South Africa vs India 2018: 3rd ODI, 5 things we learnt from the match

A Virat Kohli special and a familiar collapse against Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav saw South Africa succumb to their third consecutive defeat in the series at Newlands. Shikhar Dhawan and the skipper strung together a 140-run stand after Aiden Markram won the toss and bizarrely put India in to bat. JP Duminy broke the stand and added the scalp of Ajinkya Rahane to give the Proteas a sniff but it wasn't quite good enough.

Kohli powered India to 303 with a blistering 160 that got better as the innings grew old. Markram and Duminy began well for South Africa after they lost Hashim Amla to Jasprit Bumrah yet again, but the introduction of spin saw the innings take a wretched turn and it never really shot up thereafter.

Here are the 5 talking points from the match.

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#5 Rohit Sharma's African safari does not turn the corner

Rohit Sharma departed for a six ball duck

Rohit Sharma's gargantuan ODI image had taken a terrible hit in South Africa and it got no better at Newlands after Kagiso Rabada sent him on his way for a six ball duck. The Hitman's highest score in the Rainbow Nation is a measly 23 and he averages 12.10 with the bat after 11 games. This is completely in contrast to his record in other nations.

Kagiso Rabada eked out an inside edge off Rohit Sharma when the batsman attempted to leave and the edge was taken behind the stumps by Heinrich Klaasen, who was on debut. The Indian opener has a few more days to change his record in the country.

#4 Virat Kohli rips into South African hearts

Kohli smashed his second ton of the series

Before the start of the series, Kohli had hundreds in eight of the nine countries he had played ODIs in. Three matches into the series and Kohli already has two in South Africa and the second one was a daddy hundred at Newlands on Wednesday, where he single-handedly took India to a great score.

Kohli was a touch slow to start with as Rabada resumed his battle with the Indian skipper but the batsman later switched gears and composed himself, even as the others around him committed suicide. His 159-ball 160 was his 55th hundred across formats in International cricket.

#3 India's middle-overs sans Kohli comes a cropper

Jadhav hasn't quite been able to do it with the bat

India were helped onto a superb total courtesy a Kohli special but amidst all the hullabaloo one wonders if India's own support cast is any better than South Africa's. True the hosts have been woeful but they miss two front-line players in AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, aside from Quinton de Kock.

India without Kohli, Dhawan and Rohit may not be that threatening either. The likes of Rahane, Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya came a cropper against the South Africans in the middle-overs. At one stage it looked like the hosts had clawed their way back into the game but any sign of a collapse was thwarted by a sensational Kohli.

#2 Indian spinners continue their honeymoon in South Africa

Kuldeep and Chahal once again bamboozled the Proteas batsmen

In the absence of their two stars, South Africa's wobbly middle-order once again collapsed against the guile of India's indomitable wrist spin twins. While Markram and a confident Duminy somehow negotiated the tricky Chahal, Yadav's entry brought a wicket within two balls as the Proteas skipper missed a flighted ball that drifted away to be a victim of Dhoni's flashy glove-work.

Debutant Klaasen followed soon after, squared up by a Chahal beauty and Duminy didn't hang around much either after a half-century, his first in 15 months. Chahal was once again the beneficiary. Kuldeep returned with Chris Morris trying to up the ante and trapped him in front of a sweep shot. They ran through the lower order to finish with four wickets apiece.

#1 South Africa's horror show continues

Duminy put in a contribution after long for the Proteas

A faultering Amla, a shaky middle-order and unforgivable woes against wrist spin have seen the Proteas plummet to their third successive loss in the series. They were on the back of seventeen successive victories when they were met by the Indian juggernaut. With Chahal and Kuldeep running riot with the ball and Kohli in audacious touch with the willow, the Proteas had nowhere to hide.

Duminy made an all-round contribution today but he, as much or even more than others, has been guilty of doing little to warrant a place in the side. Their troubles against wrist-spin are well documented with them possessing the lowest average against these brand of spinners (11.13) since the Champions Trophy last year.