Riding on centuries from captain AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis, South Africa went for a batting rampage as they posted a record-high total of 438 for 4 in the fifth and final ODI against India on Sunday, October 25, at Wankhede Stadium Mumbai.
Opener Kock cracked 109 in 87 balls. Plessis blasted 133 in 115 balls before retiring hurt while Villiers smashed 11 sixes in his blistering knock of 119 from just 61 balls to completely destroy the home team bowling attack after South Africa opted to bat on a perfect batting track.
South Africa, who have never won a bilateral ODI series in India, finished with the mammoth total, the joint third highest ever and 17th 400-plus score in ODI history. It was also the highest ODI score in India, the second highest being the 418/5 India scored against West Indies in Indore in 2011.
All the five frontline Indian bowlers went for runs. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh bowled a tight spell of seven overs for 36 runs initially but finally finished with one for 70 in his 10 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1 for 106) and Mohit Sharma (1 for 84) were the most expensive while Axar Patel and Amit Mishra finished without a wicket after conceding 65 and 78 runs respectively. The Indian fielding was also pathetic with quite a few catches grassed, two of those off Plessis.
(With inputs from PTI)
Feature image source: PTI