South Africa hand India heavy defeat in 2nd ODI, level 3-match series

Tony de Zorzi guided South Africa to a comprehensive 8-wicket victory over India in the 2nd IND vs SA ODI to level the series 1-1. A strong opening partnership from de Zorzi and Reeza Hendricks ensured that the Proteas were never in trouble throughout their run chase. With the Indian bowlers failing to find any luck, the Proteas finished the game with overs to spare.

SA beat IND by 8 wickets to level series 1-1

De Zorzi top-scored for the Proteas, staying unbeaten at runs. His counterpart Reeza Hendricks was dismissed for 52 runs after he stitched up a record 1st wicket partnership at the venue with Zorzi. Arshdeep Singh was the only Indian pacer who managed to get a wicket while Rinku Singh struck a little too late to get the second wicket.

South Africa bounced back to win the second ODI against India in Gqeberha on Tuesday and level the three-match ODI series 1-1. The Proteas were handed an 8-wicket defeat in Johannesburg on Sunday but they were relentless two days later.

Rolled over for 116 in the first ODI, South Africa did not repeat any of their mistakes from Sunday. This time, South Africa won the toss and decided to field and India paid for an overtly defensive approach. Sai Sudharsan became the second Indian since Navjot Singh Sidhu to score fifties in his first two ODIs but there was little home to write about from the others in the line-up.

KL Rahul, the India captain, did hit a half-century but he was never able to dictate terms during his innings. However, he became the fourth Indian after Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to breach the 1000-run mark in ODIs in 2023. This was also the first time in his career that Rahul went past 1000 runs in one-day internationals in a calendar year.

Besides Sudharshan and Rahul, there was little of note from the other India batters and the visitors suffered a dramatic collapse to be bowled out for 211 in 46.2 overs. Nandre Burger, who was sold for his base price of Rs 50 lakh to Rajasthan Royals in a different part of the world, was the wrecker-in-chief on the same day against India, picking 3 for 30 off 10 overs. Beuran Hendricks and Keshav Maharaj finished with two wickets apiece.

South Africa responded strongly against Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan, who had shared 9 wickets between themselves on Sunday. The two South African openers – Tony de Zorzi and Reeza Hendricks were comfortable on a pitch which did not seem to offer a lot to the bowlers in the second innings and were involved in the highest first wicket partnership at the St George’s Park.

India would be keen to learn from their errors on Tuesday. For starters, they were too defensive with the bat, an approach which hurt them in the World Cup final against Australia exactly a month ago. And the body language was really poor even when Arshdeep Singh picked the wicket of Hendricks in the 28th over.

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