Jaiswal century powers India to series win over South Africa; Kohli named player of the series

India sealed a 2–1 series win over South Africa after opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's maiden ODI century powered a commanding nine-wicket victory in the final match at Visakhapatnam.

Jaiswal anchored the chase with an undefeated 116, sharing a 155-run opening stand with Rohit Sharma (75) and a 116-run stand with Virat Kohli, as the hosts cruised to the 271-run target with more than 10 overs remaining.

Kohli finished the series with an unbeaten 65 in the final match, having already struck centuries in the first two games. His tally of 302 runs earned him the player of the series award.

"Playing the way I have in the series is the most satisfying thing for me," Kohli said after the game. "I feel really free in my mind. I haven't played like this in two-three years," he added.

"The most pleasing thing about the series, is how we held our nerve," India captain KL Rahul said at the presentation ceremony. "South Africa came out with an intent to put us under pressure, one result didn't go our way but we weren't too upset," he added. 

Earlier, Quinton de Kock struck a brisk 106, yet South Africa were dismissed for a below‑par 270 in the 48th over. In a notable prelude, India ended a luckless sequence of 20 consecutive lost tosses in ODIs. Skipper Rahul punched the air to celebrate that and elected to field to spare his bowlers the predicament of having to operate with a wet ball once the evening dew set in.

South Africa's innings began shakily with the early departure of Ryan Rickelton but De Kock and Temba Bavuma, who made 48, forged a century stand to steady their innings. Ravindra Jadeja removed Bavuma to break the partnership, and Prasidh Krishna (4‑66), who bled 27 in his first two overs, returned to dismiss Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram and De Kock in a decisive spell to turn the match on its head.

Left‑arm wrist‑spinner Kuldeep Yadav (4‑41) then cleaned up the tail, consigning South Africa to their first sub‑300 total of the series.

India, who lost the preceding test series 2-0, began strongly in their chase with Rohit leading their charge. The 38-year-old former India captain compiled a polished 75- his fourth fifty-plus score in five innings- anchoring a big opening stand with Jaiswal, who was happy to bide time at the other end.

Rohit departed after fluffing his slog-sweep against spinner Keshav Maharaj but Jaiswal went on to become the sixth Indian to hit a hundred in all three international formats of the game.

Virat Kohli, now active exclusively in the ODI format like Rohit, walked out to thunderous applause and made a typically fluent 65 not out, which followed his hundreds in Ranchi and Raipur.

Brief Scores: South Africa- 270 all out in 47.5 overs (Quinton de Kock 106, Temba Bavuma 48, Kuldeep Yadav 4/41, Prasidh Krishna 4/66) lost to India 271/1 in 39.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 116 not out, Rohit Sharma 75, Virat Kohli 65 not out, Keshav Maharaj 1/44)