IND vs SA 3rd ODI: Arshdeep Strikes First Ball as India Finally Win Toss, South Africa Reeling Early
Arshdeep Singh ignites Visakhapatnam with a wicket in the very first over as India fight for survival.
Arshdeep Singh produced a sensational swinging delivery that angled in and seamed away just enough to kiss the outside edge of Ryan Rickelton’s bat, with Rishabh Pant completing a sharp catch behind the stumps. The South African opener departed for a two-ball duck, sending an early jolt through the visiting dressing room and giving India the explosive start they desperately needed after losing the first two matches.
Stand-in skipper KL Rahul broke India’s extraordinary streak of 20 successive ODI toss losses — a run stretching back more than two years — by correctly calling at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. Under heavily overcast skies and on a greenish pitch offering lateral movement, Rahul had no hesitation in inserting South Africa, marking a clear shift in strategy from the previous games where India batted first and collapsed. The decision was vindicated within three deliveries as the crowd erupted and the momentum swung decisively towards the Men in Blue.
Quinton de Kock and captain Temba Bavuma were forced into survival mode from the outset, with Arshdeep and fellow pacer Prasidh Krishna extracting sharp movement and bounce. After 8.3 overs, South Africa limped to 27/1, with a run rate of just 3.18. De Kock, on 14 off 20 deliveries, and Bavuma, unbeaten on 11 from 27, have been made to work exceedingly hard, playing and missing repeatedly as the Indian seamers maintained disciplined lines outside off stump.
Young debutant Harshit Rana has been desperately unlucky, beating the outside edge on multiple occasions and inducing a loud lbw appeal against Bavuma that was turned down on field and upheld on review only to be overturned again on umpire’s call. Despite the lack of wickets, Rana’s pace and bounce have added constant pressure, while the team management’s bold calls — dropping off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar for batting depth through Tilak Varma and retaining the under-fire Prasidh Krishna — are being put to the test in these testing conditions.
With South Africa eyeing a historic whitewash across both Test and ODI formats on this tour and India staring at a second consecutive home bilateral ODI series defeat, every run and every wicket carries magnified importance. On a surface continuing to assist seam bowling and with clouds refusing to part, the contest remains on a knife-edge as India hunt early cluster of wickets to keep their hopes of salvaging the series alive.
Also Read: India's Junior Hockey Stars Gear Up for Belgium Quarterfinal Clash in Chennai
