Prasidh Krishna uprooted the stumps of South Africa opener Quinton de Kock during the third One-Day International in Visakhapatnam on December 6. After an expensive opening with the ball, Krishna came back with a stunning second spell to turn the tide in India’s favour in the series decider.
Krishna struck in the 33rd over with a full, pacey delivery aimed at the stumps. De Kock tried to whip it across the line but misread the movement and missed the inside edge. The ball crashed into the stumps and created havoc.
Krishna’s third wicket capped a fiery spell after he endured a rough start in his first two overs. Earlier in the same over, he had Aiden Markram edging behind for one and sent Matthew Breetzke (24) to slip. But the wicketkeeper-batter responded brilliantly, hammering 106 at a strike rate of over 89 with eight boundaries and six sixes.
Before the real action started, India finally won an ODI toss after losing 20 consecutive tosses in the format. India, surprisingly, had not won an ODI toss ever since the 2023 World Cup semifinal. Their wretchedness began in the big tournament final in Ahmedabad when they finished unbeaten at the top and were beaten by Australia.
In the series opener, the hosts took a 17-run victory in Ranchi but South Africa hit back with a four-wicket win in Raipur as they successfully hunted down what would have been a daunting target of 359. The last ODI at Visakhapatnam led to an exciting decider with both teams showing moments of superiority during the series. After the completion of the ODI series, India and South Africa will shift their attention to the five-match T20I series, which starts on Tuesday in Cuttack and brings to an end the all-format tour.
