2nd ODI: Vintage Dhoni inspires India to 22-run win

IndoreA superb performance by the bowlers and a defiant 92 not out from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni saw India outplay South Africa by 22 runs in their second ODI at the Holkar Cricket Stadium here on WednesdayChasing Indias modest total of 2479 the South Africans lost wickets at regular intervals and their innings folded up for 225 in 434 overs Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and leftarm spinner Axar Patel inflicted the bulk of the damage with a threewicket haulsPatel claimed the crucial wickets of Hashim Amla Faf du Plesis and JP Duminy to return figures of 339 in his 10 overs while Kumar claimed 341 in 84 oversSuresh Raina left and Ajinkya Rahane celebrate with Harbhajan Singh the fall of De Kocks wicket during the 2nd ODI match at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Wednesday PicPTIHarbhajan Singh 251 scalped twoin his comeback match while pacers Mohit Sharma 121 and Umesh Yadav 152 picked up one eachIndia who had lost the opening match by five runs at Kanpur have now levelled the fivematch series at 11Amla and Quinton de Kock gave the Proteas chase a flying start tackling Bhuvneshwar and Yadav with ease Dhonis decison to bring on the spinners made an instant impact as Patel got rid of Amla in his very first over The South African who had danced down the over to smash the second ball of the over to the midon boundary tried a similar act off the fourth delivery only to be beaten by the spin as Dhoni calmly whipped off the bailsAfter de Kock had hit a Harbhajan delivery into the hands of Mohit Sharma at long off set about trying to repair the damage The duo managed to bring the visitors into the match but Patel trapped Duminy leg before to bring an end to the 82run partnershipThat seemed to trigger a mini collapse as du Plesis David Miller and the dangerous AB de Villiers went back in quick succession which all but ended the visitors hopesEarlier Dhoni led from the front with a defiant 92 not out to help India post 2479 in 50 overs against South Africa during their second OneDay International ODI at the Holkar Cricket Stadium on WednesdayWalking in to bat with India in a spot of bother at 823 in the 18th over Dhoni batted right till the end to notch up his 60th ODI fifty The Indian captain smashed seven boundaries and four sixes during his 86ball inningsThe nudges quick singles shotarm jabs pulls cutslofted shots over the bowlers head all were on full displayas Dhoni answered back his critics with his knock that cameoff 86 balls decorated with seven boundaries and four sixesCaptain Cool batted with tailenders with a calm headas India scored 82 runs off the last 10 overs to put on aboard a decent total which at one stage looked impossibleIndia were 165 for seven at one stage in the 40th overbut Dhoni found great support from Harbhajan Singh 22 withwhom he added 56 runs to lift the sideIndian captain MS Dhoni in full flow during the 2nd ODI against South Africa at The Holkar Cricket Stadium at Indore on Wednesday PicAFPDhonis fighting knock and Ajinkya Rahanes 51 his eighth halfcentury in ODIs helped India put up a decent total even though the other batsmen came up short against the disciplined South African bowlers Besides Dhoni Rahane was the only other Indian batsman who managed to trouble the Proteas hitting six boundaries during his 63run stay in the middleExperienced fast bowler Dale Steyn was the most successful among the Proteas bowlers with figures of 349 from his 10 overs Pacer Morne Morkel 242 and legspinner Imran Tahir 242 also were partly successful while rookie pacer Kasigo Rabada returned figures of 143JP Duminy was the only South African bowler to take a bit of punishment from the Indian batsmen giving away 59 runs in nine wicketless oversElecting to bat after winning the toss India were off to a poor start when Kasigo Rabada uprooted Rohit Sharmas leg stump with a full length delivery which beat the Mumbai lad with its paceRahane and Shikhar Dhawan tried to steady the boat with a 56run partnership from 65 balls before Dhawan was deceived by a slower delivery from Morkel A horrible mixup saw Virat Kohli run out before Rahane missed one from Tahir only to see the ball hit his stumpsAxar Patel was also unable to post a substantial contribution and was beaten by the pace of a Dale Steyn delivery to be trapped leg beforeBut Dhoni continued his efforts to rebuild the innings with Bhuvneshwar Kumar giving him steady support from the other end The Indian captain was initially a bit cautious relying more on the ones and twos to keep the scoreboard ticking rather than go for the big shots But he gradually began to open up as the innings progressed hitting Duminy for a four and a six in the 37th overBhuvneshwar was batting steadily at the other end as the duo added 43 runs between them from 60 balls Tahir brought the partnership to an end when he sneaked one through the gap between Bhuvneshwars bat and and padThat brought Harbhajan Singh to the middle and the feisty Turbanator helped his skipper jack up the scoring rate with a runaball 22 Harbhajan hit a couple of boundaries and a six before he lashed out a wideish delivery from Steyn only to see Quinton de Kock do the honours behind the stumpsBut by that time the hosts were well on their way to a decent score