South Africa beat India by 48 runs via Duckworth/Lewis law in a rain-washed fourth One-day International on Friday to level the series 2-2
South Africa beat India by 48 runs via Duckworth/Lewis law in a rain-washed fourth One-day International on Friday to level the series 2-2.
India, after being humbled in the first ODI in Durban, came back to win two cliffhangers, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
With nothing much to choose between the two teams, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rightly pointed out that the side which handles pressure better will clinch the series. "The team that handles pressure better will win the match," Dhoni said.
Dhoni pulled up the middle order for their inconsistent performance in the series. "The middle order has not clicked for us and I think the same goes for South Africa." Like on three previous occasion, Indian batting crumbled at Port Elizabeth. Chasing a total of 266, India were reeling at 137 for six in 31.3 overs when rain stopped play. At resumption, the revised target required India to make 123 runs off 87 balls. But barely eight balls were bowled when the skies opened up again and South Africa were declared the winners.
Silver lining
The silver lining for India in the match was Virat Kohli's unbeaten knock of 87. Dhoni complimented the flamboyant batsman who has been India's key batsman in the series.
"Virat's effort was a big positive. He is proving to be consistent and, more importantly, he is carrying the innings through," he said.
The Indian skipper used as much as eight bowlers to contain the Proteas' batsman but barring Yuvraj Singh none was effective.u00a0 "They were scoring at a healthy pace. And that meant if they batted for 50 overs, they will get to a good total. And that is what happened. I tried the fast bowlers, spinners, part-timers but things don't go your way always," Dhoni said.
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