South Africa vs India, 2nd ODI highlights - South Africa win by 134 runs, seal series with 2-0 lead

India need 281 runs to level the three-match series  1-1. Given the lack of a lot of bounce on the wicket, can the Indian batsmen prevail today?  Follow live updates here: (Scorecard/Match commentary/ Innings report)

21.56 (IST): Quinton de Kock: 'It is quite satisfying. You need to make the most of the form you are and I am doing that. I don't know what it is batting with Hash, it just clicks. I was thinking about the D/L when I caught Dhoni, was thinking that whether we will go off or not. I am looking forward to the match at the Centurion.' (Match pics)

 

21.55 (IST): AB de Villiers: It was an emotional day. Good cricket in a good atmosphere. Bit of consistency, we've been searching for that for a long time. The way have batter together it has been immense. Two 150-plus partnerships was great. We struggled in between and I felt 230-240 was a par score so I was happy. The way seam bowlers have been doing so well.

AB de Villiers on moving up in ODI rankings: We've never been a team who've focussed on rankings so it will only be a bonus if we move up in the rankings.

21.52 (IST): MS Dhoni: MS: I think the bowlers did well. Batting wise, the guys played a few shot that were not executed well. We lost a lot of wickets early on.I think their fast bowling, thats what they've got. This bowling attack is accurate, they don't try too many things. Overall there was not much for the bowlers, not too much swing or seam.  We were quite happy with the target. I felt it was a fantastic wicket. So I think we didn't execute our plans well. Need to keep it simple. You win some, you lose some. These were two different wickets and I think batting wise we need to improve.

 

21.44 (IST): The young centurion Quinton de Kock has bee named the man of the match for the second time in a row.

21.36 (IST): This is the second time India has lost two ODIs in a row.

21.26 (IST): What a performance from South Africa. Coming in at the back of an ODI series loss would not have been easy but they have absolutely bossed over India in the first two ODIs so far. After another good batting display from Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla, the bowling department did well to keep India out of the chase from the word go. The wicket wasn't like the one in Johannesburg but the Indian batsmen struggled nonetheless. Steyn finished with miserly figures of three for 17 from seven overs while Tsotsobe was the pick of the bowlers with figures of four for 25. India lost way too many early wickets to try and force their way in the second half of the innings. MS Dhoni's men have well and truly been humbled and will have to go back to drawing board and iron-out their flaws before the Test series begins. Their confidence will obviously have taken a beating but there probably is no time to let it have an impact. South Africans, on the other hand, can celebrate through the night and even look to rest a couple of their key players for the Test series.

21.24 (IST): Its all over folks! Tsotsobe's delivery has gone on to hit the stumps to get rid of the last batsman, Mohammed Shami. Its another humiliating 134-run loss for India.

21.20 (IST): Steyn uproots the middle-stump! You've got to feel for Umesh Yadav here, even a top-order Indian batsman would not have had an answer to that. Steyn bowls straight and bang on target as the ball goes on to crash onto the middle stump. India 146/9 in 34.4 overs.

21.14 (IST): Oh my gosh! What a take! Ravindra Jadeja has been dismissed to a spectacular effort in the deep from AB de Villiers. Jadeja lifts a full delivery towards the straight boundary and the ball had a six written all over it until De Villiers covered a bit of ground, and leapt to take a two-handed stunner in the air. India 145/8 in 33.2 overs.

21.09 (IST): Mohammed Shami, the new batsman, is throwing his bat around here. He gets a big slogs one over the in-field on the leg side. India 139 for seven in 32 overs.

21.00 (IST): Ravichandran Ashwin is gone! Ashwin tries to pull a delivery that was wide outside the off-stump and ends up giving a catch to de Kock who gladly takes it. India 133/7 in 30.5 overs. South Africa are two wickets away from sealing the series.

 

20.58 (IST): India now need 148 runs from the last 19 overs. South Africa are four wickets away from taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

20.37 (IST): Jadeja steps down again but can't connect as Morkel dropped the ball short in the last minute. It was also bowled at 145 kmph to keep Jadeja away from the ball. India 120/6 in 27 overs.

20.32 (IST): Jadeja comes down the track and hoicks one over the deep mid-wicket for a six. Morkel follows it up with a bouncer which Jadeja is happy to duck.

20.27 (IST): Two aspiring all-rounders in the middle. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja need to score 186 runs off 26 overs.

20.24 (IST): Suresh Raina goes! He moves his front leg out of the way to make room and play through the off-side but he only finds David Miller, who takes a sharp catch. India down to 95 for six in 23 overs.

20.18 (IST): Raina is not too bothered by the rain. Or so it seems, as he gets a boundary in Ryan McLaren's first over. Eight runs from it. India 91/5 in 22 overs.

20.15 (IST): Morkel goes up in appeal for a leg before and the umpire doesn't seem even remotely interested. Morkel makes the 'T sign' but there will be no review. Replays show the ball pitched a yard outside the leg stump. India 83/5 in 21 overs.

20.12 (IST): The 20th over is done. India down to 74/5. South Africans will now be fine to welcome rain. They're ahead by a good margin. Raina has been joined by Ravindra Jadeja in the middle.

20.10 (IST): Dhoni is gone! What scenes here.  South Africa, for once, will not be happy with the wicket as it delays the end of the over. They just need to bowl one more ball to win by D/L if rain interrupts play.

20.07 (IST): Another over of spin is done, India 70/4 in 19 overs. Raina has called for a change of gloves all of a sudden. Philander bowls the 20th over.

20.06 (IST): If the South African pacers were not enough, a slight drizzle has come along. If it continues and South Africa bowl the remaining nine balls, South Africa will win by a big margin on D/L method.

 

20.00 (IST): Duminy continues and Dhoni and Raina are content with just the singles. 60/4 in 17 overs.

19.57 (IST): DRINKS BREAK. Even if the rain stays away, India still have a steep mountain to climb. At 58/4 in 16 overs, India still needs 223 to win from 33 overs at just under seven runs an over. It sounds tougher given that this is the last pair of batsmen who can actually carry them forward, with only Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin to follow, who can chip in.

19.51 (IST): Raina and Dhoni are however, happy to rotate strike at the moment and build a partnership to resurrect the Indian innings. Philander continues.

19.43 (IST): At DD for four in 14 overs, India are way behind the par score on Duckworth-Lewis method. At this stage, according to the method, India should have been 118 for 4. Dhoni may want to have one eye on it, in case rain comes down. As per the rules, 20 overs of both sides need to be played.  India 51/4 in 14 overs.

 

19.42 (IST): AB de Villiers introduces spin via JP Duminy. Raina and Dhoni are slowly starting to settle down but if there is a threat of rain, then they will have to accelerate from this moment.

 

19.35 (IST): Morkel continues. Can Suresh Raina silence his long-time critics by prevailing in a scenario where his pet-peeve, the short ball, will be over-utilised? It will be poetic if he can.

19.34 (IST): Vernon Philander comes into the attack. His line and length are spot on to Dhoni who is looking to shuffle across to unsettle the bowler. He starts with a maiden. India 35/4 in 10 overs.

19.27 (IST): Oh dear...another wicket down! Rahane this time. After letting more than a  dozen short deliveries go, he chases a wild one and gets an edge that carries to AB de Villiers. Rahane looked shocked at the decision as replays showed that there was no contact between bat and ball. Unlucky but shouldn't have attempted the shot in the first place. He takes the long walk back to the pavilion. The chase falls on Dhoni's shoulders....again. India 34/4 in 8.4 overs.

19.24 (IST): Morne Morkel comes into the attack. This is the kind of start the South African wanted on a wicket that was not going to do as much as the Johannesburg wicket. The idea now will be to puncture the Indian line-up further and put them out of the chase.

19.22 (IST): Suresh Raina walks out.

19.21 (IST): Amla, you beauty! Rohit Sharma played a cut shot and failed to keep it down. It was struck well but Amla, at mid-wicket, timed his jump to perfection and plucked it out of thin air to give his side the third wicket. India 29/3 in 7.4 overs.

 

19.19 (IST): Amid all the ducking and tucking around, Rohit plays a good shot over point for a four. The ball was in the slot for the stylish right hander to hit it over the fielder.

19.16 (IST): Steyn is on a 'full throttle' mode here, specially after sounding a warning last evening. His 4th over comes to an end with an angry stare at Rahane. India 25/2 in 7 overs.

19.14 (IST): The way its going, it seems like Steyn will bowl bouncers and Rahane will duck all day long. To be fair to the Indian batsman, he has done well to stay out of the way on each occasion.

19.11 (IST): After facing a barrage of bouncers from Steyn and ducking them, Rahane tries to go after one from Tsotsobe but he misses it completely. This will be an immense test of his character and ability to not buckle under pressure.

 

19.06 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane walks out in a very tough situation. It's probably another one-off chance for him to stake a claim. It's probably a bit unfair on him but he will look to make the most of his opportunity here. India 17/2 in 5 overs.

19.02 (IST): Kohli is gone! This is a disastrous start for India. He pokes at a ball that was angled away from him and de Kock pouched a straightforward catch. Tsotsobe is delighted and so are his teammates. India 16/2 in 3.5 overs.

18.57 (IST): Virat Kohli walks out and is straight away welcomed with a bouncer. Expect a lot of fired up play between him and Dale Steyn, specially after Virat Kohli came out and rubbished Steyn's claim.

18.55 (IST): Dale Steyn strikes! A needless stroke from Shikhar Dhawan. It was an ordinary delivery that Dhawan went after but couldn't keep the ball down and hit it straight to point. Poor choice of shot selection on only his second delivery. South Africa will take that. India 10/1 in 2.2 overs.

18.52 (IST): First boundary of the innings! Rohit waits for the ball that was pitched on middle and angled away and cuts it behind point to the boundary. Still a tidy over from Tsotsobe, just five from it. India 10/0 in 2 overs.

18.50 (IST): Almost played on! Tsotsobe bowls a ball that marginally moves into the right handed Rohit who goes for a cut anyway. An inside edge misses the stumps but a whisker and goes to the square leg fielder.

 

18.49 (IST): Lonwabo Tsotsobe starts from the other end and begins with a wide.

 

18.46 (IST): Rohit Sharma is off the mark straight away. Steyn bowls one that is drifting down the leg side and Rohit tucks it behind square for a couple of runs. He gets two more on the leg side of the next delivery. Five runs from the first over. India 5/0 in 1 over.

18.45 (IST): Rohit Sharma will take strike to Dale Steyn who has promised more aggression in this game.

18.20 (IST): FACTOID: The highest successful chase at the Kingsmead, Durban has been 268 with 249 being the highest in a day match. On a day when South African have created multiple records, can India notch one up too?

 

18.15 (IST): Despite two centurions at the top of the order, India did well to reduce the scoring rate towards the last few overs. Late wickets helped their cause but a 20-run final over has taken South Africa to 280. The way Amla and de Kock were going, not many expected them to end up with anything short of 300. Dhoni will be fairly happy barring that final over.

 

 

Shami has continued to bowl well and finished with figures of three for 48. Umesh Yadav too had restricted the South African batsmen well before conceding 20 runs in the final over. Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been struggling the recent past, did well to finish with one for 49 in his 9 overs, picking up the quintessential scalp of Quinton de Kock.

 

Dhoni's most trusted ally, Ravindra Jadeja too slipped in an economical spell of bowling, conceding just 49 runs in his 10 overs and dismissing the dangerous AB de Villiers cheaply.

 

The lack of seam movement and relatively less bounce as compared to Johannesburg should do a world of good to the confidence of the Indian batters. The key will lie in nullifying the early swing generated by Dale Steyn and Co. if they are to chase this total.

 

 

 

18.08 (IST): McLaren is getting some runs here. He flicks Umesh Yadav for a six behind square. That's the first maximum of the game. Philander too gets his bat to a full delivery outside the off-stump and it runs away to the third man boundary. He then followed it up with pull shot and the bottom edge beat the fielder behind square to another boundary. The over ends with a four as South Africa reach 280/6 in 49 overs.

18.05 (IST): McLaren gets a short delivery which he pulls well to the square leg boundary. South Africa 260/6 in 48 overs.

 

18.02 (IST): The leg stump has gone for a stroll! After conceding a boundary to Kallis, he bowls one that is angled into him and Kallis goes for a big heave and plays all around it. The ball sends the leg stump cartwheeling and South Africa are reduced to 255/6.

18.00 (IST): Shami is into his eighth over and he is still able to cramp the batsman for room. He keeps it full to Kallis who can only hit the ball to the mid off fielder.

17.57 (IST): RUN OUT! An accurate throw by Umesh Yadav from deep mid-wicket and quick glove work from Dhoni catches a diving Duminy a few inches short of his ground. South Africa 248/5 in 46.2 overs.

17.53 (IST): Ishant Sharma comes back. Kallis looks to unsettle him straight away with a shot over the top but can only get a couple of runs. Ishant comes back well with a full delivery that Kallis had to dig out.

17.51 (IST): Once again the new ball bowling was probably not as good as Dhoni would have liked it to be but they have done well in the middle and towards the end. At one stage, another total in excess of 300 was on the cards. Now they have 245/4 in 46 overs.

17.49 (IST): Wide? A bizzare call from the square leg umpire there. Shami tests new man Jacques Kallis with a short delivery. Kallis is happy to duck away but the square leg umpire seems to have seen something that resulted in the main umpire calling it a wide.

17.47 (IST): Ravindra Jadeja concedes just four runs in his final over. His finishes with figures of one for 49.

17.45 (IST): Double strike for Shami! He traps David Miller in front of the stumps. He was unhappy with the umpire's call. Replays suggests the ball came off an inside edge to strike his pads. He will walk back, undone. South Africa 234/4 in 44 overs.

17.41 (IST): Amla's essay of 100 took him 117 deliveries and included eight boundaries. His wicket has brought David Miller to the middle.

17.40 (IST): Now he's gone! A couple of balls after getting his ton, he is in two minds on whether to pull a short delivery and an edge off the toe-end of his bat goes straight to Dhoni. Amla tried to pull out in the last minute but was too late. South Africa 233/3 in 43.3 overs.

17.38 (IST): A single off the first ball in the 44th over gives Amla his 12th ODI ton.

17.37 (IST): Amla and Duminy pick up five singles and a four to take nine from the over. Amla moves to 99.

17.35 (IST): Good captaincy from Dhoni here. He continues with Jadeja in the hope that the South African duo will take a few risks in a bid to up the scoring rate.

 

17.33 (IST): Umesh Yadav has been very good in his comeback spell. He has coupled fast bowling with a disciplined line and length to give very little away. His last three overs has fetched only nine runs.

17.30 (IST): The last few overs has been the best passage of play for India. Only 22 runs have come in the last five overs.

17.26 (IST): 40 overs are gone, South Africa have 216/2. The hosts will look to get past the 300-run mark with some hitting. It is down to Dhoni to use his bowling options well to restrict South Africa to as little as possible.

17.22 (IST): The powerplay overs have slowed the South Africans down but that could be due to the fall of two quick wickets. Nothing alarming yet. South Africa 210/2 in 39 overs.

17.19 (IST): FACTOID: South Africa's highest total against India at Durban is 289. That could be surpassed today.

17.15 (IST): Umesh Yadav comes back into the attack. He bowls a good line and length but Duminy and Amla do well to pick up seven runs from it. South Africa 207/2 in 38 overs.

17.13 (IST): Jadeja completes a successful over with a single which brings up the 200 for South Africa. Three runs and a wicket from it. South Africa 200/2 in 37 overs.

 

17.10 (IST): Jadeja strikes! AB de Villiers is gone! What a huge,huge wicket for India. Jadeja tosses the ball up and deceives the opposition captain in the air. De Villiers moves forward to drive the ball but is beaten and Dhoni is quick to dislodge the bails. Straight foward decision for the square leg umpire. South Africa 199/2 in 36.2 overs.

 

17.07 (IST): The wicket brings AB de Villiers to the middle. Much like in the Johannesburg ODI, he walks out to a perfect platform for him to blaze away. South Africa 198/1 in 36 overs.

17. 04 (IST): Ashwin returns and dismisses de Kock against the run of play. It was his 'stop and deliver' action from around the wicket. De Kock went for a slog sweep but couldn't clear Rohit Sharma at mid-wicket. He departs for a well-made 106 off 118 deliveries.

 

17.02 (IST): Intelligent stuff from de Kock here. What maturity he has shown. Shami comes around the wicket to angle the ball into the left-hander and de Kock walks down the wicket and picks his spot on through the covers to get a boundary. This is a man in sublime form.

17.00 (IST): Mohammed Shami comes back into the attack, understandably in the powerplay overs.

16.57 (IST): The ton seems to have added a spring in de Kock's steps. He is looking to free his arms. Ishant gets away with just three singles from the over. South Africa 183/0 in 34 overs.

 

16.55 (IST): Third ODI century for de Kock, second consecutive one in this series. The 50's column in his stats will have to wait as he has converted yet another half-century into a hundred. Exceptional batting by the young left-hander.

 

16.47 (IST): Ishant Sharma returns. He does well to give away only two runs. South Africa 173/0 in 32 overs.

16.45 (IST): FACTOID: That's the highest first-wicket partnership at Durban. Amla and De Kock go past the previous best of 170 held by Australia's famous opening duo of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden.

 

16.43 (IST): FACTOID: Hashim Amla and De Kock have become only the second opening pair after Pakistan's Taufeeq Umar and Saleem Elahi to put up two consecutive 150-plus partnership.

16.40 (IST): Amla goes down on one knee and launches the ball from Jadeja towards the mid-wicket boundary. India still can't find a breakthrough. South Africa 160/0 in 29 overs.

16.37 (IST): Ashwin has reached that zone where he begins to 'stop and deliver.' It hasn't yielded any positive results for him yet. Score moves on to 153/0. Another 18 runs and Amla and de Kock will create another record, that of the highest first wicket partnership in Durban.

16.34 (IST): BIG shout for an LBW! That struck Amla on the back leg and looked like it would have crashed onto the leg stump, but it was pitched marginally outside the leg stump. Great call from the umpire Shane George. South Africa 151/0 in 27 overs.

 

16.32 (IST): Exceptional from Amla here. He usurps the top spot from the flambuoyant Viv Richards and pushes India's Virat Kohli to the third spot in that list.

 

16.31 (IST): RECORD: Amla has become the fastest cricketer to reach 4,000 ODI runs. He has taken 81 innings, seven fewer than West Indian legend Vivan Richards. He beats AB de Villiers  who was the previous fastest South African to reach the landmark (103 innings)

16.28 (IST): Dhoni unleashes Ravindra Jadeja.

 

16.25 (IST): Fifty for Amla. 24th ODI fifty and sixth against India.

 

16.24 (IST): FACTOID: South Africa's highest total against India at Durban is 289. That seems to be in some danger today.

16.24 (IST): de Kock is shifting gears here. Another 300-plus score on the cards? Kohli bowls a poor full toss and de Kock hits it to the deep midwicket boundary. South Africa 130/0 in 23 overs.

 

16.16 (IST): FACTOID: Amla began the game at 3,941 ODI runs to his name. He is just a few away from the 4000-run mark.

 

16.13 (IST): Smart bit of glove work from Dhoni. Facing away from the stumps, he collects a low throw and hits the stumps from between his legs, but Amla makes his ground. That is the closest the visitors could get to a dismissal today. South Africa 106/0 in 20 overs.

 

16.10 (IST): 100 comes up for South Africa. Another good, solid partnership between Amla and de Kock. India are already staring at the barrel. Only a wicket can help them get a grip of this game. South Africa 101/0 in 19 overs.

16.07 (IST): Virat Kohli comes into the attack. On a wicket like this, he could be a tricky bowler to face.

16.05 (IST): De Kock's conversation rate brings back memories of Pakistan's Saeed Anwar, who converted his first two 50-plus scores to 100s. Can de Kock go one step further and convert his third fifty-plus total into a 100?

 

16.01 (IST): A slip now comes out for Raina as well but de Kock manages to guide the ball past him to the third man boundary. He then guides one down the leg to pick up a couple of runs and get his half-century. This is the third time he gets a score past 50 and on both previous occasion he managed to get a hundred. Talk about conversion rate!

 

15.59 (IST): Amla seems to have decided to go after Ashwin. Having already stepped down the track on two occasions, he now lifts the ball over cover for a four. South Africa 83/0 in 15 overs.

15.57 (IST): Ashwin into his third over. He still has a wide slip but the lack of turn allows de Kock to judge the ball better.

 

15.52 (IST): Ashwin continues and comes round the wicket. Amla finishes it with a boundary to take nine runs from the over. South Africa 73/0 in 13 overs.

 

15.50 (IST): South Africa won't mind the slow bowlers. There is no turn for Raina and he is keeping the ball short, allowing both de Kock and Amla enough time to hit the ball to the deep and rotate the strike. South Africa 64/0 in 12 overs.

15.49 (IST): Suresh Raina has been handed the ball.

15.48 (IST): Meanwhile, Amla steps out and lifts the ball over the bowler's head. The slow outfield allows Shami to cut the ball a few inches short of the fence.

15.47 (IST): Interesting to see a wide first slip for the left-handed de Kock. De Kock will have to watch his shots

 

15.46 (IST): Ravichandran Ashwin into the attack

 

15.45 (IST): Ishant Sharma has got the South African openers to edge the ball but has failed to bowl full consistently. His length has allowed De Kock to free his arms with a lot of ease.

15.44 (IST): Ishant strays in his line and Amla gets on top of that ball and punches it off the back foot to the boundary in front of point. South Africa 58/0 in 10 overs.

 

15.41 (IST): Amla is doing very well to allow the young de Kock take centre-stage here. The duo has added another 50-run partnership, brought up with a beautiful shot through the mid-wicket by the Southpaw. He has scored 35 runs off the 53 runs.

 

15.40 (IST): At the toss, Dhoni had said that Yuvraj wasn't fit. The news that has come in is that he is out with back spasm.

 

15.36 (IST): De Kock gets another couple of successive boundaries. He first pulls a short ball in front of square to guide it to the deep midwicket boundary and then a beautiful straight drive.

15.35 (IST): Barring some good deliveries with pace and bounce, de Kock and Amla have looked fairly comfortable. A couple of edges flew around but that's how far the Indian bowling has gone today. They need to push these two batsmen further.

 

15.34 (IST): Ishant comes back with a good delivery to de Kock with the latter looking in two minds and eventually attempting a straight drive on the move and missing. South Africa 38/0 in 8 overs.

 

15.31 (IST): Poor stuff from Ishant. Easy pickings for de Kock as he dispatches a poor over-pitched delivery to the boundary. He then strays down the leg, allowing de Kock to guide it down to the fine leg fielder for a couple of runs.

15.30 (IST): This has been a good start from the Indian pacers. All three have tried their best to constantly clock around 140 kmph, something that Quinton de Kock thought was lacking in Johannesburg.

 

15.28 (IST): Second attempt of a bouncer and its a wide again. It's Shami, this time.

15.25 (IST): Amla takes the attack to Ishant! He swings at a short delivery outside the off-stump and an outside edge carries the ball to the third man boundary. South Africa 27/0 in 6 overs.

15.22 (IST): Ishant Sharma continues. Smart batting from the South African duo here. They are making sure the scoreboard is ticking by rotating strike. To be fair to Ishant, he has bowled wicket-to-wicket so far and is getting the ball as close to 140 kmph as he can.

15.19 (IST): Edged..but short! Another edge flies off de Kock's bat but falls just short of Ravichandran Ashwin at first slip. Positive signs for India so far, they really need an early wicket. South Africa 21/0 in 5 overs.

 

15.16 (IST): Amla and De Kock are off to a similar slow but solid start like they did in Johannesburg. With the likes of AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and David Miller to follow, they can afford to see off the first few overs and settle down. South Africa 19/0 in 4 overs.

 

15.15 (IST): Leading edge of de Kock's bat flies wide of the second slip. Ishant will hope to get more of those.

15.14 (IST): The shuffling of bowlers seems like a move to force an early wicket, something they failed to get in Johannesburg and paid a hefty price for it.

15.13 (IST): First bowling change: Ishant Sharma into the attack. Dhoni is mixing it up here. Ishant will start the game with 95 ODI wicket to his name.

15.11 (IST): De Kock has carried forward his confidence from Johannesburg. Umesh tests him with a short ball and he pulls it, just wide of Rohit Sharma at mid-wicket to get his second consecutive four. South Africa 15/0 in 3 overs.

15.10 (IST): First four of the innings! De Kock sights the over-pitched delivery and drives to the straight boundary. Umesh tries a bouncer next up, but unfortunately for him, he gets it outside the leg-stump and has been given as a wide.

 

15.06 (IST): Amla is getting a few deliveries on his pads which he is flicking away with ease. The slow outfield is not allowing him to pick up boundaries from those. Shami comes back well a good straight delivery that Amla can only defend forward. The over ends with a peach-of-a-delivery that beats the outside edge of Amla's bat. South Africa 7/0 in 2 overs.

 

15.04 (IST): Mohammed Shami opens the attack from the other end.

 

15.03 (IST): Good first over from Umesh. South Africa 2/0 in 1 over.

15.02 (IST): Still a lot of big patches of saw dust on the right-hander's leg side. The outfield can be a bit on the slower side as a result.

15.00 (IST): Umesh is getting the ball to hold its line after pitching and at decent pace of around 140 kmph. If he can curb his erratic ways, he will make a huge impact today.

14.59 (IST): Umesh Yadav has the ball in his hand. Quinton de Kock takes strike.

 

14.53 (IST): Vernon Philander, who has 95 wickets in 18 Tests, has only picked up 13 wickets in 12 ODIs. He will hope to improve those numbers in his first ODI against India today.

14.46 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane last featured in an ODI for India in the Zimbabwe tour under Virat Kohli's captaincy earlier this year. He scored a 66-ball 50 in the fifth and final ODI of the series. Today's game will be his firs ODI against South Africa.

14.41 (IST): Ishant Sharma made his ODI debut against South Africa in 2007 and next faced them in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. He leaked runs but picked up two wickets, that of Faf du Plessis and Rory Klienveldt.

14.40 (IST): Umesh Yadav has played only one ODI against South Africa, in the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year. There he accounted for the wickets of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers.

 

14.39 (IST): Great opportunity of redemption for Ishant Sharma after struggling against Australia at home? Umesh Yadav too has a good opportunity to present his case for Test selection.

14.38 (IST): South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

14.37 (IST):  India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav

14.36 (IST): For South Africa, Vernon Philander comes in for Wayne Parnell.

 

14.34 (IST): Three big changes for India: Ajinkya Rahane in for Yuvraj Singh, while Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma.

14.31 (IST): India win the toss and elect to bowl once again.

14.25 (IST): Good news! Toss in five minutes. It will be a 49-over-a-side match.

 

13.55 (IST): The waiting game continues as the inspection has been pushed by another 20 minutes.

 

13.45 (IST): The latest news is that an inspection is expected at 10.20 local time (in five minutes).

13.35 (IST): FACTOID: Yuvraj Singh has looked a shadow of himself since returning from his illness. But, the man will look back to 2007 when he entered record books with one of his best performances at Durban . 6,6,6,6,6,6 is how Stuart Broad's over read as Yuvraj bludgeoned 36 runs against England in India's successful 2007 World T20 campaign.

 

13.31 (IST): New day for us, looking to learn from our mistakes. I started well in the first game. I want to do much better today. The conditions are tough but we need to adapt. Shot selection will be the key. Need to know when to leave the ball and when to go after it. We are all very positive: Shikhar Dhawan

13.24 (IST): FACTOID: Virender Sehwag is out-of-favour today and is struggling to score in the Ranji Trophy, but, on this day in 2011, he matched his idol Sachin Tendulkar and scored a double ton in an ODI against the West Indies in Indore. His knock of 219 included 25 fours and seven sixes, as India piled on 418 in 50 overs.

 

13.17 (IST): FACTOID: The ODI best bowling figures at Durban belongs to  Ashish Nehra! In what was the finest hour of his topsy-turvy career, he finished with figures for six for 23 against England in the 2003 World Cup.

 

13.12 (IST): A HUGE patch of saw dust has been put square of the wicket. It's not great news for either side. The umpires suggests a delayed start to the game and says they will take a look at half-past 10 local time (half-an-hour more) and take a call.

 

13.05 (IST): News coming in is that the toss has been delayed. Reason unknown at the moment. Waiting game is all we can play for the moment.

13.00 (IST): Pitch report: Kepler Wessels has a few words that will sooth the Indian dressing room. He suggests there is much lesser grass on this Durban wicket as compared to the one that was used in the first ODI. He also reckons there won't be as much bounce either. Bowlers will also not get too much of seam movement from the wicket. In short, it looks like a good batting strip.

12.47 (IST): Today will undoubtedly be the biggest test for the Indian side. Will the Durban wicket be a bit kind to them? History suggests it just may, but incessant rains in the last couple of days could hamper that. Let's hope we get a full game today.

 

12.43 (IST): Far away in Australia, the hosts are four wickets away from a 2-0 scoreline in the Ashes 2013-14. South Africa would love to take a leaf out of their book and aim for the same scoreline against India today.

 

12.35 (IST): MS Dhoni was clearly unhappy with his new ball bowlers in the first game. Will he mull changes for today? We will have to wait for a little more time to find that out.

 

South African batsman JP Duminy said that he and his side were prepared for any sort of backlash from a wounded India when they take the field for the second ODI. He also said, "It will be naive of us to write them off. There were some bumps and bruises, but like I said, it will be stupid of us to write them off." (Read full story here)

 

Not scared, says Kohli

 

"Regardless of the loss the other day, you didn't see anyone closing their eyes or swinging their bats around," India's Virat Kohli said, quickly refuting Steyn's claim. Read all about what Kohli said here.

The Steyn warning!

 

South Africa's bowling spearhead has fired a warning to the Indian batsmen saying his side will only get more and more aggressive in the second game.

 

"In India the ball doesn't get higher than the stumps. This is not Mumbai. Here, they cannot score easily in different areas and it is going to be hard to play here. And there is more of that coming on Sunday. "Hopefully we can have a similar performance (as in Johannesburg) as we did the other night, and we should be able to come through with a victory. It is a massive game for us, we have the chance to seal the series here and we would like to do so," said Steyn.

 

He sounds as charged as he is everytime he runs in to bowl. Read what else he had to say about India and their game here

 

Preview:

 

Faced with a do-or-die situation after their crushing 141-run defeat in the first match, India will look to turn around their fortunes with an improved show, especially in the bowling department, when they take on South Africa in the second ODI in Durban on Sunday.

The Indians, licking their wounds after an embarrassing defeat in Johannesburg, need a win at Durban to stay afloat in the three-match series which has been dedicated to anti-apartheid icon and former South African president, Nelson Mandela who passed away on Thursday.

There are chances that the wicket at the Kingsmeand stadium in Durban will be better suited for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men. Yet, the visitors have a lot of ground to cover, specially in their bowling department. The audacity with which the likes of Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy tore apart the Indian bowlers mystified many, given that the conditions were supposed to be conducive for faster bowlers. Read the entire preview here

12.21 (IST): While we build up to the game today, here's something on the last time India toured the Rainbow nation.

 

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma,Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane.

South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

12:20 (IST): Good morning/ Good afternoon/ good evening/ -- wherever in the world your are -- and welcome to our live coverage of the second ODI between India and South Africa. The visitors have been pushed against the wall as the hosts took a 1-0 lead through a comprehensive 141-run win at Johannesburg. Can Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men bounce back? Or will AB de Villiers & Co. claim the series in Durban itself? Eitherway, we have a very interesting game on our hands.