India were rocked early after Dhoni opted to bat as Kagiso Rabada sent Rohit Sharma packing in the second over.

Ajinkya Rahane scored his third ODI fifty against South Africa and his 12th overall.

Virat Kohli started positively but was undone by a poor mix-up with Rahane and was run out.

Imran Tahir dismissed Rahane to put India in deep trouble.

Harbhajan Singh threw his bat around to score a run-a-ball knock of 22.

Dhoni switched on his attack mode and went after the bowling, punishing Tahir and Steyn with a few big hits.

After a confident start, South Africa lost both openers - Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla - in quick succession.

Even as wickets tumbled at one end, Dhoni powered India's innings with a counter-attacking knock.

Against all odds, Dhoni scored a fifty and led India's charge with an unbeaten 92 off 86 balls.

Suresh Raina was dismissed cheaply once again, by Morne Morkel.

Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy made short work of the low target, cutting down the deficit with ease.

However, Axar Patel dismissed both Duminy and Du Plessis inside two overs to spark a South African collapse.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a solid second spell to chip in with the wickets and crank up the pressure.

The writing was on the wall for the visitors when Mohit Sharma sent AB de Villiers back to the hut.

SA's tail resisted but had too much to get in the end as India recorded a 22-run victory.