Virat Kohli continued his domination of the Proteas bowling attack while the Indian wrist spinners continued their mastery over the home batsmen to give India an inevitable 124-run victory in the third Momentum ODI at PPC Newlands on Wednesday.

The result gives India an invincible 3-0 lead in the six-match series, leaving the Proteas with the unenviable task of winning all three the remaining matches, starting with the PinkDrive ODI at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Saturday, to square the series.

Proteas wicket-keeper batsman, Quinton de Kock, has been ruled out of the remainder of the Momentum One-Day International (ODI) series and upcoming T20 International series against India due to a left wrist injury. De Kock sustained the injury during the second ODI against India at SuperSport Park on Sunday, and will require 2-4 weeks to make a recovery.

South Africa had no answer to the skills and guile of the Indian wrist spinners as they lost 9 wickets for 67 runs to succumb to a 9-wicket defeat in the second ODI at SuperSport Park on Sunday.

The entire match lasted less than 53 overs as the Proteas were bowled out for 118 runs – the lowest ever total in an ODI at this venue – and India then cantered to victory with the match only going a couple of overs past the lunch interval.

Aiden Markram has been appointed as the stand-in captain of the Standard Bank Proteas for the remainder of the Momentum One-Day International (ODI) series against India. Markram replaces Faf du Plessis, who has been ruled out of the series due to a fractured finger.

The 23-year-old captained South Africa ‘A’ and the Multiply Titans teams this season, and also led the South Africa U19 squad to ICC U19 World Cup glory in 2014. Cricket South Africa convenor of selectors, Linda Zondi, says the appointment is in line with their plans to grow a new group of leaders within the squad.

Rival captains, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis, both scored superb centuries but in the end India coasted to a comfortable six-wicket victory with nearly 5 overs to spare in the opening Momentum ODI at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Thursday.

Du Plessis’ century (120 off 112 balls, 11 fours and 2 sixes) was marginally faster than Kohli’s (112 off 119 balls, 10 fours) but both innings had to be seen in the context of the match overall. The match was effectively decided in the first place by the Standard Bank Proteas only managed to score 51/4 in the 13 overs between the 15th and 28th overs and in the second by the Indian record third-wicket partnership in ODIs against South Africa of 189 off 188 balls between Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane (79 off 86 balls, 5 fours and 2 sixes).

Proteas all-rounder, JP Duminy, anticipates another highly competitive series against India in the upcoming six-match One-Day International (ODI) series starting at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Thursday. There isn’t much that separates the two teams on the ICC ODI rankings – South Africa leads India by one point at the top of the table – and the intensely contested Sunfoil Freedom Series has given a sample of what to expect in the limited-overs formats.

Duminy has been in sparking form for the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras in the Momentum One-Day Cup, and has been instrumental in leading the team to a home semi-final tomorrow - scoring 416 runs at an average of 52.  The all-rounder says he is relishing the opportunity to transfer the form into the upcoming series, which he believes will be ‘ closely fought’.

Proteas batsman, AB de Villiers, has been ruled out of the first three Momentum One-Day Internationals (ODI) against India due to a finger injury.  De Villiers sustained the injury to his right index finger during the third Sunfoil Test match against India and will require up to two weeks to make a full recovery.

The CSA medical team is hopeful De Villiers will recover in time for the fourth ‘Pink’ ODI at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Saturday, February 10th . The selectors have opted not to name a replacement.