SA defeats India by eight wicket, levels series 1-1

Gqeberha [South Africa]: A maiden ODI century by Tony de Zorzi and his century partnership with Reeza Hendricks helped South Africa pull off an eight-wicket win over India in the second ODI in Gqeberha on Tuesday.

The series of three-match series is now level at 1-1.

In the chase of 212 runs, Proteas openers Reeza Hendricks and Tony de Zorzi gave a great start to SA.
Zorzi and Reeza were cautious in the beginning, ending the powerplay at 39/0, with Hendricks (12*) and Zorzi (25*) unbeaten.

Put to bat first, India suffered a big blow as Nandre Burger drew first blood in the first over of the inning, removing opener Ruturaj Gaikwad for 4. The left-handed batter Tilak Varma then came out to bat.

Proteas pacers put India batters in a strong chokehold as they restricted runs. Sudharsan in the 7th over opened his hands as he slammed Beuran Hendricks for back-to-back two fours.

Nandre Burger then removed Tilak Varma for 10 in the over.

In the 20th over of the game, Sudharsan brought up his half-century. Captain KL Rahul joined hands with Sudharsan and kept the scoreboard ticking.

However, Sudharsan’s stay at the crease was cut short by Lizaad Williams after he scored a fine 62 runs off 83 deliveries. Beuran Hendricks got rewarded for some consistent bowling as he removed Sanju Samson for 12.

The left-handed batter, Rinku Singh, then came out to bat and opened his tally with a cracking four off Keshav Maharaj. Captain Rahul also brought up his 18th ODI fifty in 60 deliveries.

Shortly after slamming a half-century, Rahul was dismissed by Burger, who bagged his third wicket of the match.