India suffered a 141-run rout in the first ODI at Wanderers and then another 136-run defeat in the second ODI at Kingsmead.

For the full scorecard, CLICK HERE.

2337 IST

And that's that. the match has been called off. India's batsmen don't get a chance to bat without worrying about Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. South Africa win the series 2-0.

2325 IST

Unfortunately it is raining again. Things are not looking so good. We have another hour to get play going. If the field isn't going to be ready by then, no more cricket.

Here's how the stadium looks at the moment #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/bJcMqhf78t — BCCI (@BCCI) December 11, 2013

2249 IST

Some good news, folks. The covers are coming off. We will let you know if and when there will be an inspection. We are definitely going to lose overs at this point. There will be an inspection at 7:50 pm local time, which is 11:20 pm IST.

2214 IST

And it has started raining again. The earliest we could have an inspection is 7:15 pm South African time. It is 6:48 pm local time now.

2148 IST

It seems it has stopped raining in Centurion but the ground still needs some time to drain. Will let you about any potential delays as soon we hear something.

And the rain has stopped! Ever changing weather. Lightning and thunder though. — anand vasu (@anandvasu) December 11, 2013

2132 IST

Bad news, folks. It is pouring in Centurion, according to ESPNcricinfo. We could be in for a fair delay.

2106 IST

And it is raining in Centurion and the covers are on. Will keep you updated on what's happening as soon as we know more.

2022 IST

South Africa 301/8 after 50 overs (Miller 56, Tsotsobe 1)

Miller picks up two from the final ball to take South Africa past 300. He needed just 34 balls for his 56, which included 5 fours and 3 sixes. Excellent recovery from South Africa. India concede over 300 for the 10th time this year. Staggering fact for the No 1 ODI side in the world and a team that had won its last six series/ tournaments before coming to South Africa. Shows how good the batting has been.

From 28 for 3 to 301 for 8. India will be kicking themselves, but South Africa were awesome. — Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) December 11, 2013

In last 5 years, Indian bowlers gave 32507 runs in 143 matches, conceded 553 sixes & 2941 fours. Strike Rate 84.93 #Cricket #SAvIND — Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) December 11, 2013

2020 IST

South Africa 298/8 after 49.4 overs (Miller 54)

Miller brings up his 50 with a hoick over midwicket and that first looked like it had gone straight up in the sky and would be caught. But it kept going and going until it was over the boundary rope.

WICKET! Philander b Mohammed Shami 0 (1b 0x4 0x6)

Philander falls first ball. Tries to pull a Shami bouncer. Gets an inside edge that crashes down onto his stumps and knocks off the bails.

2016 IST

South Africa 291/7 after 49.1 overs (Miller 47)

WICKET! Parnell c RG Sharma b Mohammed Shami 9 (8b 1x4 0x6)

Shami gets a freebie. Bounces Parnell, who goes for the hook but finds the safe hands of Rohit Sharma instead of the boundary.

2015 IST

South Africa 291/6 after 49 overs (Miller 47, Parnell 9)

Parnell hammers a low full toss from Yadav to the point boundary, where Ishant is knocked over by the force of the shot as he collects the ball on the bounce. A good over is ruined when another low full toss is biffed over long-off for SIX by Miller.

2011 IST

South Africa 282/6 after 48 overs (Miller 40, Parnell 7)

India fighting back in the death overs until a Shami waist-high full toss is clubbed to deep midwicket. Kohli dives but can't cut it off. Miller then peppers the boundary on the offside to end the over. 11 from it. 300 still on the cards with two overs to go at Centurion.

2002 IST

South Africa 269/6 after 46.2 overs (Miller 34)

WICKET! McLaren c Yadav b I Sharma 6 (10b 0x4 0x6)

McLaren swings Ishant to square leg, where Umesh is lurking. This is turning out to be an excellent day for Ishant, who gets his 100th ODI wicket. Ishant currently as 4/38, which are his best figures in ODI cricket.

2001 IST

South Africa 269/5 after 46 overs (Miller 34, McLaren 6)

Shami comes back and Shami gets hammered. Strays down leg and Miller helps himself to a couple boundaries. Need just 31 from the last 4 overs to get to 300.

1957 IST

South Africa 257/5 after 45 overs (Miller 24, McLaren 4)

Tidy over from Ishant, who has been India's best bowler today by some distance. Nice to see and encouraging for the Test series, if he can keep this up. Maybe he can take inspiration from Mitchell Johnson.

1949 IST

South Africa 252/5 after 43.4 overs (Miller 23)

WICKET! AB de Villiers lbw b Yadav 109 (133m 101b 6x4 5x6)

Full and straight and De Villiers had moved across his stumps to target the legside. Would have hit middle stump half-way up.

1946 IST

South Africa 248/4 after 43 overs (de Villiers 108, Miller 20)

De Villiers and Miller feast on Ashwin. The SA captain goes back and clubs him over midwicket. Then Miller smashes him straight down the ground for another SIX! 15 from the over. This is what Dhoni must have been dreading. 300 very much on the cards here.

1944 IST

South Africa 233/4 after 42 overs (de Villiers 100, Miller 13)

And here is Umesh. First ball is edged by Miller to vacant third man for four. An imaginary first slip would have gobbled that up. AB brings up his own 100 with a single to square leg. It is 16th ODI century. Took him 96 balls, with six fours and four sixes. It has been a beautifully paced innings.

Meanwhile more bad luck for Umesh, who gets another edge that goes for four past a diving Dhoni.

1939 IST

South Africa 223/4 after 41 overs (de Villiers 99, Miller 4)

Ashwin will get the ball. Quiet over until he decides to pause in his delivery stride with his last ball. De Villiers responds by slashing him over cover for SIX. He needs to stop with that trick. It simply does not work.

1935 IST

South Africa 213/4 after 40 overs (de Villiers 91, Miller 2)

Ishant into his 8th over. De Villiers cuts powerfully behind point for four. Then tries to muscle Ishant over mid-off and just clears the fielder, who puts in a despairing dive as the ball just lobs over him. That would have been Ishant's 100 ODI wicket.

Will be interesting to see who Dhoni uses in the last 10 overs. Shami has taken wickets in both of the early games, but he only has 3 overs left. Ishant has two. Does that mean some combination of Ashwin and Umesh to bowl the over 5?

1930 IST

South Africa 204/4 after 39 overs (de Villiers 83, Miller 1)

David Miller is the new man. He can be explosive at the death, as we saw in the IPL. De Villiers brings up the 200 with a single. A big finish and SA could still get to 300. But that would require these two to stick around for most of the next 11 overs.

1926 IST

South Africa 199/4 after 38 overs (101, de Villiers 78)

India's strike-bowler Ishant Sharma is back. De Villiers gets down on one knee and times him through the covers. No other adjective for it. It was sweet, sweet timing.

WICKET! Q de Kock b I Sharma 101 (149m 120b 9x4 2x6)

Ishant Sharma is on fire today. De Kock tries the to slog him to leg and misses and legstump is pegged back. Ishant is all fired up after that. He has 3 for 25 now.

4 ODI 100s before turning 21 for de Kock, equals a world record. No other South African has scored even one http://t.co/rBU9iaG6De — S Rajesh (@rajeshstats) December 11, 2013

1918 IST

South Africa 193/3 after 37 overs (de Kock 100, de Villiers 74)

Shami is back. de Kock drops the ball to legstump to reach his third consecutive hundred. Some batting by this 20-year-old. He has been fantastic in the series, though he had a bit of luck today with two dropped catches. He is the fifth person overall to do it and the third South African.

Meanwhile AB nonchalantly swats a bouncer from Shami for SIX! As an encore, he carves Shami over long-off for a second SIX! That was an amazing shot. Made room to get under the ball and timed it sweetly.

Most ODI 100s before first 50 score (50-99) 4 Quinton de Kock (SAf) 3 Dennis Amiss (Eng) 3 Kamran Akmal (Pak) #SAvInd — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) December 11, 2013

1913 IST

South Africa 179/3 after 36 overs (de Kock 99, de Villiers 61)

The PowerPlay has been taken. Ashwin is back but these two have had the pressure lifted by the part-timers. De Villiers sweeps Ashwin over square leg for SIX! De Kock takes a cautious single to get to 99. SA starting to get a move on. 11 from the over.

1911 IST

South Africa 168/3 after 35 overs (de Kock 98, de Villiers 51)

Kohli keeps bowling, so that's 6 fewer overs from what are supposedly India's best five bowlers in this format. De Villiers brings up his 50 with a single to deep cover. De Kock has also become the highest run-scorer in a three-match ODI series. That is before Kohli feeds him a low full toss and de Kock hammers it over midwicket for his second SIX!.

Ten from the over. The two part-timers have given away 38 runs from their 6 overs. Whatever Dhoni's plan was, it has not worked.

1908 IST

South Africa 158/3 after 34 overs (de Kock 90, de Villiers 49)

Raina continues. de Villiers and de Kock continue. If Dhoni was aiming for the surprise element with the part-timers, that has past. Runs flowing freely now, even without a flurry of boundaries.

1905 IST

South Africa 152/3 after 33 overs (de Kock 88, de Villiers 45)

Kohli gets a second over. The commentators are also wondering why Dhoni is using the part-timers when the others have done a steady job. In the mean time, South Africa's 150 comes up.

1902 IST

South Africa 148/3 after 32 overs (de Kock 85, de Villiers 44)

Raina drops one short and De Villiers brutally slashes him in front of point. Hard to understand Dhoni's tactics. He goes with his gut a lot and that might be the case here too.

1900 IST

South Africa 142/3 after 31 overs (de Kock 84, de Villiers 39)

Time for Virat Kohli? This move I can't understand. Umesh has been the most expensive bowler so far and his econ rate is 5.50. That's not horrible and he can get you a wicket. Why turn to a second part-time bowler? Don't see Virat getting a wicket on a flat pitch. de Kock agrees as he flicks the bowler for SIX over deep midwicket. Picked up a full delivery and timed it to perfection.

1857 IST

South Africa 134/3 after 30 overs (de Kock 77, de Villiers 38)

Dhoni brings on Raina. Not sure sure why he has gone to the part-timer when he has five bowlers in his squad. But that's Dhoni for you. He is always thinking and always looking for an edge.

1854 IST

South Africa 130/3 after 29 overs (de Kock 74, de Villiers 37)



Dropped! Well, sort of. Jadeja draws the edge from de Villiers' bat and it ricochets off the bottom of Dhoni's gloves to the unpopulated short third man region. Tough chance but sometimes they stick if you get your hands in the right place. de Kock seems unruffled as he comes down the track and drives Jadeja to the deep midwicket fence. That also brings up the 100-partnership.

1851 IST

South Africa 125/3 after 28 overs (de Kock 70, de Villiers 36)

Ashwin pegging away at that leg and leg-middle line to the left-handed de Kock. Using the pause in his delivery stride a few times an over now, to no effect. Not sure why he likes doing that. Seems to take him out of his rhythm as he drops one short and de Kock pulls powerfully to square leg. Partnership now worth 97 from 20.2 overs.

1848 IST

South Africa 116/3 after 27 overs (de Kock 63, de Villiers 34)

Lots of singles at the moment. Neither side doing anything particularly silly or noteworthy. Something like a chess match going on at the moment.

1845 IST

South Africa 112/3 after 26 overs (de Kock 61, de Villiers 32)

De Villiers looking like he wants to take on the bowlers now. Chips down the track and drives Ashwin to long-on. Neither side really has the advantage at the moment but this partnership is getting ominous for India. They need to whittle out one of these two.

1843 IST

South Africa 107/3 after 25 overs (de Kock 57, de Villiers 31)

De Villiers gets a single to bring up South Africa's 100. Two balls later, he goes inside-out over cover for the first boundary in a while. Good over for South Africa.

I'm sorry. But AB de Villiers is a freak. You don't have shot selections, placement and timing like that as a human. — Antoinette Muller (@mspr1nt) December 11, 2013

1840 IST

South Africa 99/3 after 24 overs (de Kock 55, de Villiers 25)

Another tidy over from Ashwin. Just three from it. Can they lure de Kock into another false stroke?

1838 IST

South Africa 96/3 after 23 overs (de Kock 54, de Villiers 23)

Thanks to India's generousity, de Kock gets to his fifty with a single. Then creams Jadeja through the covers for four to rub it in. These two have added 68 so far.

1835 IST

South Africa 88/3 after 22 overs (de Kock 48, de Villiers 21)

Ashwin bowling a leg-middle line to de Kock and looking for the turn away from the batsman. Mostly bowling the regulation offspinner, which is good to see. Bowls one outside leg that turns sharply and takes the outside edge but pops harmless out to the offside. That was tossed up more and bowled a little slower.

1833 IST

South Africa 84/3 after 21 overs (de Kock 46, de Villiers 19)

Four singles from the over. India controlling the game but will be ruing those dropped chances.

1830 IST

South Africa 80/3 after 20 overs (de Kock 44, de Villiers 17)

Dropped! De Kock gets a second life. Tried to loft Ashwin over mid-on but didn't time it and scooped it up in the air. Yuvraj running back got to the ball with plenty of time but somehow contrived to spill it as he slid to the ground. Poor fielding letting India down again.

1827 IST

South Africa 77/3 after 19 overs (de Kock 42, de Villiers 16)

Dhoni all in with spin. Sir RJ has been the given the ball. Has a slip in place, so Dhoni is thinking wickets. Three from the over.

1825 IST

South Africa 74/3 after 18 overs (de Kock 40, de Villiers 15)

Time for spin in the lanky shape of R Ashwin. Can he follow Bishen Singh Bedi's advice and simply focus on bowling a good length?

Tidy first over from the offspinner. Didn't try too much right away.

1822 IST

South Africa 71/3 after 17 overs (de Kock 38, de Villiers 14)

Width from Yadav that de Kock gleefully accepts as he cuts him for four. Dropped! India had set the trap at short fine leg. Yadav bowled the short ball, de Kock went for the pull, but Rahane spills the chance. Dove to his left and got both hands on it but couldn't hold on.

1817 IST

South Africa 64/3 after 16 overs (de Kock 32, de Villiers 13)

Shami into his fifth over. India still making things tough for the batsmen as Shami strikes de Kock on the thigh pad. He is bowling around 140 kph. Will be interesting to see what happens when the spinners come on.

1809 IST

South Africa 60/3 after 15 overs (de Kock 31, de Villiers 12)

Yadav getting up to 145 kph now. India needs this. Now if he can only be more consistent with his line and length. As I type that, Umesh over-pitches and finds the middle of Quinton de Kock's bat. The end result is four straight down the ground.

1805 IST

South Africa 55/3 after 14 overs (de Kock 27, de Villiers 11)

Shami returns as Ishant gets a well-earned break. Just two from the over.

1800 IST

South Africa 53/3 after 13 overs (de Kock 26, de Villiers 10)

This will surprise exactly no one - De Kock looks to be good touch. Takes a couple of steps down the track and crashes Umesh through the offside. He is only 20 years old and already trying to make his third consecutive ODI hundred. That's not bad.

1756 IST

South Africa 46/3 after 12 overs (de Kock 19, de Villiers 10)

Ishant gets a sixth over. de Villiers drives him through the covers. the two "des" are the key to the game now. If India can get one of them out, South Africa could fold. On the other hand, if they get in on this wicket, India could be in for some punishment.

1752 IST

South Africa 40/3 after 11 overs (de Kock 18, de Villiers 5)

This is interesting. Umesh is back. Perhaps Dhoni thinking India is on top so now is a good time to give Umesh a go and try and get more wickets while not worrying about conceding runs too much. Then again, Dhoni always worries about leaking runs.

Just two from the over and Yadav has de Kock chasing a wide one off the last ball and beats the outside edge. This game looks like it is being played between different teams than the first two.

1747 IST

South Africa 38/3 after 10 overs (de Kock 17, de Villiers 4)

Just as I say that, Ishant over-pitches and de Villiers thumps him down the ground to get off the mark. Singles hard to come by for SA though. There is little rotating of strike, which is a sign that the bowlers are on top. Ishant has 2 for 13 from 5 overs too this point.

1742 IST

South Africa 34/3 after 9 overs (de Kock 17, de Villiers 0)

A reminder from de Kock that he still around. Punches Shami down the ground for four. India shockingly on top of the match at this point, thanks to Ishant Sharma of all people. To be fair, it is good to see Ishant bowling well. India need him to bowl well.

Ishant Sharma has just doubled his tally of ODI wkts against South Africa to 4 in his 4th match against them. #SAvInd — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) December 11, 2013

1735 IST

South Africa 28/3 after 7.4 overs (de Kock 13)

WICKET! Duminy c Raina b I Sharma 0 (3b 0x4 0x6)

Welcome to bizarro world. Ishant has two wickets in the same over. This one bounced and moved away a touch from Duminy, who could only fend at it. Raina takes another good catch diving forward.

Where is the real Ishant Sharma and what have India done with him?! This is a superb opening burst. — Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) December 11, 2013

1732 IST

South Africa 28/2 after 7.1 overs (de Kock 13)

WICKET! Davids c Raina b I Sharma 1 (6b 0x4 0x6)

Goodness gracious me! Ishant has a wicket. Davids comes forward to drive but only manages to nick it and Raina takes a good catch at second slip.

1730 IST

South Africa 28/1 after 7 overs (de Kock 13, Davids 1)

Speaking of strike-bowlers, Shami gets one to dart away from de Kock and bounce over middle stump. He is the only one of India's bowlers to look like taking wickets so far on this tour.

1725 IST

South Africa 25/1 after 6 overs (de Kock 12, Davids 0)

Ishant gets more of the new ball than Umesh. All very perplexing given Ishant has said he is not a strike-bowler. Umesh's confidence must be pretty high, seeing how his captain prefers a guy who gave away 30 runs in an over not so long ago. All he did was concede 20 in the last game.

1717 IST

South Africa 22/1 after 4.3 overs (de Kock 9)

WICKET! Amla c Yuvraj Singh b Mohammed Shami 13 (16b 3x4 0x6)

Amla has given it away. Shami comes on after just 2 overs for Umesh and strikes with a terrible delivery. A thigh-high full toss is tucked straight to Yuvraj at square leg. That was a gift. India won't mind, of course.

1713 IST

South Africa 18/0 after 4 overs (Amla 9, de Kock 9)

De Qock gets his first boundary of the day with a front foot pull off Umesh. Ends the over by charging Umesh and muscling him past mid-on for four more. That was a little too easy. Looks a good track for batting, with no sign of swing.

1709 IST

South Africa 10/0 after 3 overs (Amla 9, de Kock 1)

Amla does his best to run himself out by a few yards but Rohit Sharma misses the stumps from point. No idea what the batsmen were thinking. They set off immediately but there simply wasn't a run there. Amla had given up too.

1705 IST

South Africa 5/0 after 2 overs (Amla 9, de Kock 0)

Umesh Yadav has been given his own new nut. Maybe he will get more than two overs to start the game this time too. Raps Amla on the pads to elicit a stifled appeal. Amla responds by clipping him gloriously to the midwicket fence. Silky timing is am understatement.

1700 IST

South Africa 5/0 after 1 over (Amla 5, de Kock 0)

Amla gets South Africa going with a trademark punch of the back foot square of the wicket..

1656 IST

The South African batsmen have taken their places on either side of the wicket. Ishant Sharma has the new ball, which is interesting.

1645 IST

Some good news for India today. The best batting surface of the series and they don't have to face Steyn and Morkel. Indies does have the same set of bowlers, however. So good news for South Africa too. This could well be another 300-plus chase for India.

1638 IST

Here are the playing XIs:

South Africa XI: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock†, Henry Davids, AB de Villiers*, JP Duminy, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Vernon Philander, LL Tsotsobe, Wayne Parnell, Imran Tahir.

India XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni*†, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesth Yadav.

There might be some rain on the way too, folks:

@sachinmani07 @mohanstatsman yes, but clouds are building slowly in the Southwest. I am sure we will have some rain at some point. — Dewald Duncan Nel (@Ho3n3r) December 11, 2013

1627 IST

South Africa have won the toss and have chosen to bat first. AB says the wicket looks better than any Centurion pitch he has seen in a long time and he is looking forward to putting up a big score. South Africa have rested Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, along with Jacques Kallis, so this is a good chance for India's batsmen need to show they can do more than hop around like bunnies.

South Africa have drafted in Henry Davids, Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir for the rested trio. For India, Yuvraj Singh has recovered from his injury and is back in the side.

1625 IST

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the third and final ODI between India and South Africa. The series may be lost but there is a psychological battle going on and India need to strike back ahead of the Test series.

Preview: Having conceded the ODI series with humiliating back-to-back defeats, India will aim to salvage some pride by winning the third one-dayer against South Africa today, in order to gain confidence ahead of the two-Test series.

It will be redemption time for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men at the Super Sport Park after two embarrassing losses in the first two matches which also exposed the famed batting line-up's inability to cope with pace and bounce of the South African tracks.

India suffered a 141-run rout in the first ODI at Wanderers and then another 136-run defeat in the second ODI at Kingsmead. A contest that started with questions about the visitors' bowling line-up has turned into an uncomfortable one about their young batting order.

That aptly describes India's journey from Johannesburg to Durban, and back. In the first ODI, a poor bowling performance was enough to absolve the batsmen of not standing up to some superb South African bowling (PTI).

Click here to read the full preview