South Africa vs India - 5th ODI

Series - done. Long sermons - done. Watching history being written is always fun for there'll never be a dearth of stories to brag about. This Indian juggernaut finally manages an unchartered territory, rolling on ruthlessly. Here's hoping you enjoyed reading it just as much as we did in bringing it to you. I was Vineet Anantharaman and in the company of Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Akshay Maanay, Raju Peethala, Rishi Roy(@_rrroy_) and our scorer, Sulthan, it is time to head out. It could get a lot more comprehensive/experimental as we head back to Pretoria. Ta ta!!

Stats brought you, courtesy Deepu Narayanan.

Most successive bilateral ODI series wins:
14 WI (May 1980 - Mar 1988)
9 Ind (Jun 2016 - present)*
8 Aus (Apr 2009 - Jun 2010)
7 Pak (Jan 2011 - Feb 2012)
7 SA (Aug 2015 - Feb 2017)

India's run:
Beat Zim 3-0 in Zim
Beat NZ 3-2 in Ind
Beat Eng 2-1 in Ind
Beat WI 3-1 in WI
Beat SL 5-0 in SL
Beat Aus 4-1 in Ind
Beat NZ 2-1 in Ind
Beat SL 2-1 in Ind
Beat SA 4-1 in SA with one match to go

South Africa's last two series losses at home:
vs Pak in 2013 - Pak's first series win in SA
vs Ind in 2018 - Ind's first series win in SA

India's series in SA:
1992: Lost 2-5
2006: Lost 0-4
2011: Lost 2-3
2013: Lost 0-2
2018: Lead 4-1 with one match to go

Chahal + Kuldeep this series
1st ODI: 20-0-79-5 (ER 3.95)
2nd ODI: 14.2-1-42-8 (2.93)
3rd ODI: 18-1-69-8 (3.83)
4th ODI: 11.3-0-119-3 (10.53)
5th ODI: 19.2-0-100-6 (5.17)

Most wins after 40 ODIs as captain:
33 R Ponting
32 V KOHLI *
31 C Lloyd/ V Richards
29 H Cronje/ M Clarke

Virat Kohli, winning skipper: Very pleased. Another convincing win for us and I thought the guys really got stuck in, with the bat, with the ball and on the field as well. It was a complete performance from us which was important to put together after the last game. Only one team had the pressure of losing the series right from the start and that was South Africa. We knew that a few mistakes and we'd be right back in the game. Right from the third Test in Jo'burg it has been a great time for us. We've been playing some really good cricket and it has been a collective effort from the team-mates, the support staff and everybody; feels wonderful to be 4-1 up. When three guys at the top are playing well and scoring consistently, every now and then you get an opportunity where you might not click, and when this series is wrapped up we'll look to think about what we can do to improve and strengthen as we move forward. Every team has a vision of the 2019 WC and that's what we need to plan for, but for now 4-1 seems great and we'll look to wrap it up well. We want to win 5-1 for sure, that doesn't change, but there'll be a chance for others to step in as well. The first priority is to win and we'll do anything to do that again.

Rohit Sharma, MoM: It was a long time coming (smiles). I had a good time in the middle; as the game went on the wicket got slower and slower and it wasn't easy. Had fun in the middle and it is always a good feeling when you score a hundred and your team wins the match. We stuck to our plans and am glad it came off. You've got to keep yourself mentally fit. South Africa is a good place to play cricket and I try to keep myself in the right frame of mind and it paid off. I knew I didn't have to change a lot and the runs would come. I kept doing the same things off the field, I kept hitting the ball well and the confidence was there that I would score. We were in a spot of bother when I got to my century and that's why the celebrations were low key. What was important for me was to bat long and get the team to a good score and am glad we came out hard and defended it. When you get in you've got to make it count and unless you play a bad shot you don't really get out. The top three get the most number of balls to play and you have to make it count. The rest of guys put in the runs in the last few games and it was my day today.

Aiden Markram, losing skipper: Credit to the Indians, they played very well today. Still happy with what we had to chase out there today. Our batting wasn't upto scratch, and it is hard to keep up the momentum when you lose wickets in clumps. These are some quality Indian players in good form so credit to them, they nailed the execution of their plans. Lungi has come through spectacularly, he started off well and kept taking wickets in the middle. After restricting them to less than they would have liked, and we were happy to chase the total down. We needed a few good partnerships, and a cameo here and there but that wasn't the case. I thought my dismissal was a soft one in the middle too. We are going to have to find a way to build partnerships just to gain some momentum and build some pressure on them. They've bowled well, they took wickets and the more we play them the better we'll get. So all credit to them (the Indian spinners), and we'll look to improve our skills against quality wristspin. Lot of pride to play for in the dead-rubber and we will look to bounce back and end the ODI series on a positive note at Centurion. We'll try to work on putting that perfect game together in the next one.

20:32 local: It's the spin web..again. From 166/4 when it looked like Amla was doing an, err, Amla to steer the Proteas home to folding out for 201 - it's been some collapse. But lest we forget Pandya, his nagging seemingly-nothing deliveries and that arm of his. On a ground where India were chasing a ragged record and a smashing in the last game, they've done it just how the pundits prophesise, making big runs, and stealing momentum with their spinners. For all the criticism South Africa are set to face in the times to come, they've pulled off a massive diplomatic coup with the apparent drop-in pitches from India. Hang on..the presentations coming up.

Chahal to Morne Morkel, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

Lungisani Ngidi, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Kuldeep Yadav to Shamsi, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

Tabraiz Shamsi, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Kuldeep Yadav to Klaasen, THAT'S OUT!! Stumped!!

Morne Morkel, left handed bat, comes to the crease

Kuldeep Yadav to Rabada, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

Kuldeep Yadav [9.0-0-52-1] is back into the attack

Yuzvendra Chahal [8.0-0-39-1] is back into the attack

60 balls, 83 runs, 4 wickets -- As somebody famous would say, all three results possible.

Jasprit Bumrah [6.0-0-19-1] is back into the attack

The physio comes out, helping Rabada go through with his concussion tests. Rabada gives the thumbs up, but that ain't stopping us from having a having a lengthy check up. A new helmet too..