Mahendra Singh Dhoni ponders batting line-up after defeat

Rajkot: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed the slow and low wicket for their 18-run loss in the third One Day International (ODI) against South Africa at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Sunday.

Quinton De Kock scored 103 runs and put together a 118-run stand for the third wicket with Faf du Plessis (60) to propel the visitors to a fighting total of 270 for 7. Morne Morkel then spearheaded the South African attack with an excellent display of pace bowling on the batting friendly wicket as the hosts could only manage 252 for 6 despite fluent half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

“I thought 270 was a par score, the wicket kept getting lower and slower and the dew didn’t help us out. It became a bit two-paced and became difficult to play the big shot. We are looking for batsmen to play at five, six and seven,” Dhoni said.

“We are looking to give chances as well so it’s a tricky one. Ajinkya Rahane bats well at three but Virat [Kohli] couldn’t score, this is something we will have to look at.

“I thought our bowlers did well, maybe a bit more dew would have made it difficult. They batted when the wicket was at its best and they also couldn’t find runs at the death.”

The Proteas now have a 2-1 lead in the five-match ODI series. The fourth and penultimate ODI will be played in Chennai on Thursday.

South Africa skipper A.B. De Villiers, meanwhile, heaped praise on his batting group and opener De Kock in particular.

“It was a very special batting performance. Quinton answered a lot of questions just like Quinton can do. We struggled between the 37th and 44th overs, but found our way at the end,” he said.

“To have Miller up front was out of the box thinking from us. We were looking at 250 as a par, the way we fought back with the ball was special.”