It was an unusual race towards the 297-run target by India. Shardul Thakur, the team's developing all-rounder, who can and likes to swing his bat, curbed his natural instincts on the slow surface for as long as victory seemed out of reach at Boland Park. Taking an unconventional approach, he settled in, threw his bat around a bit and played a cautious hand with the tail but never really threatened to chase down the total.
The 31-run difference between the two sides in the end doesn't speak as much for the disparity as there was over the last hour of play. Nor does it speak as much of the position India were in around the halfway mark of their innings - 137 for 1, with two successful one-day veterans - Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli - settled comfortably on a pitch that wasn't throwing up enough of a challenge.
India's run chase took an abrupt turn following the dismissal of Dhawan, who had stroked a fluent 79, when he was beaten by a quickish delivery from Keshav Maharaj that spun from the rough. It ended the 92-alliance for the second wicket from which the visitors couldn't recover. The middle order couldn't hold on to the challenge that was slipping away. Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer and R Ashwin had brief but struggled stays in the middle, failing to come to terms with the pace of the pitch.
Source: https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/120760/another-middle-order-hiccup-holds-india-back
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