India played incredibly well: South Africa skipper Aiden Markram

SA skipper Aiden Markram

South Africa skipper Aiden Markram hailed Team India for their incredible series win against the Proteas last night. Virat Kohli's men beat South Africa by 73 runs to take an unassailable 4-1 lead in the six-match ODI series. "Our batting wasn't up to scratch," the South African captain said.

"We lost wickets in clumps. But we have to give credit to India, they're playing incredibly well," he added.
South Africa's chances of overhauling India's 274 for seven plummeted when they lost their first three wickets inside the first 13 overs. Hardik Pandya struck crucial blows by dismissing JP Duminy and AB de Villiers.

Hashim Amla played a measured innings of 71 and shared partnerships of 62 with David Miller and 39 with Heinrich Klaasen. He was run out by a direct hit from Pandya, effectively ending the home team's hopes. India's wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were effective on a slow pitch, taking four and two wickets respectively. "They've bowled well, they took wickets and the more we play them, the better we'll get. So all credit to them [Indian spinners], and we will look to improve our skills against quality wrist spin," Markram said.

The skipper said the Proteas will go all out to end the series on a positive note in the sixth ODI at Centurion on Friday. "Lot of pride to play for in the dead rubber. We'll try to work on putting that perfect game together next."

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