Faf du Plessis got dropped from the rest of the series due to a finger injury and it turned out to be a huge blow for South Africa in the second ODI at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. AB de Villiers was already unavailable while the team had to lose their skipper who has been on a purple patch. As a result, the inexperienced Aiden Markram was given the responsibility to lead the side. Then came the match day when India hammered the Proteas very brutally and won the game by 9 wickets.
After batting first, the home team could only score 118 runs, thanks to the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav who bundled up the Proteas in 32.3 overs. In return, Indians wrapped up the business in 21 overs and took the game home single-handedly.
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A long list of records has been set by both the teams during the face-off in Centurion. Let’s have a look:
- 118 all-out: It was South Africa’s lowest total ever on their home soil. They broke the record of their previous lowest (119/10) which they had set against England in 2009 in Port Elizabeth. It was also South Africa’s 2nd lowest ODI score against India.
- South Africa’s defeat was their worst ever in ODI at their home. Indian hammered them with 177 balls to spare. The previous stats were South Africa getting beaten by Australia by five wickets and 153 balls to spare in 2000 in Cape Town.
- Virat Kohli missed his 46th ODI fifty by mere 4 runs. However, he scored the most number of runs in an International season as Indian captain, surpassing Rahul Dravid. In 2017/18 season so far, Virat has scored 1623 runs and had surpassed Rahul Dravid’s tally of 1609, which he scored in the 2005/06 season.
- India won with 177 balls to spare — their 2nd biggest victory in ODIs against a full-time ICC member nation. Their best figures are against Sri Lanka — won with 178 balls to spare in Mohali in 2005.
- Yuzvendra Chahal became the first wrist-spinner ever to clinch a 5-wicket haul on the Protea soil. He surpassed Imran Tahir’s figures of 4/28 against Windies in 2015.
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- Team India set a new benchmark in terms of conceding extras in an ODI inning. In the 2nd ODI, Indian bowlers conceded just 1 extra run which happened for the first time. They left behind their previous best which was 2 extras against New Zealand (103) in Chennai in 2010 and against Windies (215) in Delhi in 2014.
India is currently leading the series by 2-0 with four games remaining. The third ODI will be played at the Newlands in Cape Town on February 7.
