Raipur, Dec 3

Virat Kohli’s 53rd ODI ton and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden century were eclipsed by a collective effort from South Africa in a steep run chase, giving the visitors a series levelling four wicket-win in the second ODI against India here on Wednesday.

Chasing 359, South Africa rode on a brilliant century from Aiden Markram (110), a brutal 34-ball 54 (1x4s, 5x6s) from Dewald Brevis and Matthew Breetzke's 68 to get over the line in another resilient effort with the bat.

The series-deciding third and final ODI will be played in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

India’s job was far from done even after putting a daunting total on board as heavy dew in the second half not only made spinners’ job tougher, but poor returns from Prasidh Krishna (2/79) did not help their cause.

Prasidh, who had broken a second-wicket century partnership earlier by dismissing Temba Bavuma (46), got it right finally to pin Breetzke leg-before late in the game, and soon after, Arshdeep Singh (2/54) removed the dangerous Marco Jansen (2), but Corbin Bosch (29 not out off 15) and Keshav Maharaj (10 not out off 14) took the Proteas over the line with four balls to spare.

Markram was in his elements utilising a flat deck under lights to notch up his maiden century against India and providing South Africa a heavy contribution from the top to push on.

He took the initiative in the opening partnership and even though he lost Quinton de Kock (8) early with Arshdeep drawing first blood, Markram found a stable partner in Bavuma to put on 101 for the second wicket.

Markram had to remain the aggressor as Bavuma farmed the strike from the other end. Markram pierced gaps at will with brute force as well as some artistry.

He also hit through the line and over the bowlers’ head to clear the ropes while using the feet well against Indian spinners, with heavy dew making their job even more difficult as the innings progressed.

But the opener also had luck favouring him when a powerful hit off Kuldeep Yadav towards long on saw the ball going through Yashasvi Jaiswal’s hands for a six.

Had the catch been taken, Markram’s charge would’ve ended on 53.

Markram eventually fell off a short off-cutter from Harshit Rana (1/70) but his dismissal had Brevis and Breetzke teaming up, who waltzed to 92 off the next 64 balls to put South Africa in complete control.

While Brevis fell after his quick fifty which featured some massive sixes , Breetzke made a composed 68 for a second consecutive half-century.

Incidentally, it was only the second occasion where India lost an ODI despite scoring in excess of 350, with the first instance being against Australia in March 2019 when they lost by a similar margin of four wickets despite making 358/9 at Mohali.

Earlier, Kohli’s successive hundred, maiden century from Gaikwad (105) and KL Rahul’s quickfire 66 not out propelled India to a formidable 358 for five.

Kohli (102 off 93 balls, 7x4s, 2x6s) and Gaikwad (105 off 83 balls, 12x4s, 2x6s) reset the record for highest third-wicket stand for India in ODIs against South Africa as their 195-run association built the platform for the hosts to launch themselves into a big score.

And Rahul’s (66 not out off 43 balls, 6x4s, 2x6s) second fifty in a row ensured that, even as India continued to tinker with their batting line-up with the stand-in skipper coming in at No 5 ahead of Washington Sundar, who endured another failure.

Unlike at Ranchi where he did not look accustomed to batting in the middle order, Gaikwad emerged a perfect foil for Kohli as the two began racking up runs with ease.

With Ajinkya Rahane in tow, Kohli had put on 189 at Durban in February 2018 but perhaps on some counts, this partnership with Gaikwad was the one he may have enjoyed a little more as the Maharashtra batter matched his style of play.

The rotation of strike was deft, the singles were seamlessly converted into doubles and at times it was difficult for one to distinguish who had pierced the gap for those runs — not necessarily boundaries — as Gaikwad even appeared to be matching Kohli in terms of stroke-play.

If he was roughed up at the start, Gaikwad grew in confidence to post a fine half-century. Once past the milestone, he picked up pace.

Off the blocks with a perfect pull shot which sent the ball sailing over the ropes, it was yet another day in the office for Kohli who did not put a foot wrong on way to a record extending 53rd ODI ton.

Brief scores:

India 358/5 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 102, Ruturaj Gaikwad 105, KL Rahul 66 not out; Marco Jansen 2/63)

South Africa 362 for 6 in 49.2 overs (Aiden Markram 110, Matthew Breetzke 68, Dewald Brevis 54; Arshdeep Singh 2/36).