It may have been transition and pitches in the Tests, and they may have been faced with different surfaces and pitch conditions than South Africa had during the Tests, but where South Africa has succeeded is with the depth of talent throughout their entire squad. With Temba Bavuma and Keshav Maharaj back into the team after having had a rest, South Africa were able to weather a very shaky start with the ball but also a very average fielding performance; however, they managed to chase down 359 runs (the equal highest ODI successful chase against India) in impressive fashion. Below are the talking points from the match:

What’s the Difference?

India had two centurions, while South Africa had one. India had a massive 195-run partnership, and South Africa’s highest partnership was 101 runs. The difference therefore is how relentless South Africa were; India’s next best partnership was only 69 for the sixth wicket and came off 54 balls; it served to keep India afloat but did not allow them to capitalise to finish. A power-hitter is needed at the bottom of their order.

South Africa constructed two fifties and a century stand between Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma. Despite it being a very straightforward chase due to the thick and humid conditions, they kept the pressure on throughout the evening.

Kohli continues to churn the hundreds out

The 53rd ODI have been achieved. This has also been the 84th overall of his international career. These last 2 ODI hundreds have come against opponents where he has not needed to chase runs. He mentioned during the Ranchi match that he turns up at 120% – but at Raipur he looked far superior to any other level of play. Immediately after getting off the mark (his very first run) he hit a six off Lungi Ngidi and thereafter made 45 singles, including 2 sixes and 7 fours before celebrating as he did as 22-year-old with massive leaps into the air and punches to the ground – almost as if Raipur is his 1st century again!

Will he score 100 international hundreds before 2027 in the world cup? If one were able to clearly predict with certainty now that a person would score 100 international hundreds in their career, the answer would be a firm “yes.” However, for the 2027world cup it’s “not” quite that solid a prediction at this point in time.

Ruturaj’s hundred FINALLY arrives

Someone was saying that Ruturaj had been looking for that ‘spark’ for quite a while now? After not being able to produce any form of consistent performances, this season could be the reason. His performance record coming into this match CONTAINS: (7 innings/ 123 runs, an average of 17.57/ HIGHEST Inning – 71/ 5 runs less than the minimum score. NO CONFIDENCE BUILT UP YET.

Ruturaj immediately settled very fast into his rhythm, as shown by how fast he scored his 100 — off 77 balls—with an obviously impressive pull shot to mid-on. It is a perfect example of how dangerous he is when just able to play “freely,” but also reinforces the long-held belief that he is not a natural No. 4, and it’s remarkable that he got selected over Rishabh Pant for this game.

India have yet again failed to win a toss

India’s dismal record continues through different captains and venues and even different ways of playing, with nothing changing for their toss luck. Their last ODI win at a toss was against New Zealand at Wankhede, in the semi-final of the World Cup, which was two years ago. Of course, they have not been playing ODIs in the meantime, but it is still astonishing that they have lost 20 straight tosses in succession.

For reference: The chance of you losing 20 consecutive tosses is 1 out of 1,048,576 (or 0.00000095)—about as likely as rolling an eight with a normal 6-sided die 8 times in a row. What are the odds?

The South African cricket group has changed their approach.

In Ranchi, South Africa started the match at 11/3 while chasing 350 runs. When they played their second ODI match in Raipur, however, South Africa displayed a better understanding of the game. Aiden Markram, who achieved his first century as an opening batsman, along with Temba Bavuma, was able to reduce their pace of play after losing their first wicket (Quinton de Kock) by scoring only 52 runs in 10 overs but not losing another wicket following their first dismissal of Quinton de Kock.

The running partnership between Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma, who scored centuries each, allowed South Africa to build a platform that they had lacked in Ranchi. Although South Africa again lost several wickets towards the end of the innings (Dewald Brevis throwing away a brilliant start and Tony de Zorzi limping with what appeared to be hamstring issues), they had more than enough runs on the scoreboard to chase down the target of more than 350 runs.

No field day for India in the middle

India’s fielding during the match was not very impressive due to a number of small errors made throughout the innings. In addition to a flying stop from Tilak Varma who saved a six but dropped the catch, the only thing to note about the Indian team’s fielding performance was the plethora of miscues made by their players. While defending a target, the Indian players needed to make some spectacular plays in order to be successful considering how wet the ball was, but in the end, the Indian players were unable to provide anything exceptional.