India scored their fifth victory in the series of six ODIs against South Africa when they beat the Proteas by eight wickets on Friday night at SuperSport Park in Centurion in the last match of the series.

Virat Kohli won the toss and he decided to send the South Africans in to bat first.

The local team’s batting order failed for the umpteenth time in the series and only Khaya Zondo (54) managed to score more than 50 runs.

Andile Phehlukwayo (34) and AB de Villiers (30) also made decent contributions, but eventually the wickets fell just too often to enable the Proteas to record a decent total. They ended on 204 all out when the last wicket fell in the 47^th over.

Just like in the other matches of the series, India has batted positively from the start. Only Lungi Ngidi managed to limit the flow of runs initially. He also took the only two wickets for South Africa.

However, the moment when Virat Kohli (129*) appeared on the pitch in the fourth over, he took control and the South African fielders started chasing balls all over the field.

Kohli’s unbeaten partnership (126 runs) with Ajinkya Rahane (34*) frustrated the South African bowlers while ultimately allowing the visitors to reach their target after only 32 overs and one ball.

The Indian captain also reached two notable milestones in the game. He passed 9500 runs in ODI cricket, while he also recorded his 35^th century in this format of the game.

The series of three T20 matches between the two teams start on Sunday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.  The second game in the series will be played in Centurion on Wednesday 21 February.

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