Visakhapatnam, India - Yashasvi Jaiswal's maiden ODI century propelled India to a dominant nine-wicket victory over South Africa in the third and final ODI, clinching the series 2-1. The young left-hander's unbeaten 116, combined with solid contributions from Rohit Sharma (75) and Virat Kohli (65 not out), made the target of 271 look easy as India reached 271 for one in just 39.5 overs.
India's victory came on the back of a strong bowling performance that saw South Africa bowled out for 270 in 47.5 overs. After winning the toss and electing to field – breaking a streak of 20 consecutive ODI toss losses – India's bowlers capitalized, with Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav each taking four wickets.
South Africa's innings was largely held together by Quinton de Kock, who scored a century of his own, amassing 106 runs off 89 balls. However, Prasidh Krishna dismissed De Kock, and Kuldeep Yadav helped to clean up the tail, ensuring that South Africa's total remained within a manageable range.
The Indian chase began with a dominant 155-run opening partnership between Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma. Sharma looked set for a century but was dismissed for 75 off 73 balls. His innings included seven fours and three sixes, and he also reached 20,000 international runs, joining Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Kohli as the only other Indians to reach the milestone.
Jaiswal, after a somewhat cautious start, accelerated to his maiden ODI century, reaching the milestone in 111 balls. The 23-year-old's innings included 12 fours and two sixes. With this century, Jaiswal became the sixth Indian to score a century in all three international formats, joining Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Suresh Raina.
Virat Kohli, who was named Player of the Series, continued his excellent form, scoring an unbeaten 65 off 45 balls. His innings included six fours and three sixes as he guided India to victory with more than 10 overs to spare.
The series win marks a positive end to the ODI series for India, especially after losing the Test series 2-0. The two teams will now face each other in a five-match T20 series, which begins on Tuesday in Cuttack.
