Kohli, Gaikwad tons in vain as SA level series with record chase

Virat Kohli's second successive ODI hundred and Ruturaj Gaikwad's maiden century both went in vain as South Africa pulled off a record chase to level the ODI series against India. Riding on the two hundreds and KL Rahul's quick-fire 66 not out, India posted 358/5. South Africa then came up with a collective batting effort - led by Aiden Markram's ton and fifties from Matthew Breetzke and Brevis - as they got over the line in the final over with four wickets in hand. The successful chase of 359 was the joint-highest in an ODI against India, alongside Australia's effort in 2019 in Mohali.

India lost a review in the opening over when Markram was struck on the pad by Arshdeep Singh. Quinton de Kock, returning as opener for this game, got going with a boundary in the same over. Markram then struck three fours off Harshit Rana, while de Kock added another boundary to his tally before falling to Arshdeep. Temba Bavuma, back in the XI in place of Ryan Rickelton, put together a steady stand with Markram, who struck a six off Prasidh Krishna, to keep South Africa moving. The opener reached a 52-ball fifty and enjoyed a slice of luck in the 18th over when Yashasvi Jaiswal failed to hold an overhead catch off Kuldeep Yadav, tipping it over the ropes as South Africa crossed 100.

Prasidh, reintroduced into the attack in the 21st over, was struck for another six - this time by Bavuma - but he persisted with the short-ball ploy and was rewarded soon after, removing the South Africa captain for 46. Markram moved into the 70s with two fours in Prasidh's next over, though one came via an inside edge. South Africa crossed 150 in the 25th over before Markram launched a six each off Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja to surge into the 90s. A boundary and a single off Jadeja then carried him to his first ODI hundred in 25 innings as an opener, while also raising a steady half-century stand with Breetzke.

The dew and a wet ball were giving the hosts problems again, and the Indian players were constantly at the ears of the umpires. Meanwhile, Rana delivered a key breakthrough as Markram, trying to force a slower ball across the ropes, was caught at long on. But South Africa were back in the hunt again thanks to the Breetzke-Dewald Brevis partnership, which crossed 50 in only 39 balls. While Breetzke kept finding the boundaries, Brevis struck a six apiece off Kuldeep and Prasidh, who went for 16 runs in the 37th over, as South Africa crossed 250. Breetzke brought up his second successive fifty before Brevis struck two sixes off Rana and one off Kuldeep to bring up a 33-ball fifty.

South Africa were 289/3 at that stage in the 41st over, looking well on track, but they lost their way in quick time. Although Brevis fell to Kuldeep attempting another big one, Breetzke and Tony de Zorzi found the boundaries as they took South Africa to 311/4 after 43 overs, needing 48 more. But Breetzke was lbw to Prasidh and Arshdeep dismissed the in-form Marco Jansen. To add to their agony, de Zorzi looked in a lot of pain with a right hamstring issue, eventually limping off the field.

Bosch eased some of the discomfort in the South Africa camp with a couple of boundaries in Arshdeep's over, bringing the equation down to 27 off 30, and then 18 off 24 when he struck a four off Rana, who conceded nine. A three-run over from Arshdeep was followed by a seven-run over from Rana but Keshav Maharaj and Bosch were happy with the singles as they brought it to eight off 12 and then 3 off 6. Bosch took a couple and a single off Prasidh in the final over to seal the chase with four deliveries remaining.

After India lost the toss for the 20th ODI in a row and were asked to bat, Jaiswal set the tone with a pair of crisp drives off Nandre Burger. Rohit Sharma followed up with a hat-trick of fours off Burger in the fifth over but fell soon after, caught behind for 14. Kohli and Jaiswal each cleared the ropes once before the left-hander once again fell to Marco Jansen, late on a pull.

That brought Gaikwad to the crease, keen to make amends for his failure in the first ODI. In Kohli, he found the ideal partner as the pair settled into a classic ODI rhythm - rotating strike fluently, picking off boundaries, and keeping the run rate healthy. By the halfway stage, Gaikwad had reached a 52-ball fifty and Kohli got his off 47 deliveries, taking India past 150.

Gaikwad, on a run-a-ball 60, shifted gears with a burst of boundaries - including two fours and a six in a single over off Keshav Maharaj - racing to 92 off 75. Kohli kept the momentum up at the other end, even charging down the track for an audacious pulled six off Jansen. Gaikwad soon reached his maiden ODI hundred with two fours off Bosch, before a pull shot ended his fine innings as he was caught in the deep off Jansen's bowling. Rahul began positively, striking a boundary off Maharaj and a six off Jansen, while Kohli brought up his own hundred off 90 balls. Burger left the field after bowling only one ball in the 39th over, struggling with his hamstring. Kohli fell soon after, attempting to go aerial against Lungi Ngidi, leaving India at 284/4 after 40.

It became 289/5 in the next over when Washington Sundar was run out for 1. Rahul then cut loose, picking up two fours off Bosch as India crossed 300 in the 44th over. Ravindra Jadeja had a quieter outing but Rahul ensured the scoring didn't slow. Dropped by Matthew Breetzke off Jansen, he capitalised, raising a 33-ball fifty with a boundary in the 48th over. Ngidi conceded only four in the penultimate over, but Bosch went for 18 in the last, with Rahul finishing strongly with two fours and a six as India closed their innings well, but it wasn't good enough as the South African batters overhauled their total.

Brief scores: India 358/5 in 50 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 105, Virat Kohli 102, KL Rahul 66*; Marco Jansen 2-63) lost to South Africa 359/6 in 49.2 overs (Aiden Markram 110, Matthew Breetzke 68, Dewald Brevis 54; Arshdeep Singh 2-54) by 4 wickets.