India Crush South Africa by 9 Wickets to Seal ODI Series 2–1; Jaiswal Hits Maiden Ton, Kohli Named Man of the Series

India broke their extraordinary streak of 20 consecutive lost tosses in ODIs and made full use of favourable evening batting conditions to defeat South Africa by nine wickets in the series-deciding third ODI at Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

Stand-in captain KL Rahul’s relieved smile after finally winning the toss reflected the mood in the Indian camp, especially with head coach Gautam Gambhir under scrutiny following the 0–2 Test series defeat.

India’s Bowling Comeback

After Quinton de Kock’s century threatened a big total, India’s bowlers staged a strong comeback.

• Prasidh Krishna: 4 wickets

• Kuldeep Yadav: 4 wickets, including the dismissal of Corbin Bosch for 9 (celebrated with Virat Kohli)

South Africa were bowled out for 270 in 47.5 overs, a below-par score on a pitch offering some help but still favourable for batting.

Poor shot selection hurt the Proteas badly, with Temba Bavuma, De Kock, Dewald Brevis and Marco Jansen all throwing away wickets. A surprising call saw Aiden Markram, fresh off a century in the previous ODI, pushed down to No. 5 to accommodate Ryan Rickelton at the top.

Jaiswal–Rohit Dominate, Kohli Finishes the Job

Chasing 271, India never felt pressure:

• Yashasvi Jaiswal: 116 (maiden ODI century), unbeaten

• Rohit Sharma: 75 with fluent strokeplay

• Opening stand: 155 runs in 26 overs

Once dew settled in, batting became even easier. After Rohit’s dismissal, Virat Kohli—coming off consecutive hundreds—continued his sublime form with a brisk 65 not out*, steering India home with 61 balls to spare.

Man of the Series

Virat Kohli was named Man of the Series, having dominated the last two matches with back-to-back centuries and a match-finishing fifty.