South Africa were all smiles on Pink Day after scripting a comprehensive five-wicket victory against India in the fourth ODI at the SuperSport Park in Johannesburg on Saturday to keep the six-match series alive.
After being set a revised target of 202 runs in 28 overs under Duckworth Lewis Method, the hosts won the match with five wickets to spare and with two more matches to go, the series isn’t done yet. Andile Phehlukwayo struck an unbeaten 23 runs of just five deliveries alongside Heinrich Klaasen (43*) to steer the Proteas to a comprehensive victory in a rain-curtailed match.
India posted 289/7 in 50 overs with a 13th ODI ton from the in-form Shikhar Dhawan and another classy Virat Kohli special, who scored 75 runs. But the Proteas hit back with wickets at regular intervals and keep the score down below the 300-run mark.
All over as @andileluck19 wins the game with a 6. He ends unbeaten on 23 off 5 balls, yes 5 BALLS he faced. A word for @Heini22 too, who is unbeaten on 43 at the end. SA keep the series alive and make it 3-1 #ProteaFire #PinkODI #SAvIND #MomentumODI pic.twitter.com/qWewEPPaaX
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) February 10, 2018
With this victory, South Africa kept their Pink ODI record intact after chasing the target with 15 balls to spare. Klaasen was adjudged man-of-the-match award for a stellar effort that saw young Aiden Markram seal his first win as South Africa’s skipper in the series.
The wicket-keeper smashed a six and five fours in his 27-ball innings, while Phehlukwayo bludgeoned three sixes and a four during his stay at the crease. Earlier, Klassen and David Miller’s 72-run stand for the fifth wicket turned out to be the match-winning one as they took South Africa closer to the target.
| Runs | Balls | 4/6 | S/R | |
| David Miller | 39 | 28 | 4/2 | 139.29 |
| H Klaasen | 43* | 27 | 5/1 | 159.26 |
| A Phehlukwayo | 23* | 5 | 1/3 | 460.00 |
Proteas surge past the finish line
South Africa started the chase positively as the openers put up 43 in the first seven overs, before Jasprit Bumrah got the better of Aiden Markram. With the Proteas on 43/1 in 7.2 overs, lightning and heavy rain brought the second stoppage of the match that lasted one hour and 40 minutes.
India had their wrist spinners back in the game with left-arm Kuldeep Yadav handling South Africa a double blow, just after the resumption. He dismissed Hashim Amla (33) and JP Duminy (10) in quick succession. The returning AB de Villiers smacked two back-to-back sixes off Yuzvendra Chahal, who conceded 17 in the over, to put South Africa in the hunt again. In the next over, Hardik Pandya dismissed the dangerous AB, but only after the right-hander hit two sixes and a four in his quick-fire 18-ball 26.
Miller showed why he is a vital cog in the middle after hitting Pandya for three successive fours and along with Klaasen, he tilted the balance in their favour with some big hitting. Suddenly India’s twin spin bit the dust after being clobbered for 119 runs in their combined 11.3 overs. Chahal got Miller LBW, and just when India thought they could stop the Proteas chase, Phehlukwayo had other ideas after a whirlwind show.
Chahal and Kuldeep were impressive for the visitors in the first three ODIs, but the rain somehow dampened their productivity in the fourth game. Virat Kohli’s side wasn’t helped by poor fielding either.
STAT ATTACK:
Chahal & Kuldeep in 4th ODI – 11.3-0-119-3 (10.53)
Dhawan, Kohli shine for India
Earlier, Rohit Sharma’s poor run in the series continued after he handed a catch back to Kagiso Rabada with the scorecard reading 20/1. Kohli joined Dhawan and the in-form duo kept the scoring high to add 158 runs for the 2nd wicket. Dhawan reached fifty-run mark off 53 balls, with the help of five boundaries, before Kohli scored his 46th ODI fifty off 56 balls, which included a six and five fours.
Dhawan and Kohli batted superbly to take India to 178/1 in 31 overs, before all-rounder Chris Morris broke the stand when he dismissed Kohli in the next over to give South Africa a chance to claw back. Kohli smashed a six and seven fours in his 83-ball knock. The match was stopped for almost 50 minutes by lightning and thunderstorm, when India were 200/2 in 34.2 overs.
Dhawan brought up his 13th ton in a landmark moment after hitting a boundary when being at 99.
100th ODI ✅
13th ODI ton ✅#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/5eWCJqjnUj— BCCI (@BCCI) February 10, 2018
| Runs | Balls | 4/6 | S/R | |
| S Dhawan | 109 | 105 | 10/2 | 103.81 |
| Virat Kohli | 75 | 83 | 7/1 | 90.36 |
| MS Dhoni | 42* | 43 | 3/1 | 97.67 |
As play resumed, India suffered a mini slump. Morne Morkel dismissed Dhawan for 109 runs as Ajinkya Rahane followed suit. Veteran MS Dhoni shared a crucial 37-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer (18) to lead the recovery for India. The former skipper then hit a six and three fours in his 43-balls innings, and later stitched another valuable 20 runs with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (5) for the seventh wicket.
