Virat Kohli got back to form in a spectacular manner against the South Africans in the heat of Chennai. Riding on Kohli’s hard fought and pliant 138 off 140, India got to a respectable total of 299-8 in the 50 overs. Things began positively for India as skipper MS Dhoni won the all important toss, which again had a great bearing on the outcome. Dhoni had no hesitation in batting first and Rohit Sharma once again responded positively. Sharma pulled a few delightful shots, before being caught by Faf Du Plessis. Dhawan’s poor series continued as he was caught stunningly by De Kock.
Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli collaborated for a classy 104 run stand. It was a partnership filled with an array of delightful strokes. Kohli kept on going and finally got to his 23rd ODI ton by hitting a six off Phangiso. In the last 10 overs, India struggled and limped to 299. At one stage, it looked like the hosts would settle for nothing less than 325. Raina’s return to form was great news for the hosts.
The visitors were rocked early as Amla endured another failure. De Kock was once again dismissed by Harbhajan Singh as he edged one to slip. The spinners kept on chipping with wickets, while De Villiers fought a battle which he would never win unfortunately. De Villiers got to a well compiled ton, but was soon dismissed on a bouncer bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The game ended as India won by 35 runs and the series being leveled at 2-2.
Below, are some of the statistical highlights for the 4th ODI.
1. 23. Virat Kohli’s century count. It is the highest among the current crop of batsmen.
2. 66. The number of runs scored by a rusty Shikhar Dhawan in this series. Hashim Amla has the same number of runs as well.
3. 2. The number of century stands between Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli.
4. 22. AB De Villiers became South Africa’s leading century maker with 22 tons.
5. 69. The runs scored by India in the last 10 overs.
6. 40. The number of 50+ scores by Virat Kohli while batting at number 3.
7. 16. The count of centuries for Virat Kohli at number 3.
8. 1074. AB De Villiers’ aggregate runs in 2015.