South African stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj decided to bat first against India in the second ODI at the JSCA International Cricket Complex, Ranchi on Sunday but the decision backfired as India chased down 279 runs quite convincingly with seven wickets and 25 balls to spare.

With dew setting in, it became mighty difficult for the South African spinners – Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin – to grip the ball. Maharaj conceded 45 runs in the seven overs he bowled while Fortuin was taken for 52 runs in the nine overs he bowled. Furthermore, the ball became soft after 30 overs and run-making was like a stroll in the park for the Indian batters.

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan added a fine alliance of 161 runs to put their team in front as both batters batted at the top of their game. Iyer scored an unbeaten knock of 113 runs while Kishan scored 93 runs to get their team over the line.

Maharaj gave credit to Iyer and Kishan, who both batted at the top of their game to get their team over the line. The South African skipper feels the pitch also got easier to bat on.

On the other hand, South Africa could not finish their innings on a high. The visitors added only 57 runs in their last 10 overs and could not only score 28 runs in the final five overs. It was a slow and low pitch and the Proteas batters could not get going when the Indian pacers rolled their fingers over the ball.

Keshav Maharaj said in the post-match presentation, “We didn’t expect dew to be such a factor here, that’s why we opted to bat. We tried what we could, Shreyas and Kishan played very well. We thought the track will get slower and lower as the game progressed. But it got easier to bat after the 30th over due to the soft ball and dew that came on.”

The series is now leveled at 1-1 and both teams will have everything in the deciding game, which will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Tuesday.