India vs. South Africa: Winners and Losers from 2nd ODI
India bounced back after losing the first ODI and clinched a 22-run victory over South Africa in Indore, India, on Wednesday.
Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, India posted a modest 247 for nine in their 50 overs. A combination of some really impressive bowling from the hosts and South Africa losing their patience a bit resulted in a good win for India.
We’ve picked some winners and losers from the second ODI.
Winner: MS Dhoni
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After admitting that he was part of the botched chase in the first ODI, MS Dhoni bounced back.
He promoted himself up the order and hit an unbeaten 92 off 86, the highest score of all of India's batsmen.
It was largely thanks to Dhoni's knock that India managed a competitive score. The only other Indian player to score more than 23 was Ajinkya Rahane.
Winner: South Africa's Fast Bowlers
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The tandem of Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. Add Morne Morkel to the mix with his extra pace and bounce and South Africa’s three-prong fast-bowling attack is looking pretty fierce.
The quicks did their job on Wednesday, taking six wickets between them and all keeping their economy rate below 5.00. They were well supported by Imran Tahir, who finished with figures of 10-1-42-2.
Loser: Amit Mishra
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Despite a more-than-acceptable outing in the first ODI, with figures of 10-0-47-2, Amit Mishra was dropped for the second match.
In came young Axar Patel, who excelled by picking up three wickets for 39. After Patel performed so brightly, Mishra will most likely miss out on the third ODI, too.
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Loser: South Africa's Batting Order
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South Africa’s batting order can sometimes boggle the mind, and it was no different in the second ODI.
Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock have formed a formidable partnership at the top of the order, and it’s hard to argue with the combination too much. However, the use of AB de Villiers is still peculiar.
Obviously being overreliant on one player is never a good idea, but considering how good De Villiers is, hiding him down the order seems a bit silly.
It’s especially silly if South Africa are in a position where they need a little boost. De Villiers batting at five in a situation like this seems to be like cutting your nose to spite your own face.
Winner: Axar Patel
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This has been touched on briefly already, but Axar Patel deserves some praise.
He bowled exceptionally and picked up three crucial wickets: Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis.
He took a bit of a hammering during the first Twenty20 (with figures of zero for 45), but he has clearly bounced back.
Encouragingly for India, Patel is only 21 but has already played over 50 List A and over 50 T20 games. It looks like he has a bright future ahead.
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