The series of unfortunate events doesn’t seem to end for Proteas in this ODI series. First, the absence of AB de Villiers, then a loss in the first ODI, then du Plessis ruled out of the entire ODI and T20 series, and now, the heavy loss in the 2nd ODI. Even though their prime batsmen were absent, the dismal performance by the South African team was way below par. Often, in such troublesome situations, the fans expect that someone will stand up and deliver, but sadly, this was a match to forget for the hosts.

It all started with some nervous defending from de Kock. Playing Bumrah’s bouncing deliveries was a lot to ask from him today, as he didn’t look sharp at the start, but he steadily started building a partnership with Amla. The latter had just gained some confidence to free his arms, but then, there came a fine delivery from Bhuvaneshwar and he was caught behind. The Indian skipper didn’t want to give the opposition any breathing space and he immediately brought in his leg-spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal. Chahal quickly got rid of de Kock, who was easily caught by Hardik Pandya. There was no waiting as Kuldeep Yadav picked out Markram on the first ball of his first over. It was two wickets in two balls for India. The Proteas must have thought this couldn’t get any worse, and then Miller went out for a duck in the same over of Kuldeep Yadav. Khaya Zondo and Jean-Paul Duminy tried to stabilize their innings, but the debutant, Khaya Zondo, who was looking comfortable against the spinners, failed this test of patience as he played a high-risk shot. Running backwards, Hardik Pandya managed to take a good catch. Again, it was Chahal in his next over, who picked up Duminy on his tossed-up leg-break delivery. Duminy wanted to review it, but the umpire reminded him that there weren’t any reviews left.

The responsibility to post a defendable target was left on the tail. However, the Indian spinning duo had too much in their bag for the Proteas to handle. Rabada and Morne Morkel were sent back to the pavilion by Kuldeep and Chahal respectively. In the middle of the storm set up by the spinners, Bumrah managed to get one for him as his 141kmph delivery hit right at the base of the stumps. Tahir was late to bring down his bat and it was too late for the South African team to recover. The very next over, Chahal registered his first 5-wicket haul in ODIs as he got rid of Chris Morris, their last man.

This was a kind of an innings which they must have never imagined of. They were all-out for 118 and it was their lowest ever ODI total at home. The absence of AB de Villers and Faf du Plessis was clearly felt throughout the innings as none of their batsmen were able to crack down Indian spin attack. The contribution of the spinners was crucial in the first ODI, and in the second one, they were simply dominant.

The umpires wanted to continue the game without taking the innings break, as only 32.2 overs were played. India started their innings with an approach to finish it early. Rohit Sharma opened his account of sixes on the third ball of the innings. Both the openers hit some beautiful shots and got quick boundaries before Rabada’s bouncer was mistimed by Rohit and Morkel caught it comfortably. However, after Rohit Sharma’s wicket, there wasn’t much to cheer for the South African bowlers as Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan were cruising towards the target. They were batting patiently and were placing the bad deliveries out of the boundary lines. As expected, the target of 119 was met with ease.

The Indian dominance was written all over the game since the first wicket fell. It was disappointing from the home side, as they needed to win this encounter to maintain their pressure in the series. But the away side looked more comfortable playing in these conditions than the home side. Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav continue to trouble their batting line up, whereas Indian batting looks confident and sharp. As the Indians lead the series by 2-0, the Proteas do look in serious trouble. They need their top order batsmen to perform and to be confident instead of succumbing to the pressure put by Indian spinners. With 4 more ODIs left in the series, India just need one win to save and two to win the series. The two teams are right at the top of ICC cricket team rankings, we can expect the next matches to be extremely crucial as neither of them will allow the other to dominate the series. The third ODI will be played on 7th February.