Kohli's shadow dancing, and Rajkot's repeat lightshow
Plays of the Day from the third ODI between India and South Africa, in Rajkot
Firdose Moonda and Rachna Shetty
18-Oct-2015
Faf du Plessis tried one scoop too many • AFP
The dance moves
This is a season for celebration: the festival of Navratri, spread over nine days and nights, is perhaps most colourfully celebrated in the state of Gujarat, with numerous dandiya events held across the nine evenings. Some of that fervor spilled on to the cricket field. Between overs, while Amit Mishra geared up to bowl the 13th over, Virat Kohli walked to his fielding position between mid-on and midwicket. The DJ started playing some tunes and Kohli, getting into the festive spirit, did some shadow dandiya moves, cheered on by the crowd.
This is a season for celebration: the festival of Navratri, spread over nine days and nights, is perhaps most colourfully celebrated in the state of Gujarat, with numerous dandiya events held across the nine evenings. Some of that fervor spilled on to the cricket field. Between overs, while Amit Mishra geared up to bowl the 13th over, Virat Kohli walked to his fielding position between mid-on and midwicket. The DJ started playing some tunes and Kohli, getting into the festive spirit, did some shadow dandiya moves, cheered on by the crowd.
The overstep
India had not bowled a no-ball in the series until the 26th over of the third match, when Mohit Sharma stepped over the line. And he could not have chosen a worse time. The rest of that delivery, one of his typical slower balls, tricked Faf du Plessis into attempting an aerial shot down the ground, which he promptly miscued into the hands of Virat Kohli. The celebrations had to be stalled when replays showed that none of Mohit's heel was behind the line.
India had not bowled a no-ball in the series until the 26th over of the third match, when Mohit Sharma stepped over the line. And he could not have chosen a worse time. The rest of that delivery, one of his typical slower balls, tricked Faf du Plessis into attempting an aerial shot down the ground, which he promptly miscued into the hands of Virat Kohli. The celebrations had to be stalled when replays showed that none of Mohit's heel was behind the line.
The under-reach
Six balls after Mohit's mistake, du Plessis offered India a genuine chance when he tried to flick an Axar Patel ball over the leg side but was surprised by extra bounce and got a leading edge to short cover. Suresh Raina was stationed there and, being a man of fairly small stature, had to stretch as much as he could to reach the ball. He leapt, opted to stick out just the right hand and found his fingers grasping only air as the ball went over him and du Plessis survived again.
Six balls after Mohit's mistake, du Plessis offered India a genuine chance when he tried to flick an Axar Patel ball over the leg side but was surprised by extra bounce and got a leading edge to short cover. Suresh Raina was stationed there and, being a man of fairly small stature, had to stretch as much as he could to reach the ball. He leapt, opted to stick out just the right hand and found his fingers grasping only air as the ball went over him and du Plessis survived again.
The non-repeat
Faf du Plessis flirted with danger twice but seemed to be enjoying the risks and scooped Mohit Sharma over MS Dhoni's head to display some innovation at a time when South Africa's innings needed acceleration. Du Plessis liked the shot so much he tried to do it again off the very next ball but could not find the same balance and toppled over, skying the ball towards the third-man boundary, where Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a good running catch.
Faf du Plessis flirted with danger twice but seemed to be enjoying the risks and scooped Mohit Sharma over MS Dhoni's head to display some innovation at a time when South Africa's innings needed acceleration. Du Plessis liked the shot so much he tried to do it again off the very next ball but could not find the same balance and toppled over, skying the ball towards the third-man boundary, where Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a good running catch.
The lightshow
When fans in Indore turned on their mobile torches to create a scene worthy of a rock concert, it was noticed by MS Dhoni and the Indian team, so Rajkot wanted to show they could do it too. In the eighth over of India's chase, fans in all parts of the stadium turned on their flashlights, in support of the side. The tiny dots of light created a magical scene, once again. Will Chennai match up?
When fans in Indore turned on their mobile torches to create a scene worthy of a rock concert, it was noticed by MS Dhoni and the Indian team, so Rajkot wanted to show they could do it too. In the eighth over of India's chase, fans in all parts of the stadium turned on their flashlights, in support of the side. The tiny dots of light created a magical scene, once again. Will Chennai match up?
The stand-in drop
AB de Villiers would not have thought he'd need to keep wicket in the ODIs, but after Quinton de Kock's exhaustion after batting, he was forced to. And showed that even a man of his skill needs practice before being perfect. The first chance that went his way was a deflection off Shikhar Dhawan's bat as he tried to defend a full delivery from JP Duminy. It was a tough chance but de Villiers has been known to take those; this time, he could not hold on.
AB de Villiers would not have thought he'd need to keep wicket in the ODIs, but after Quinton de Kock's exhaustion after batting, he was forced to. And showed that even a man of his skill needs practice before being perfect. The first chance that went his way was a deflection off Shikhar Dhawan's bat as he tried to defend a full delivery from JP Duminy. It was a tough chance but de Villiers has been known to take those; this time, he could not hold on.
The premature celebration
Virat Kohli's struggle for runs finally ended when he was promoted up the order to No. 3 and given plenty of time to get his eye in, sans the pressure of needing to push on too quickly. Kohli had worked his way to 48 and was facing Imran Tahir, who the Indian batsmen were dealing well with, when he skipped down the track and sent the ball to long-on. MS Dhoni thought there was time for two runs and ran from the non-striker's end fist-pumping only to find Kohli was happy to wait a little longer for the fifty. Kohli got there later in the over and allowed himself only a subdued celebration.
Virat Kohli's struggle for runs finally ended when he was promoted up the order to No. 3 and given plenty of time to get his eye in, sans the pressure of needing to push on too quickly. Kohli had worked his way to 48 and was facing Imran Tahir, who the Indian batsmen were dealing well with, when he skipped down the track and sent the ball to long-on. MS Dhoni thought there was time for two runs and ran from the non-striker's end fist-pumping only to find Kohli was happy to wait a little longer for the fifty. Kohli got there later in the over and allowed himself only a subdued celebration.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent. Rachna Shetty is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo