Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Aiden Markram’s superb century, along with breezy fifties by Matthew Breetzke and Dewald Brevis, helped South Africa pull off a mammoth chase of 359 and beat India by four wickets to level the three-game series 1-1 at the Shheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on December 3. After centuries by Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad, along with KL Rahul’s unbeaten fifty propelled India to 358/5 in 50 overs, Markram anchored the pursuit with a superb 110 off 98 balls, while Breetzke’s fluent 68 and Dewald Brevis’ enterprising 54 provided the middle-order muscle to complete the chase with four balls to spare.
Markram’s century was the fulcrum of the Proteas chase, built on partnerships of 101 and 70 with Temba Bavuma (45) and Breetzke, and capitalised on being dropped on 53 by Yashasvi Jaiswal to the fullest. Breetzke and Brevis then stitched together a 92-run stand for the fourth wicket to keep South Africa ahead of the asking rate in dewy conditions, as India made costly lapses with the ball and in the field.
Corbin Bosch applied finishing touches by hitting an unbeaten 29 to ensure the visitors completed their third-highest ODI chase and silenced the Raipur crowd. Chasing 359 also equals the joint-highest score ever chased against India in ODIs, alongside Australia’s successful pursuit in Mohali in 2019.
South Africa’s chase was off to a flier when Markram and Quinton de Kock hit five boundaries between themselves in the first three overs. But India struck when Arshdeep Singh forced de Kock to hit over leg-side, and the leading edge was caught by mid‑on and dismissed him for eight. Though Arshdeep and Harshit Rana continued to trouble Markram, the right-hander produced crisp strokes once the new ball threat was gone.
