In the second ODI match of the South Africa tour of India 2025, South Africa beat India by four wickets at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.
South Africa’s bowlers had a difficult day, but they did just enough to keep India from pulling away further. Marco Jansen stood out, taking 2/63 and breaking two big pairs, including Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Nandre Burger dismissed Rohit Sharma early on, while Lungi Ngidi responded well with economical spells and Kohli’s prized wicket. The remainder of the attack battled to be economical but failed, notably Bosch and Markram, who gave away 79 and 48 runs, respectively. Despite the high economy rates, South Africa’s bowlers were able to take wickets at vital moments, preventing India from achieving a total greater than 360, which proved critical in the final outcome.
South Africa completed a near-perfect chase, scoring 362/6 with four wickets and four balls to spare. Aiden Markram (110) delivered a top knock, scoring a superb century and setting the tone for the chase with poise and authority. Matthew Breetzke’s (68) polished knock offered steadiness, but Dewald Brevis (54) shifted the pace completely as he cleared the ropes at numerous times effortlessly. Their middle-order surge firmly swung the momentum to the Proteas. Corbin Bosch made a game-changing cameo late in the chase, hitting 29 off 15 balls with a strike rate of 193 to end the match. Temba Bavuma‘s (46) steady knock also contributed significantly to the innings’ stability under early pressure.
In the first innings, the home team produced an impressive 358/5, owing to an outstanding top-order performance. Virat Kohli (102) led the innings as he hammered his second consecutive ton, which was combined with control and well-timed aggression. Along with him, Gaikwad (105) was outstanding too, striking a fluent ton, while also dominating the middle overs with immaculate strokeplay. The two took a tremendous stand, propelling India into a dominating position. KL Rahul‘s (66*) late acceleration helped India surpass the 350-run milestone. Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, India’s batting performance was clinical and looked match-winning on most days.
India’s bowlers had a difficult task against an inspired South African batting squad. Arshdeep Singh was the best of the bowlers, striking twice and keeping things tight early on, while Harshit Rana removed the dangerous Markram after he had already caused substantial damage. Prasidh Krishna took two wickets but also gave up 85 runs in 8.2 overs. Kuldeep Yadav took a wicket but gave away 78 runs. While India did well to extend the game, their lack of control in the middle and death overs proved costly.
With this win, SA have leveled the series 1-1, with a match to go.
Scorecard:
India: 358/5, Overs 50, Ruturaj Gaikwad 105, Marco Jansen 2/63
South Africa: 362/6, Overs 49.2, Aiden Markram 110, Arshdeep Singh 2/54
