(Image source from: x.com/BCCI)
KL Rahul flipped the coin with his left hand and finally won the toss for India for the first time in their last 21 one-day matches. They followed this by securing a victory by nine wickets, highlighting the tough journey they had to remain competitive and push for a final match against South Africa, even after losing the toss in the first two games of the series. The struggling Prasidh Krishna was key in turning things around for India, taking out Quinton de Kock after he scored a brilliant century. Kuldeep Yadav, who was using a dry ball for the first time in this series, then cut through the lower middle order to limit South Africa to 270, after they had hopes of reaching 350 at different points during their innings. This smaller target enabled Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal to play cautiously in the early overs, as the ball moved more and the dew came in later than during the first two matches. Rohit guided Jaiswal as the younger player settled into a new format. However, Rohit did not stay long enough to witness Jaiswal score his first hundred in ODIs.
Ultimately, the game was not simply about "win the toss, win the match" - it changed with various conditions appearing. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana took advantage of the early moisture - perhaps a little more than expected, which helped keep the pitch from drying out during the first innings - by effectively restricting South Africa. Ryan Rickleton was opening, with Aiden Markram moved down to No. 5 due to Tony de Zorzi's absence. Arshdeep got Rickleton's edge in the first over. Rana added a maiden over afterwards. India bowled three maiden overs within the first eight overs, and only two edges from de Kock got South Africa to 25 for 1. When Prasidh came into bowl, already criticized in this series, South Africa saw a chance to break free. De Kock took a particular interest in him, hitting two sixes off him in his first two overs and delivering two remarkable shots of the day: a high-drive extra-cover shot for a six and another along the ground for four. Prasidh conceded 27 runs in his first two overs, and runs began to flow during a 113-run partnership between de Kock and Bavuma. Bavuma scored only 48 of those runs off 67 balls, which reflected the batting conditions and the quality of the bowling. De Kock, on the other hand, had already reached 63 runs off 55 balls by this time.
The pitch conditions were stable at this point, and Matthew Breetzke managed to take down Tilak Varma's part-time spin, who was playing in place of Washington Sundar. By the conclusion of the 26th over, the duo of Prasidh and Tilak, acting as the fifth bowlers, had allowed 56 runs over their five overs. De Kock was on track to achieve his seventh century against India in just 23 innings. No other player has managed to score more against India, and no visiting batsman has over seven centuries in matches played in India. At a score of 158 for 2, Prasidh began his second spell. His first over had only let in two runs. Rana also came in to bowl, with India eager for a wicket. De Kock struck a four, bringing South Africa's scoring rate above a run per ball for the first time. In Prasidh's following over, Breetzke attempted to regain control but misjudged the ball's length. He was clean bowled lbw while playing back and across the line to a delivery that hit the top of the stumps. In the same over, Markram ended up giving an easy catch to Virat Kohli, who was fielding close at short cover. Aware of the strength in their batting lineup and the importance of exploiting the overs before the last 10 where an extra fielder would be out, South Africa continued to press forward. The run rate remained healthy, but de Kock eventually misplayed a long half-volley from Prasidh, getting out for 106 off 89 while their total was 199 for 5 in 32.5 overs.
Dewald Brevis and Marco Jansen continued to attack, but the arrival of Kuldeep brought some difficulties. India needed to bowl five overs of spin in the last 14 overs, which could be a challenge. Nevertheless, Kuldeep was enjoying the dry ball for the first time in this series and the older ball for the first time in his career, as the bowling team is now only allowed to use one ball after the 34th over. Brevis and Jansen responded aggressively. They were not ready to let Kuldeep, the leading wicket-taker in the series despite a wet ball, just bowl without facing any challenges. When Kuldeep started his second over of the new spell, there had been 19 balls bowled without any boundaries. The extra fielder would also go out in two overs. Anticipating a big shot, Kuldeep kept bowling wide to lure the batters. Both batters got out in the same over.
Kuldeep's skillful play secured two additional wickets - only Adam Zampa has achieved more instances of four or more since Kuldeep started playing - and Prasidh dismissed the final batsman. For South Africa to have a chance in this defense, they required quick wickets. The ball was moving well for Jansen and Lungi Ngidi, but seven wides in the opening two overs and some careful shots from Rohit helped India keep up with the required run rate. Despite Jaiswal having a tough time, Rohit took charge of the game, hitting Ngidi for a six and getting a four off Keshav Maharaj against the spin. His signature powerful pull shot appeared soon after. While Jaiswal's strike rate was around 50, Rohit achieved his 94th score of 50 or more at a run a ball, giving Jaiswal some breathing room.
Jaiswal has not had the best situation taking the place of the injured captain Shubman Gill. He had to play aggressively in the first two ODIs as India aimed for higher scores to make up for losing the toss, but now he could take his time and score big before Gill returns. After he hit 50 runs off 75 balls, things started to go well. He reached his century in just another 36 balls, becoming the sixth player to score centuries for India in all three formats. He partnered with two others in this chase. After Rohit fell 25 runs short of what would have been his 34th ODI century, Kohli showed another improvement in his game, raising his total of sixes to 12 - more than he has ever hit in a series before. He finished not out with 65 runs off 45 balls, as India won with more than 10 overs left to play.
