Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates his maiden ODI century while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma celebrate fifties in Vizag vs South Africa. (CREIMAS for BCCI)
The fire lit by Virat Kohli at Ranchi burned bright at the Visakhapatnam skyline. The 2-1 series win, which looked more or less locked the moment India restricted South Africa to 270 after winning the toss, duly arrived in the 40th over with Kohli walking down the pitch to flat bat over covers. After Prasidh Krishna produced a game changing spell and Kuldeep Yadav put South Africa in a stranglehold, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten century to go with Rohit Sharma’s 75 and finishing touches from Kohli set up a famous win. A job well began in Ranchi under testing conditions was completed in Visakhapatnam, after witnessing a hiccup at Raipur.
More importantly this would go down as the series that silenced any questions over Rohit and Kohli, two left their imprint in these three matches to show there is still plenty left in their tank.
As has been the case right through this series, all the attention centred around the two senior duos. Post the series defeat in Australia, the murmurs had turned into a loud noise with both told to play domestic cricket in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. Those are now just routine fixtures where there is no narrative to build on regarding their future. The smiles and banter between Rohit and Kuldeep towards the end of South Africa innings showed the group had found the fun element back. Kohli’s imitation of ball-dance with the wrist-spinner showed the greatest showmaster in ODIs is no way in the November of his glittering career.
Look at what it means to him! 🥳
What a special knock this has been from Yashasvi Jaiswal 🙌
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/HM6zm9o7bm#TeamIndia | #INDvSA | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/BHyNjwOGWY
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 6, 2025
Beyond all of them, it was a night where Jaiswal reminded he is waiting in the wings. Having got an opportunity to open alongside Rohit in skipper Shubman Gill’s absence, he had not much to show in the first two ODIs. Back at the venue where he scored a double century against England in a Test match last year, he brought up his maiden ODI century off 111 deliveries with a single before leaping high and letting out a scream.
Over the past few months when there was a cloud of uncertainty around Rohit, the team management has been posed with a difficult question as to how long they can keep the 23-year-old out of the ODI set-up. In a top four dominated by right-handers, Jaiswal brings the left-hander element. A compact batsman, who has the technique to weather the storm with the new ball and pace his innings and even explode at will, there is no doubt that India’s future lies in Jaiswal. At 23, he has centuries in all three formats. However, despite a statement knock here, Jaiswal knows he isn’t a guaranteed starter at Vadodara when New Zealand comes calling in January.
We’ve seen this shot before… but Virat Kohli doesn’t need to look at this one! 💪🤯🧨#INDvSA 3rd ODI, LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/Es5XpUmR5v pic.twitter.com/XcMqixdcG3
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 6, 2025
Chasing 271, Jaiswal was tested early by Marco Jansen. His struggles against left-arm pacers definitely made it an area for him to work on, as Jansen’s movement continued to cause him trouble. With the chase not being steep, India had the luxury of taking their time, and as the left-hander began on a watchful note, Rohit led the charge. But before the 38-year-old could free his arms, it was Jaiswal who got going with a boundary and a six amidst the play and misses in the first powerplay. Off the first 50 deliveries he faced, he was beaten on five occasions fair and square.
Hitman mode : ACTIVATED! 🤖🦾#RohitSharma prowls down the track and sends it into the stands. 🏟#INDvSA 3rd ODI, LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/Es5XpUmR5v pic.twitter.com/yP4Jt9arMF
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 6, 2025
After finding a boundary and a six in the first 16 deliveries he faced, Jaiswal had to wait till the 58th delivery in the 19th over to find his next four with a pull off Corbin Bosch. Time and again, with the pacers testing him with that nagging line aimed at his body, he cleared his front leg to dispatch it through midwicket. Unlike Rohit who is all grace, Jaiswal loves hitting the ball irrespective of the format. There are no half-measures and it was how it was for the rest of the night.
Having already hit two centuries, this was a knock where Kohli seemed to be enjoying his time in the middle, willing to take on the attack and not taking the pedal off the gas. It included a no-look six off Bosch that brought the roof down. And before the din could settle, Jaiswal took off on his most important run of his ODI career. There were still enough runs left for Kohli to finish it off in the most grandeur manner.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
