Match overview
India Cricket crushed South Africa Cricket by nine wickets at the Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on 6 December 2025. South Africa posted 270 all out in their 50 overs. India knocked off the target for the loss of just one wicket, completing the chase before the death overs were even required. YBK Jaiswal was named Player of the Match for his role in an almost entirely untroubled pursuit. The result extends India's all-time ODI head-to-head lead over South Africa to 60 wins from 118 meetings.
South Africa's innings had its moments. Their middle overs produced 202 runs, which sounds impressive until you consider that six wickets fell in that phase. The death brought only 26 more runs for three further wickets. Given this venue's average first-innings score of 196 across 58 matches, reaching 270 was above par. It simply wasn't enough.
India's response was clinical from the first ball. The powerplay closed at 48 for no wicket, five runs above the ground's historical powerplay average of 43. The opening partnership set the tone so thoroughly that the match was effectively settled well before the halfway point of the chase.
Venue and conditions
Visakhapatnam's ACA-VDCA Stadium sits in a coastal city on India's south-eastern seaboard, and the surface here has traditionally favoured batters. Across 58 ODIs, the average first-innings score is 196 and the average second-innings score is 169, suggesting teams batting first tend to set a defendable total and the pitch offers just enough for bowlers in the second half of the match.
The toss is a meaningful variable at this ground. Teams fielding first have chosen to do so 59 per cent of the time, and chasers win 53 per cent of matches here. India won the toss and chose to field, in keeping with the ground's prevailing trend. South Africa's 270 cleared the historical benchmark comfortably, yet the pitch's reputation for easing out as a match progresses may have played a role in how straightforwardly India found their chase.
The death-overs average of 35 runs per innings is also relevant context. South Africa managed only 26 in theirs, falling below the ground norm at the most important phase of the innings.
How to watch
India's bilateral ODI series against South Africa is broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Cricket. Matches are available live via a Sky subscription, through the Sky Go app, or on a NOW TV Sports membership pass. Check the Sky Sports schedule for UK kick-off times, which vary depending on the match start in India.
Highlights and same-day review programming are typically available through Sky's on-demand service. For fans travelling or unable to access a live broadcast, ball-by-ball radio commentary is sometimes available via BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra for high-profile India series, though availability varies by rights agreement.
Recent form
South Africa arrived at Visakhapatnam in mixed but broadly competitive shape. Their last five results show three wins and two losses, with the defeats coming against India and Pakistan respectively. Three of those five results were against India, suggesting the two sides have been playing each other frequently across the calendar year.
India's recent sequence tells a slightly different story. Four of their last five results before this match came against South Africa: one win, three losses, and a no result against Australia sandwiched in between. By that measure, this nine-wicket victory looks like a correction after a run of defeats. With the head-to-head now standing at 60 wins to South Africa's 50, India will look to press on in whatever fixture follows in this series or the next bilateral cycle between these sides.
