Indian batsmen surrender again as South Africa win ODI series

DURBAN: South African pacers did what their Indian counterparts couldn't, resulting in a cakewalk for the hosts at the Kingsmead on Sunday. A crushing 134-run victory gave the Proteas an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series but the intensity and of the body language of the South Africans suggest that there's more trouble in store for India. India simply couldn't come to terms with the pace and hostility of Dale Steyn, the movement generated by Lonwabo Tsotsobe and the bounce extracted by Morne Morkel for the second match in succession and lost their top-four batsmen in quick time. Yuvraj Singh was ruled out of the second ODI on Sunday with back spasms. He complained of back pain in the morning and had to be rested. Ajinkya Rahane came in his place. Chasing 281 for victory, it was imperative for Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan (0) and Rohit Sharma (19 off 26 balls) to try and spend some time in the middle, but neither was in the mood. Dhawan was caught at point off Steyn, the ball bouncing more than he had anticipated. Kohli (0) nicked one off Tsotsobe to the wicketkeeper while trying to run the ball down to third man. Rohit tried to pull Tsotsobe and Amla completed a spectacular catch, leaping high at short mid-wicket, while Ajinkya Rahane (19) nicked one to the keeper, leaving a mountain to climb for MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina (36). The duo battled gamely for a while, but with the sky closing in and the asking rate going up all the time, it was an uphill task. The edge that Vernon Philander induced off Dhoni killed the match as a contest. India's tail merely delayed the inevitable. South Africa's tally should have been much smaller, given the amount of help the pitch offered to the pacers. But the new-look Indian attack of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Shami Ahmed lacked the sting to rein-in openers Quinton de Kock (106 off 118 balls) and Hashim Amla (100 off 117 balls). Much like they had done in Johannesburg, De Kock and Amla did not take undue risks and yet scored at a fair clip against the three-pronged pace attack. And when Dhoni, impatient for an early breakthrough, brought on his spinners, the South African openers assumed complete control. De Kock was more attacking of the two, while Amla exuded cool confidence. The duo raised 194 runs off 35.1 overs to set the foundation for a big total. India succeeded in checking the flow of runs to an extent in the last 14 overs. After De Kock and AB de Villiers were dismissed in quick succession, the likes of Amla, Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy found it hard to accelerate the rate of scoring. Shami (3-48) was again the pick of Indian pacers. Umesh (0-45 off 6 overs), though, was erratic towards the end.