CHENNAI: Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan put on a show with the bat as India kept the three-match ODI series alive with a comfortable seven-wicket win against South Africa in the second match in Ranchi on Sunday.
While the local star Kishan (93 from 84 balls) faced a heartbreak, missing out on his maiden ODI hundred by just seven runs, Shreyas went on to end the century drought (has six fifties since his first ton), finishing with an unbeaten 113 from 111 balls to steer India home. The Mumbaikar’s troubles against short-pitched ball is no secret at this point. However, what makes him stand out in the 50-over format is the consistency and the ability to find ways to score runs despite the obvious ploys from the opposition.
Sunday was no different as Shreyas was the patient one among the duo. He negated Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje patiently while scoring with ease against the spinners. Once settled, he took the attack to the Proteas, leaving no bad delivery go unpunished. At some level, it was fitting that Shreyas backed away and hit a short-ball off Nortje — a free hit nevertheless — over extra cover to reach the three-figure mark.
At the other end was Kishan, who took particular liking towards Nortje and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, scoring 53 runs off 38 balls between the two bowlers. Together, they added 161 runs from 155 for the third wicket, making sure India were in the chase after losing both the openers. Having cruised into the 90s, Kishan hit a short and wide delivery straight from left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin into the hands of the deep-midwicket fielder. In the end, Sanju Samson and Shreyas saw through the chase for India in 45.5 overs.
Earlier, Mohammed Siraj was the star with the ball for India as he took early wickets, unsettling the tourists. However, fifties from Reeza Hendricks (74) and Aiden Markram (79) helped them recover as they finished with 278/7 in 50 overs. Siraj bowled well across the different phases of the game, taking three wickets for just 38 runs in his 10 overs.
Brief scores: South Africa 278/7 in 50 ovs (Markram 79, Hendricks 74; Siraj 3/38) lost to India 282/3 in 45.5 ovs (Shreyas 113 n.o, Kishan 93).