Sanju's ton, Arshdeep's four wickets help India beat South Africa in third ODI; Men in Blue clinch series 2-1

PAARL: India has won the final match of the ODI series against South Africa. India won the three-match series (2-1) with a 78-run win in the third and final match at Paarl. Batting first, India had posted a score of 296 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 50 overs, with Malayali star Sanju Samson 108(114) scoring his first career century. Chasing a huge target, the hosts were dismissed for 218 runs in 45.5 overs. Sanju was named the player of the match.

Although Reeza Hendricks and van der Dussen (2) were dismissed quickly, de Zorzi and skipper Aiden Markram (36) stitched up a partnership to take the Proteas to a formidable 140 for two after 25 overs. However, South Africa suffered a huge setback after both of them were dismissed in quick succession. While Markram was caught by skipper KL Rahul of the bowling of Washington Sundar, de Zorzi was trapped in front of the wicket by Arshdeep. The hosts soon slumped to 192 for seven after Klaasen (21), Mulder (1) and Miller (10) were dismissed cheaply.

Arshdeep Singh, who took four wickets for 30 runs, was the pick of the Indian bowlers. Avesh Khan and Washington Sundar took two wickets each, while Mukesh Kumar and Axar Patel shared one wicket each.

Earlier, India managed to put up a good score on board, thanks to the century of Sanju Samson, the half-century of Tilak Verma and the finishing of Rinku Singh.