India defeated South Africa 116 (Arshdeep 5-37, Avesh 4-27) by 8 wickets with 118 for 2 (Sudharsan 55*, Iyer 52).
In the Pink Day ODI, India’s pace attack had seven wickets in total going into the match. However, they took just 13 overs to double that total and then beyond it, bowling South Africa out for 116, their lowest score at home. India easily overcame the total to hand South Africa only their third loss in Pink Day ODI history.
Mukesh Kumar was equally as sharp as Arshdeep Singh, who claimed five wickets, and Avesh Khan, who claimed four. Mukesh Kumar began with an over in which Reeza Hendricks was unable to put bat on ball.
Because the match was being played on the same strip that held the final Twenty20 International between the same sides three days ago, both teams desired to bat first. India’s spinners got a lot of help that evening, both up and down as well as sideways.
However, in a day match, South Africa ended up being the unlucky team to win the toss and get their wish to die on a dangerous pitch where seam and swing were easily accessible to accompany irregular bounce.
The losing finalists and semi-finalists, still licking their wounds from the World Cup, entered the match with their star fast bowlers rested and ready for the Test series. The middle-order nucleus of South Africa was still there, but India’s lineup appeared utterly undeveloped. In the World Cup final, only captain KL Rahul, left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, and Shreyas Iyer participated.
Rahul took immediate action after Mukesh made a strong first ball appeal. Hendricks appeared to be stranded squarely in front of the inswinger, but Rahul and the umpire were both duped by two noises. The ruling was not reviewed, nor was it distributed.
Much as in the third Twenty20 International three days prior, when Hendricks was unable to get close to Mohammed Siraj for the entirety of the first over, Mukesh proceeded to toy with both of his edges for the remainder of the over. Mukesh moved the ball more than Arshdeep did. Hendricks took a shot after spotting a wide one and managed to play it on for an eight-ball duck. Rassie van der Dussen was then trapped in front for a golden duck by Arshdeep’s excellent inswinger.
After surviving the hat-trick ball, Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi added 39 for the third wicket. The latter countered the movement by strolling at the bowlers, and when the short balls came up, he punched and pulled them for two sixes. He appeared to be at odds with Markram visually, who was having trouble adjusting to the inconsistent bounce from the pitch.
Ultimately, on 28 off 21, de Zorzi erred by pulling a ball that was not short enough, and Rahul took the massive top edge. With the final ball of the tenth over, Arshdeep took Heinrich Klaasen’s leg bail, causing more damage with a seam movement back in.
Even when the new ball does a lot in one-day international cricket, the movement usually seems to fizzle out rather fast. Here, however, the ball was still doing more than enough for Avesh, the first-change bowler, despite an average seam of 1.2 degrees and swing of 1.4 degrees in the first 10 overs. One came back in at the beginning of the eleventh, with Markram playing on as he attempted to get a standard single to deep third. The next delivery was a peach that seam-cut Wiaan Mulder leg before wicket.
Despite bowling two more overs, Arshdeep was unable to secure the fifth wicket he was chasing. But Avesh continued to strike. David Miller was dealt two sucker balls during his seven-ball stay. After pushing back against the first, he eventually edged the second. It grew large on Keshav Maharaj, so he quickly chipped one to cover.
In his second spell, Arshdeep had another chance to get the five-for when Andile Phehlukwayo middled a few strokes and Mukesh went for a few. Having taken no wickets in his opening three ODIs, Arshdeep claimed his fifth in his final over, trapping Phehlukwayo lbw on a slog.
To attempt to get his own five-for, Avesh managed to get one more over, but Tabraiz Shamsi was lucky to get a couple of slogs. The innings was subsequently concluded by Kuldeep Yadav with a wrong’un.
Arshdeep claimed that they were taken aback by the ball’s ability to help seamers and that, after realizing this, all they had to do was bowl a controlled line and length and let the pitch take care of the rest.
By the time the second innings started at 1pm, the weather was no longer quite as favorable. It was seen in how South Africa withdrew their lengths rather quickly. However, they were able to remove Ruturaj Gaikwad from the game early on.
Sai Sudharsan found enough time in a brief inning to make a memorable debut. He was given a half-volley to begin with, which he cover-drove for four runs. He soon got relief when his bat striking his boot produced two noises that fooled the umpire and the fielding crew into not reviewing it.
However, he quickly demonstrated his class by driving effortlessly, using his feet to counter spin, pulling down every opportunity he got, and reaching his half-century off just 41 balls. Maybe the one against Tabraiz Shamsi’s turn, which came after he danced down the field, was the most notable.
Burger tried to tuck Iyer up, but Iyer, who partnered with Sudharsan for 88 runs, added a beautiful cover-drive on the up to the highlight reel. Seeking to get out of there quickly, he scored 52 off 45 and was out. Even with more than 33 overs remaining, India prevailed.
