The third and final ODI of the series was played on Thursday, December 21 at Boland Park, Paarl, where India defeated South Africa by 78 runs to secure a 2-1 series triumph. India were 101/3 after 18.5 overs after being put in to bat first. To help his side reach 296/8 in their allocated 50 overs, Tilak Varma struck a magnificent fifty and Sanju Samson got his first-ever ODI century.
South Africa was bowled out for 218 in 45.5 overs, despite Tony de Zorzi’s outstanding performance at the bat once again. However, the other batsmen failed to provide reinforcement. India’s best bowler was Arsheep Singh, with Avesh Khan (2/45, 7.5 overs) and Washington Sundar (2/38, 10 overs) taking two wickets apiece.
The match’s talking points are as follows:
Sanju Samson achieves his first-ever ODI century.
After managing just 12 (23) in the second ODI, Samson entered the batting at number five under tremendous strain. He did, however, move on from his previous disappointments and smashed six fours and three sixes in a fantastic performance of 108 off 114 balls. After losing three early wickets, he and Tilak Varma shared a 116-run partnership (52 off 77) that helped rescue India.
2. Tony de Zorzi leads SA in scoring in each of the last two innings.
For the second straight game, the southpaw top-scored for his club, hitting 81 off 87 balls with six fours and three sixes in his innings. Together with Reeza Hendricks, Zorzi scored 59 runs for the first wicket. Later, he and Aiden Markram stitched together a 65-run partnership for the third wicket.
3. Arshdeep Singh leads India in scoring with the ball.
After registering statistics of 4/30 in nine overs, the left-arm seamer was India’s best bowler. To complete his four-wicket haul, Arshdeep removed Tony de Zorzi, Lizaad Williams, Reeza Hendricks, and Keshav Maharaj. As the series’ top wicket-taker with ten wickets from three games at an average of 9.50 and an economy of 3.51, he was also named Player of the Series.
South Africa Aiden Markram, the lost captain, said:
We were certainly up for it, always a nice feeling in a series decider, nice venue and good crowd in, unfortunately we couldn’t get it done. We were good in patches, just couldn’t stitch the momentum up in our favor for long enough. The surface didn’t change much throughout the game, thought 290 was very chaseable. We were good with the ball. Not sure the toss played a major factor today. The Test series is very exciting, two great venues for two Test matches in South Africa, doesn’t get much better than that.
Indian captain KL Rahul, who won, stated:
Always love being around the boys. Nice to get back on the cricket field after a disappointing world cup. Have played with a lot of them in the IPL, nice to get out here and play with them. Usually my message is to always enjoy the game, to give your best and not worry about the rest. They’re great cricketers but few of them haven’t played internationally so it’s about giving them some time to adjust.
It’s about making their roles clear and they all gave their 100% so nothing more I can ask. Sanju has been a phenomenal performer in the IPL, unfortunately hasn’t got a lot of chances at the top of the order for various reasons but nice to see him do well today.
India’s Sanju Samson (108 off 114) was named Player of the Match.
Proud of it, especially considering the result as well. Have been working hard, not just for the past couple of months so it’s nice. This format gives you some extra time to understand the wicket and the bowler’s mindset. Batting at the top of the order gives you those 10-20 extra deliveries. The whole country is very proud of how Tilak Verma has stepped up, lot more to expect from him. The seniors have set the standards of Indian cricket and the juniors are coming in and doing the job. It’s not very easy, traveling in between and playing every 2-3 days but they’re getting the job done.
Arshdeep Singh (ten wickets) of India was named Player of the Series.
There was always something in the wicket throughout the day. Sometimes it was gripping and stopping. The plan was simple, it was to bowl wicket-to-wicket and get LBWs and bowleds. IPL has been a very good platform for us youngsters, there isn’t a big gap between IPL and international cricket. You understand the mindset of international cricketers and it helps. We are all loving the chances we got. We’d love to give our all in the future as well and do well.
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