RAJKOT, OCT 18: Riding on the brilliant bowling performance of Morne Morkel, South Africa crushed India by 18 runs in the third ODI here today.
Morne Morkel scalped four wickets for 39 to give his team 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Chasing South Africa’s competitive 270 for seven, India got off to a good start and were cruising along comfortably before losing the plot in the last 15 overs with a flurry of wickets as they ended at 252 for six.
The rejig in batting order, with skipper MS Dhoni promoting himself up at number four and Ajinkya Rahane coming out to bat number six also did not work.
The visitors’ pace-heavy bowling attack, led by the lanky Morne Morkel, throttled the home side batsmen in the final stages.
Half centuries from Rohit Sharma (65) and Virat Kohli (77) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 61-ball 47 could not give India victory.
After 35 overs, India were 162 for 2 but the as game progressed it gradually slipped out of their hands. Dhoni departed in the 41st over, and the task for the hosts got stiffer with 78 needed off 48 balls.
Though Kohli hit a few boundaries, the asking rate kept climbing and India were 206 for 4 in the 44th over.
And when Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane were dismissed by Morkel in successive balls in the 46th over, in identical fashion at long-on by David Miller, the task was beyond the hosts’ grasp.
