India Vs South Africa 3rd ODI: Sanju Samson's Unbeaten 86 Not Enough As India Lose To SA By 9 Runs

06.10.2022 - 21:07 sports.ndtv.com

Below-par death bowling coupled with ordinary fielding and batting, except for Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer, hurt a second-string Indian team as it slumped to a nine-run defeat against South Africa in the rain-truncated first ODI of the three-match series here on Thursday.

Opting to bowl in the rain-hit 40-over-a-side game, India started on the right note reducing South Africa to 110 for 4 in 22.4 overs before David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen hit strokeful half-centuries to guide South Africa to 249 for 4.

Down at 110 for four, Miller (75 not out off 63 balls) and Klaasen (74 not out off 65 balls) added 139 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket to take the visitors close to 250-run mark.

Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 2/35 from eight overs. The Indian bowlers struggled in the death overs, conceding 54 runs in the last five overs.

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Yet, DDCA chief curator Ankit Datta along with BCCI curator Sunil Chauhan pulled off a miracle of sorts with just two hours of sunshine to get the game started after just a 45-minute delay. No overs were lost.

Watch: Four-Star Kuldeep Yadav Bowls Out South Africa Star Andile Phehlukwayo in Third ODI

Back in the groove, Kuldeep Yadav made his ball do the talking in the 3rd ODI against South Africa in New Delhi on Tuesday. After picking one wicket each in the first two matches, Kuldeep put on a show in the third ODI, claiming a 4-for. Speaking at the innings break, Kuldeep revealed he tried to add some freshness to his bowling ahead of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) and since then he has been really enjoying his bowling.

India vs South Africa 3rd ODI: 'A' class India thump South Africa, win series 2-1

Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and elected to field. The series was widely perceived as a ‘second-string’ Indian team, resembling the composition of an Ind ‘A’ team, taking on a full-strength South African team. When Shreyas Iyer hit Marco Jansen for a six over long off to win the series 2-1, after Shubman Gill fell for a 57-ball 49, with seven wickets and 30.5 overs to spare, India’s ominous depth in resources came to the fore. If anything, the veteran Dhawan would have liked to get more runs than his scores of 4, 13 and 8 in the series. While this has been a graduation process for most players playing in the series, there are players who are fighting to reclaim their spots in India’s first choice XI. For Kuldeep Yadav, who was a first-choice spinner three years ago, every opportunity is like a shot at redemption. Injuries and indifferent form had pushed down to the reserve pool of players. On Tuesday, he continued his comeback trail by wiping out the lower half of the South African batting returning figures of 4/18 in 4.1 overs. His guile has always troubled South Africans. Tuesday was no different. If anything, he would have loved a bowl earlier than Shahbaz Ahmed to test himself against the top order.

What Sanju Samson Said About Doing "Finishing" Role For Team India

India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has been in fine form off late, registering scores of 86 and 30 in the first to ODIs of the ongoing three-match series against South Africa. In the first ODI, Samson played a knock against all odds and his fighting spirit kept the hosts in the game. Needing 30 runs in the final over, Sanju gave it his all, and in the end, Team India fell just 9 runs short. The right-handed batter who is used to batting in the top-order, has now started to come lower down the order when donning India colours and the new role is suiting the batter.

India vs South Africa, 3rd ODI Live Updates: Wet Outfield Delays Toss In Delhi, Inspection At 1:30 PM

IND vs SA 3rd ODI Live Updates: The toss for the third ODI between India and South Africa has been delayed due to wet outfield and the pitch inspection will take place at 1:30 PM. With the series tied at 1-1, India take on South Africa in the third and final ODI at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. However, there are high chances that the rain might play spoilsportAfter a narrow defeat in series opener, India made a strong comeback in the second ODI to level the series. Shreyas Iyer's second ODI century and Ishan Kishan's flamboyant 93 saw India making mockery of a 279-run target set by the Proteas. (LIVE SCORECARD)

IND vs SA 3rd ODI: Openers In Focus As India Look To Seal Series Against South Africa

The second-string Indian team would look for some stability from its openers as the hosts aim to punch above their weight and seal a memorable series victory against South Africa in the third and final ODI in New Delhi on Tuesday. After going down narrowly in the series-opener, the might of the Indian white-ball depth was in full display as the hosts won the second ODI comfortably to level the three-match series 1-1. But the Indian think tank would be a little concerned about the opening pair of captain Shikhar Dhawan and young Shubhman Gill.