2nd ODI: India hammer South Africa by 9 wickets to take 2-0 lead

File Photo (IANS)

After spin twins Chahal and Kuldeep combined to take 8 wickets and dismiss the hosts for just 118, Kohli (46*) and Dhawan (51*) sent the SA bowlers to cleaners to reach home in 20.2 overs. SCORECARD 

04 February 2018

18:10 IST

India win by 9 wickets! Dhawan (51*) played out a maiden after the break, leaving it to skipper Kohli (46*) who scored a couple off the second ball he faced to complete the last rites for a comprehensive win. But it was all set up by spin twins Chahal (5/22) and Kuldeep (3/20) who combined to take 8 wickets and dismissed the hosts for just 118. India take 2-0 lead in the six-match series.

17:25 IST

Bizarre scenes at the Centurion. India are within two runs of victory, and the umpires have announced innings break. Virat Kohli (44*) is clearly upset as it makes little sense to not allow another over and get done with the game. Guess the umpires are sticking to 'rules are rules' thing, but it still defies logic. Dhawan is on 51*. India 117/1, chasing 119 to win.

17:10 IST

100 up for the Indians. Now it's a forgone conclusion. India are on the way to becoming the number one ODI team in the world.  India 101/1 in 17 overs. Dhawan is just six runs short of a fifty. 

17:00 IST

Dhawan and Kohli continue to gallop towards 119. The South African fielders seem to have given up as misfields are now happening pretty often. India 93/1 in 15 overs, need 26 runs more to win. Kohli 31*, Dhawan 42*. Their partnership has now gone up to 67 runs. 

16:52 IST

Tabraiz Shamsi now comes on to bowl and Shikhar Dhawan makes it clear he doesn't rate him highly enough and disdainfully picks up two easy fours, although one is a misfield. India 73/1 in 12 overs, Dhawan 34*, Kohli 20*. The tourists now need 46 more runs to win. 

16:35 IST

50 up for India. Things look great for the visiting team. Kohli now fetches a four off the bowling of Chris Morris. Kohli 16*, Dhawan 20*. India 55/1 in 9 overs, need 64 more to win. 

Now Virat Kohli gets in on the act and dispatches Kagiso Rabada for a six. Rabada was trying the same tactics as those against Rohit Sharma but Kohli, unlike Rohit, gets the better of the bowler and hooks him for a six. India 48/1 in 8 overs.  

16:31 IST

Just like the last match, Shikhar Dhawan looks in great touch. In Durban, he couldn't go big because of a run-out but today he seems determined to make it count. A couple of nicely hit boundaries from him. India 42/1 in 7 overs Dhawan 19*, Kohli 4*.

16:16 IST

Now it's Rohit Sharma's turn to show his exquisite side. Picks up two elegant fours off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada. However, off the fifth ball of the fourth over he awkwardly hooks and finds Morne Morkel at deep fine leg. Rohit departs for 15. Perfect case of "from the sublime to the ridiculous".  India 26/1 in pursuit of 119. 

16:10 IST

Shikhar Dhawan looks imperious. Couple of good drives off the Morne Morkel over, easy on the eye and eight runs in total. The Indian batsman seems to be in a hurry. India 18/0 in 3 overs, need 101 more to win. 

16:04 IST

Strong caught-behind appeal and Rohit Sharma is given out off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada. He reviews it straight away and replays show his bat hits the pads, not the ball. India 9/0 in 2 overs, need 110 more to win.   

16:00 IST

The Indians have started their chase and on a ballistic note as Rohit Sharma pulls Morne Morkel for a six off the third ball of the first over. Eight runs from the first over. India now need 111 more to win.   

15:45 IST

There goes down the last wicket as South Africa crash to 118 in 32.2 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal completes a maiden ODI five-for with the wicket of Chris Morris (14). He returns figures of 5/22. This is South Africa's lowest total at home, previous was 119 vs England in 2009. Incredible show by the Indian spinners. Don't forget Kuldeep Yadav has also taken three scalps (3/20). Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have taken one wicket each.

South Africa started well and were nicely placed at 39-0 at one time. Bhuvneshwar then removed Hashim Amla and touched off the collapse. India should have no difficulty in getting these runs, which would mean a 2-0 lead and number one spot in the ICC rankings.        

15:40 IST

Virat Kohli brings back Jasprit Bumrah to run through the remaining batsmen and he doesn't take long to deliver. Cleans up Imran Tahir for a duck. South Africa 118/9 in 31.5 overs. 

15:34 IST

Yuzvendra Chahal now gets ahead of Kuldeep Yadav with four wickets. Another lbw decision and this time it's against Morne Morkel, who departs after scoring 1. South Africa 117/8 in 30.3 overs. 

15:28 IST

There is some sort of competition going on between Chahal and Kuldeep. The latter now pushes the South Africans into deeper waters as he traps Kagiso Rabada in front of the wickets for 1. Rabada couldn't read the ball at all. The South Africans are totally at sea against the Indian spinners. 110/7 in 29.3 overs. 

15:23 IST

Yuvzvendra Chahal strikes again, here is the third wicket for him. Traps JP Duminy in front of the wickets, plumb. The umpire raises the finger straight away. Duminy made 25. South Africa 107/6 in 28.2 overs.  

15:19 IST

Here comes the fifth wicket for India. Debutant Khaya Zondo departs for 25. Tries to sweep Chahal aerially, gets a top edge and Hardik Pandya takes a tricky catch as he runs back from short midwicket. South Africa 104/5 in 27 overs. 

14:51 IST

South Africa will feel a little relieved after JP Duminy fetches two fours off the Hardik Pandya over. They desperately needed those boundaries. South Africa 72/4 in 19 overs. Duminy 10*, Zondo 10*. The latter has looked compact. Pretty impressive for a debutant. 

14:31 IST

One more wicket in the 14th over for Kuldeep Yadav. David Miller is his victim this time as the lefthander edges one to Ajinkya Rahane in the slips. Miller departs for a duck. South Africa 53/4 in 14 overs. 

14:24 IST

Here comes the second wicket for India. Quinton de Kock hits Yuzvendra Chahal straight into the hands of Hardik Pandya at deep mid-wicket. The ball came on a little slow and that appears to have done for the left-hander, who made 20. Here is another wicket off the first ball of the next over and stand-in captain Aiden Markram (8) finds Bhuvneshwar Kumar at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Kuldeep Yadav. Fairly similar dismissal. South Africa 51/3 in 13.1 overs

14:11 IST

Here comes the breakthrough for India and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the provider. Hashim Amla edges one straight to MS Dhoni behind the wickets. Surprisingly, Amla decides to review and the Snickometer shows he has a faint inside edge. He departs for 23. South Africa 39/1 in 9.4 overs.

14:00 IST

The wicket has a bit of spongy bounce. Both South African batsmen are having a difficult time at the pitch. But the good thing is they have managed to stay there. South Africa 26/0 in 8 overs. Amla 18, de Kock 8.

13:34 IST

The rub of the green is going South Africa's way early on here in Centurion. Quinton de Kock fends off a short delivery from Jasprit Bumrah and the ball hops onto his stumps but luckily for him the bails are intact. More trial by bouncers by Bumrah in the over and de Kock is holding his hand in pain. South Africa 4/0 in 2 overs. 

13:19 IST

Remember, it's a day game. There will be a little bit of bounce and turn for the spinners on this SuperSport track, however, pace wouldn't be as much, says former South Africa batsman Neil McKenzie. Just the kind of news Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav would want to hear. Both had a great time in Durban sharing five wickets between them and will look to build on that performance today.    

13:12 IST

Playing XIs here:

IND XI: RG Sharma, S Dhawan, V Kohli, A Rahane, MS Dhoni, K Jadhav, H Pandya, B Kumar, K Yadav, J Bumrah, Y Chahal

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 4, 2018

SA XI: H Amla, Q de Kock, A Markram, JP Duminy, D Miller, K Zondo , C Morris, K Rabada, M Morkel, T Shamsi, I Tahir

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 4, 2018

13:01 IST

India win the toss and decide to bowl. India want to chase again. Clearly, Virat Kohli has a lot of faith in his team's chasing abilities. 

The Indian team is unchanged, while South Africa have made two changes. Khaya Zondo makes his ODI debut and he replaces the injured Faf du Plessis. Meanwhile, Andile Phehlukwayo has been left out in favour of spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. 

12:43 IST

Hello and Welcome to the second ODI between India and South Africa from Centurion's SuperSport Park. India chased down 270 on a canter in Durban and will look to continue their dominance in this game as well. If India win this contest today, they will momentarily claim the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings. With Faf du Plessis out of the remainder of the series with a finger injury, the inexperienced Aiden Markram has been named Proteas captain for the rest of the rubber. Stay tuned. We will soon be back with the toss update.