South Africa vs India 2018, 2nd ODI: Things which went right for the visitors
India chased down a paltry 118 in 20.3 overs, to beat South Africa by 9 wickets in the 2nd ODI of the six-match series at Centurion on Sunday.
Batting first, South Africa were bowled out for 118 in 32.2 overs, their lowest ODI total on home soil. Their previous lowest score was 119 against England at Port Elizabeth in November 2009.
Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were the wreckers-in-chief as they shared eight wickets between them to dismantle South Africa.
After losing Rohit Sharma early, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan chased down the total with 177 balls remaining as India went 2-0 up in the ODI series.
The third ODI will be played on Wednesday, February 7 at Newlands, Cape Town.
Now, let us have a look at the factors that led to India's win.
#5 Virat Kohli's captaincy
While South Africa were seen struggling in the absence of their regular skipper Faf du Plessis, India have flourished so far in the ODI series under the leadership of Virat Kohli.
The 29-year-old, who possesses excellent mental strength, orchestrated a turn-around for his team after they were beaten 2-1 in the three-match Test series.
After winning the crucial toss on Sunday, Kohli rightly opted to bowl first on a Centurion pitch that has lately been assisting spinners instead of pacers.
He then deployed his bowlers at the right times and continued to pile on the pressure on the South African batsmen, eventually dismissing them on a paltry 118.
Even while batting, Kohli was involved in an unbeaten 93-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan as India chased down the target in 20.3 overs and won the 2nd ODI.