South Africa defeated India by chasing down 359 in the second one-day international on Wednesday thanks to a brilliant century from opener Aiden Markram to level the series 1-1 in Raipur.
South Africa reached the target with four balls and four wickets remaining, meaning that Virat Kohli’s second consecutive century was in vain.
Number eight Corbin Bosch hit the winning boundary in his undefeated 29 and let out a roar with the three-match series tied at 1-1 and the decider on Saturday in Visakhapatnam.
Put into bat, India reached 358-5 thanks to Kohli, who made 102 for his 53rd ODI hundred, put on 195 runs for the third wicket with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who hit 105.
In response, captain Temba Bavuma (46) and Markram scored 110 and 101 runs for the second wicket, setting the stage for the joint-highest target knocked down against India. Australia had chased down 359 in 2019 in Mohali.
Markram, who survived a dropped catch on 53 by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the deep, lost partner Bavuma in the 21st over but remained steady to score his fourth ODI ton in 88 balls. Harshit Rana dismissed Markram with a slower ball to boost the noise of the 60,000-capacity packed stadium.
In their fourth-wicket partnership of 92, Dewald Brevis (54 off 34 balls) and Matthew Breetzke (68) kept the chase on course. Brevis reached his maiden ODI fifty with a six off Kuldeep Yadav but the left-arm wrist spinner got his revenge following ball to get the batsman caught out at long-on.
Breetzke was next to fall after Krishna trapped him lbw and Arshdeep Singh removed Marco Jansen (2) in the next over.
There was further drama when Tony de Zorzi went retired injured on 17, clutching his hamstring in pain after taking a run with Bosch, who then maintained calm to push the team over the line alongside Keshav Maharaj (10 not out).
After India lost Rohit Sharma for 14, Kohli was on fire, taking on the opposition bowlers. The in-form batter opened his scoring with a six off Lungi Ngidi. Jaiswal went for 22 after he handed India a quick start, but Kohli and Gaikwad steadied the innings and then took on the opponents.
Gaikwad reached his maiden ODI ton with a boundary as both looked fluent striking regular boundaries. Gaikwad departed but Kohli went on to achieve his 84th century across the three international formats as supporters got up to cheer.
Kohli eventually succumbed to Ngidi and walked off to a standing ovation, after which captain KL Rahul guided the innings with an unbeaten 66.
The 37-year-old Kohli now features exclusively in the 50-over format, having joined fellow veteran Rohit, 38, in retiring from both T20Is and Test cricket.
