I came into the crease with Aiden, he was hitting the ball, and I was trying to build a partnership with him.
“We wanted to take the game deep, though that’s not the thing anymore in modern cricket. But it was about the partnership.
“A lot of confidence we can take from this and set up an enthralling series.”
Asked if the starting 11 was SA’s best team, Bavuma said: “The guys here are your best players, definitely. There is a high level of competition between the guys.
“Batters are scrambling for their positions, and Quinton [de Kock] is back.
“And similarly for bowlers. Performances like this hold us in good stead.”
The decisive third match of the series will be played in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, out since September with injury, has returned to the India squad for this month’s Twenty20 series against SA, while Shubman Gill will have to pass a fitness test to play, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on Wednesday.
Gill, who captains India in Tests and one-day internationals, suffered a neck injury last month during India’s first Test against SA. He missed the rest of the two-Test series and the subsequent ODI series.
The 26-year-old, who has played 33 T20 matches for India, will need a fitness clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where he is undergoing recovery.
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