Chahal five-fer guides India to take 2-0 lead

India 119 for 1 (Dhawan 51*, Kohli 46*) beat South Africa 118 (Chahal 5-22, Kuldeep 3-20) by nine wickets

Centurion: India beat South Africa by 9 wickets in second ODI at SuperSport Park, Centurion on Sunday and lead series 2-0.

Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav took eight wickets between them to rout the hosts for their lowest total at home.

Dhawan (51*) and Kohli (46*) took India to 119/1 just after lunch break. Kagiso Rabada struck early for South Africa in the fourth over, Rohit Sharma gone for 15.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan commenced the paltry chase by playing their shots. Rohit was looking in good touch, but soon fell prey to Kagiso Rabada. It was banged in short, and Rohit wasn’t in the greatest of positions to play the pull shot. He was cramped for room but still persisted with the shot  and holed out to deep fine-leg.

There was no issue whatsoever for Kohli and Dhawan. The pair stitched an unbeaten stand of 93 runs for the second wicket, to add to South Africa’s humiliation. There was minimal effort from the bowlers and fielders. While South Africa remained sloppy, their bowlers drifted onto the pads and hurled too short. Kohli and Dhawan rotated the strike when necessary and pounced on the loose deliveries.

South Africa were bowled out for 118 in 32.2 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal picked up 5/22 - his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs

Around the 28th over just after Khaya Zondo was dismissed as the fifth wicket while trying to slog Yuzvendra Chahal, a small section of the crowd erupted, chanting ABD.

They’d probably spotted AB de Villiers or else yearned for his presence in the middle as the South African batting collapsed miserably to fold for 118 in 32.2 overs giving India a strong chance of taking a 2-0 lead in the six-match series.

India had won the toss and elected to field, fancying themselves to chase.

For the second time in the series, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal weaved a web around the home batsmen who tried to pull out of themselves out of the mire by trying to hit out, a cardinal mistake against wrist spinners who are meant to pick wickets.

As a result they gave away easy wickets to be dismissed for an abysmally low total.

Chahal got his best figures in ODIs, picking five for 22, while Kuldeep got 3/20.

The Proteas had begun confidently against some great bowling by India pacers with Hashim Amla looking fluent. The right-handed batsman who hasn’t been able to get going against the Indians in recent ODIs played some exquisite cover drives before a sharp incoming delivery from Bhuvneshwar had him caught behind.

With Amla, the most experienced Proteas batsman, gone, India skipper Virat Kohli brought on the spinners.

They didn’t have to do anything special as Quinton de Kock holed out to mid-wicket in Chahal’s second over, trying to pull one out of the field.

In the next over, Markram fell exactly the same way, falling to Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav in his first over.

Kuldeep then had David Miller caught at slip later in that over and soon the Proteas were reduced to 51/4 after being 39/0.

It was always going to be an uphill task from thereon as Khaya Zondo and Jean-Paul Duminy tried to resurrect the innings. The two added 48 runs.

However, the spinners answered the skipper’s call once again as Chahal picked Zondo. Soon Duminy was out leg-before to Chahal and that opened the floodgates. The experienced left-hander wanted a review. But it had already been exhausted by Amla up the order.

From 99/4, the home side suffered another collapse, losing the last six wickets for just 18 runs.