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On the back of Quinton de Kock's impressive outing at Cape Town, South Africa pulled off a 4-run victory and handed India a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series. After losing the first two encounters, India had nothing but pride to play for. The visitors put up a good fight but were unable to cross the line in a thrilling dead-rubber.
After opting to bowl first, the visitors bundled out South Africa for 287 runs in the first innings. For most of the innings, Quinton de Kock (124) and Rassie van der Dussen (52) dominated Indian bowlers.
De Kock hit 124 off 130 balls and accumulated 144 runs for the fourth wicket with van der Dussen before India put a stop to the scoring by dismissing both hitters in rapid succession. David Miller and Dwaine Pretorious also contributed 39 and 20, respectively.
Lungi Ngidi sent Indian skipper KL Rahul back to the pavilion early in the innings. However, from there on, Shikhar Dhawan (61) and Virat Kohli (65) added a crucial 98 for the second wicket. India appeared to be in command of the chase with the duo at the crease. However, the visitors lost their key batters in quick succession.
A late blitz from Deepak Deepak Chahar gave India some hope before he perished in the 48th over after a terrific knock of 54 in 34 balls. The game ebbed and flowed, with India failing to get over the line once again. On that note, let's look at a few players who were 'hits' and 'flops' in the third ODI.
#5. Hit - Andile Phehlukwayo (South Africa)
Andile Phehlukwayo is a player who usually goes under the radar for South Africa. A handy all-rounder who is extremely clever about his bowling, Phehlukwayo has provided significant contributions to his side in the past.
Phehlukwayo was perhaps South Africa's unsung hero against India in the 3rd ODI. Though Phehlukwayo may not have scored many runs with the bat, his contribution with the ball proved vital and effectual.
It was his second over which proved to be the turning point of the match. The 25-year old, first, broke the all-important partnership between Dhawan and Kohli. Later, the all-rounder dismissed the in-form Rishabh Pant on a golden duck.
Phehlukwayo's shrewd pace variations and consistency in line and length in the middle overs kept the Indian batters at bay. In the penultimate over of the game, Phehlukwayo also picked up Jasprit Bumrah's wicket, finishing with the figures - 7-0-40-3.
#4. Flop - KL Rahul (India)
It is no secret that KL Rahul looked under the pump in the entire white-ball series against South Africa. After failing to convert a good start in the 1st ODI, he did score a half-century in the second.
The stand-in skipper failed to impress once again in the dead-rubber and ended his tour of the Rainbow Nation with a subpar performance. With India chasing a healthy total of 288 runs, they required someone of Rahul's caliber to provide a steady start to the chase.
During the first over, Rahul did find a couple of boundaries to start with. However, in Ngidi's very next over, the 29-year-old gave away his wicket for nine runs. Rahul tried to push away an off-stump ball, which ultimately got the outer edge of his bat.
The captain's knock, which everyone was hoping for from Rahul, just never came in the series.
#3. Hit - Deepak Chahar (India)
South Africa looked all set to hand India a comprehensive defeat in the third and final ODI. However, Deepak Chahar almost sealed an unlikely victory for the Men in Blue. In his only match of the tour, Chahar came in at 195/5 after Shreyas Iyer's exit to a short ball for 17.
The Agra-born all-rounder played a memorable knock in Cape Town and stitched a 55-run partnership with Jasprit Bumrah. With his impressive striking, Chahar instilled hope among Indian fans. He scored a half-century before being dismissed for a knock of 54 in just 34 balls. Chahar's knock comprised of five boundaries and a couple of salient sixes.
The South Africans were stunned by his performance and the once-difficult equation was reduced to a modest 10 off 18.
Earlier in the innings, Chahar also took a couple of wickets. He swung the ball in the initial overs on a typical Newlands surface. In his eight overs, the 29-year old gave away 53 runs and took the crucial wickets of Janneman Malan and Aiden Markram.
#2. Flop - Rishabh Pant (India)
Unpredictability and inconsistency - two words come to mind when talking about Rishabh Pant. After failing to make an impact in the first ODI, Pant hushed his critics with a quickfire 71-ball 85 in the following game.
The wicketkeeper batter was expected to repeat his heroics in the dead-rubber on Sunday but failed miserably as he was dismissed for a golden duck.
Coming in to bat at 116/2, when India had just lost a set batter in Shikhar Dhawan, Pant charged down the wicket on his very first ball. While demonstrating the art of 'throwing a wicket away', the 24-year-old tried to hoick the ball into the off-side. However, Pant miscalculated his shot and ended up slicing it right to the fielder at cover.
Pant didn't even have a great outing behind the wicket either, as he dropped two catches off Jayant Yadav's bowling.
#1. Hit - Quinton De Kock (South Africa)
Quinton de Kock continued from where he left off in the second ODI and smashed a stunning century on Sunday. The 5 ft 7' batter dominated the pacers with his exquisite drives and fluency. De Kock also looked comfortable and fancied sweeps and reverse sweeps against the spinners.
During his stay at the crease, De Kock never seemed in trouble and mustered 124 off 130 balls, including 12 boundaries and two sixes. He and Rassie van der Dussen added 144 runs for the fourth wicket to propel South Africa to 287.
The wicket-keeper batsman closed out the series with 229 runs at an astounding average of 76.33 in three matches. It was his sixth ton against the Men in Blue. It is worth mentioning that the left-hander batted for 171 minutes and then kept wickets for about four hours on one of the hottest days in the Western Cape.
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