On This Day in 2015: South Africa decimate India to clinch the ODI series
There have been many high scoring events in the game of cricket which were remembered for a long time by the fans. Though India has established itself as a great cricketing giant in recent times, the team has seen some utter collapse too. A competitive lot of Men in Blue have been trying their best to make a solid mark, but at times, even they were at the receiving end of an onslaught. Something similar happened in 2015 against South Africa too.
The Proteas team came for the tour of India back in October 2015, where five ODIs were being played in the series. Till the end of the 4th ODI, the two high spirited teams stood 2-2, and the final one was the deciding ODI. However, the guests seemed too adamant about the final-match and bagged the victory in the most stylish way possible. It turned out to be a one-sided affair rather.
Batting first, South Africa posted a gigantic 438/4 on the board, where three brilliant centuries came from their side. Quinton de Kock (109 off 87), Faf du Plessis (133 off 115), and AB de Villiers (119 off 61) smashed bowlers to keep marching forward. De Kock was named as the player of the match for his scintillating ton. All the Indian bowlers were smashed. Only star spinner Harbhajan Singh was a bit economical and picked one wicket for the team.
While chasing the huge target, the team didn’t look so well prepared to get over the line. The side kept losing wickets also, and none of the batsmen could display the level of intent required to chase such a big target. Shikhar Dhawan (60 off 59) and Ajinkya Rahane (87 off 58) were the highest run-getters from the squad. The bowlers from the visitors’ side were not required to do a brilliant job as batsmen already caused enough destruction.
AB de Villiers- Man of the series
However, all the bowlers turned out to be decently economical from South Africa’s unit. Kagiso Rabada stunned his side as he got four dismissals to his credit on the same day. The entire Indian squad got bundled out on mere 224 runs, and the guests won the match by big 214 runs. Winning the decider with such dominance, they took the ODI series by 3-2, ultimately. De Kock got the honour for the day, and Mr 360, De Villiers, was named as the man of the series.
Talking about the South African team, it has always brought some qualitative cricket on the table, but the fact that they haven’t been able to clinch even a WC title hurts them big time. Despite having the star-studded line-up, they have failed constantly on the big occasions, and that has earned them a title ‘Chokers.’
