Jaiswal was unbeaten on 116* (121 b, 12×4, 2×6), in the company of Rohit Sharma (75 in an opening stand of 155 runs) and Virat Kohli for either half of his innings to make it an easy chase. Kohli scored a delightful 65 not out (45 balls, 6×4, 3×6) after completing his fifty off 40 balls as India thwarted SA’s hopes of completing a double after winning the Test series.

India completed a thumping win with 10.1 overs left.

It was vintage stuff from senior pros Rohit and Kohli while Jaiswal toned down his aggression with focus on making it count.

However, India had taken a tight grip in the first half of the game.

Given the right conditions, Indian spinners can always make a difference in the sub-continent. They finally got the perfect opportunity after stand-in skipper KL Rahul broke India’s losing sequence at the toss.

He had no hesitation to bowl first in the Visakhapatnam decider.

It meant a double advantage for his spinners – bowling in the afternoon meant the chance to use a dry ball and the new rule of using only one ball after the 34th over meant getting a softer ball to toss it up without fear of being smashed.

Getting to bowl with the dry old ball for the first time in the series, wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav showed the kind of weapon he can be as he played a pivotal role in the comprehensive win to claim the series 2-1.

After opener Quinton de Kock had provided South Africa a solid platform scoring 106 (89 balls), Kuldeep helped the hosts seize the momentum with four quick wickets, starting with a double blow in the 39th over.

Pacer Prasidh Krishna was the other bowling hero, putting behind a tough start to also use the old ball to good effect (4/66). He was the one to trigger a collapse from 168/2 after 28.1 overs with two wickets in five balls. The two combined to dismiss SA for 270 with Kuldeep returning figures of 10-1-41-4.

India’s top three made it a cakewalk but the victory was built on the efforts of the bowlers.

How the spinners can be a major weapon after the change in the rule, using only one of the two balls after 34 overs, was seen in the game.

SA were 224/5 after 36 overs when Rahul decided to bring on Kuldeep. In an unchanged spell of five overs till the 45th over, the wrist spinner reduced run-making to a trickle while striking blows.

SA were heavily banking on Dewald Brevis and Marco Jansen to get them to a total of 300-plus. Kuldeep removed the dangerous pair in the space of three deliveries. He also dismissed Corbin Bosch to ensure that the chase would be a manageable one.

India’s tactics worked to a perfection.

After de Kock targeted Prasidh in his first two overs, Rahul held him back. His decision to introduce him in the 27th over for the second spell with an older ball was spot on. With extra protection on the boundary, the tall pacer bowled with confidence and control. He first removed Matthew Breetzke in the 29th over and four balls later broke the back of SA batting with the prized scalp of Aiden Markram for one run.

As an opener Markram had scored a brilliant hundred in the second ODI but bizarrely the SA think tank chose to bat him at No.5 in the third game. The move backfired.

For Prasidh, the most satisfying part was getting even with de Kock who had hit him for three sixes and a four in his first two overs. He went fast and full at 141kph to shatter the stumps.

Singling out the effort of his two bowlers, Rahul said getting De Kock’s wicket was important. “Prasidh picking (four) wickets was crucial, then Kuldeep. That’s how you contain teams in ODIs. De Kock batted really well, he made 120 out of 180-odd. It was much tougher for newer batters, so his was a key wicket,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.

The new-ball pair of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana bowled a tight spell first up, restricting SA to 25/1 in the first eight overs. Arshdeep’s first spell read 4-1-11-1. When De Kock and Temba Bavuma were going strong, Ravindra Jadeja played his part by breaking the 113-run second wicket partnership by removing Bavuma.

Having been whitewashed in the Test series and losing the second ODI, Saturday’s result was important for the morale of the home side. Fittingly, Kohli, with two hundreds and an unbeaten fifty, was the player of the series (302 runs, avg 151.00).