Shreyas 113*, Kishan 93 give India dominating win in Ranchi and level series 1-1
Siraj plays key role in restricting South Africa to 278 with tidy death-overs bowling
Siraj plays key role in restricting South Africa to 278 with tidy death-overs bowling
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: Hemant Brar
So the caravan moves to Delhi for the decider. For now, that's all from our side. See you soon.
Shreyas Iyer, the Player of the Match: I am ecstatic, to be honest. When I went in to bat, I spoke to Ishan and he was in the mindset to take on the bowlers. So we decided to play the ball on merit and see how it goes. Tomorrow is a travel day and then day after another match. Motivated for that, let's see what's in store for me and the team. I am not someone who changes according to the bowler. I am someone who changes on the instinct. It's not something I try in nets first, I change it in the match itself.
Shikhar Dhawan: The toss worked perfectly, I am glad. Thanks to Keshav that he chose to bat (laughs). I must say that Ishan and Shreyas, the way they created that partnership was great to watch. The ball was coming on nicely but it was keeping low. So our plan was to take on the bowlers in the first ten overs. But once the dew came into the picture, it was skidding on. So the back-foot shots were easy to execute. I am very pleased with the bowlers, especially Shahbaz, the way he bowled in the first ten overs and got us the breakthrough.
Keshav Maharaj: I think we didn't expect the dew to play such a big part, that's why we opted to bat after we won the toss. But credit to Shreyas and Sanju. We expected it to get slower and lower but after 20 overs the pitch got better.
Rahul : "The batsmen played well, but th game was won by the bowlers. Anyone else think Siraj should be MoM"
Gavin: "ConsistencyâŠnot a word that can be used when it comes to SA cricket. Just putting together 2 games back to back that look similar would go a long way! So sad!"
Vinay: "Lungi ngidi is the difference between both teams. His variations might have been successful in todays's slow pitch. Unfortunate for SA that they dropped him for Nortje. Nortje dint bowl according to the pitch"
Mustafa Moudi : "India lost the last match due to poor selection. Firstly, they lacked 6th bowling option. Secondly, They were a Batsman short as Thakur was their No. 7. And lastly, their Top 6 was Full of Openers, you can consider them as Middle Order Batsmen but never a Finisher. But today they solved all those issues in the Team Selection and as a result ended up on the winning side!!"
Amrit: "Not sure if Malan hit 70. I know you'll correct in the commentary and my comment will never publish." --- Thanks for pointing out.
Sowmya : "Shreyas Iyer played the situation very well. He was wiser, allowed Ishan to shift gears, ensured the strike was rotated while capitalizing on the loose balls. Deserves to be MOM! "
Ishan Kishan: Unfortunate that I missed on the hundred but happy that my team won the game. It was not easy for a new batsman to score the runs. It was a matter of putting the pressure on the other team also, that we are ready to put away if they missed their mark. I was looking to pull whenever the ball was near my chest but didn't premeditate.
9.00pm An emphatic win for India as they level the series 1-1. Earlier, their bowlers pulled things back in the last ten overs of the first innings after 70s from Hendricks and Markram. Dhawan and Gill fell early in the chase but Kishan and Iyer steadied the innings before Kishan went on the aggressive. He was unlucky to miss out on his maiden ODI hundred by seven runs. But Iyer didn't miss the chance despite struggling with what looked like cramps. He stayed unbeaten on 113 off 111 balls, with Sanju Samson also chipping in with an unbeaten 30 off 36.
The batter displays a range of skills to make his highest score in ODIs
The batter reflects on his second hundred in ODIs, which helped India level the series against South Africa
Siraj plays key role in restricting South Africa to 278 with tidy death-overs bowling
It will be far from straightforward for the visitors though, with India's second-string side having already pushed them all the way in Lucknow
Chahar, who is part of India's World Cup reserves, will be replaced by Washington Sundar for the South Africa series