Bhuvneshwar Kumar heroics in vain as India slump to four-wicket loss against South Africa

Heinrich Klaasen scored a brilliant 46-ball-81 as South Africa defeated India by four wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series on Sunday. Chasing a target of 149 on a tricky pitch, the Proteas lost three early wickets with Bhuvneshwar Kumar claiming all three scalps. However, Klassen looked quite comfortable against the Indian bowlers and with 7 fours and 5 sixes, he was able to clinch the game for the visitors with the help of David Miller. Bhuvneshwar ended up with impressive bowling figures of 4/13 in 4 overs, but it was not enough to stop a second consecutive loss for India.

Klassen was well supported by skipper Temba Bavuma as he scored 35 off 30 balls and with the match getting closer towards the end, Miller continued his brilliant form with 20 off 15 deliveries.

Earlier, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan failed to capitalise on good starts while Anrich Nortje took two wickets as the hosts were restricted to 149/6 in Cuttack. The Indian batsmen failed to score at a steady pace and with Kagiso Rabada bothering them with a strict line and length, they failed to replicate their good start in the previous match in Delhi.

India kept losing wickets at regular intervals as the pitch provided assistance to the pacers and there were a number of good starts but none of them went on to become big knocks. Dinesh Karthik slammed 30 runs off just 21 balls to take India to a competitive total but it was less around 15-20 runs below the par score.