South Africa vs India 2018: 6th ODI, 5 things we learnt from the match
Another lacklustre South African show saw India romp home by 8 wickets to win the six match ODI series 5-1. Winning the toss at Centurion, Kohli put South Africa in to bat and the hosts struggled immensely against the new ball, which sent back the openers. AB de Villiers and Khaya Zondo resurrected against the spinners before a Royal Challengers Bangalore face-off saw Yuzvendra Chahal clean up de Villiers with a flipper.
The innings never really kicked on from there although Zondo's half-century and a few lusty blows from Andile Phehlukwayo and Morne Morkel took them last 200. Rohit Sharma fell early in India's chase but a marauding Virat Kohli sunk his teeth deep into South Africa's pace battery, compiling yet another ton (his 35th in ODIs), but the result was all but decided in the first ten overs.
Here are the 5 things we learnt from the match.
#5 Shardul Thakur impresses
Replacing someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar can be daunting, particularly for someone who has long awaited his turn from the sidelines. But good players grasp onto the rare opportunities and that is exactly what Shardul Thakur did at Centurion. Bhuvneshwar hasn't been at his best in ODIs and Thakur showed that he could fit in quite well into the limited-overs scheme of things with an impactful opening spell.
He was quick through the air, hit the deck hard, generated enough doubts in the minds of the batsmen and got his first wicket when Hashim Amla edged a bouncer down leg-side to MS Dhoni behind the stumps. Aiden Markram took on his short ball with conviction and slammed him over the mid-wicket boundary but fell in the same over as he looked to hit him over cover. He added two more wickets to finish with figures of 4/52.