Cape Town, Jan 23 (IANS): Deepak Chahar's fighting fifty (54 off 34 balls) went in vain as South Africa beat India by four runs in the third and final ODI to complete a 3-0 whitewash in the three-match series, here on Sunday.

A fantastic century by Quinton de Kock (124 off 130) helped South Africa post a challenging 287 in 49.5 overs. Apart from de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen (52 off 59) and David Miller (39 off 38) also played vital knocks for the Proteas.

Prasidh Krishna (3/59), Jasprit Bumrah (2/52), Deepak Chahar (2/53), and Yuzvendra Chahal (1/47) were the wicket-takers for India.

In reply, Shikhar Dhawan (61 off 73) and Virat Kohli (65 off 84) played important knocks but India were in deep trouble at one point after losing quick wickets during middle overs. However, Deepak Chahar's knock under pressure ignited hopes and kept India in the game till the time he was at the crease.

Once Deepak got out in the first ball of the 48th over, it was curtains for India as South Africa cleaned up the last two wickets too quickly to seal a 3-0 whitewash. In the end, the hosts were bowled out for 283 in 49.2 overs.

Andile Phehlukwayo 3/40 was the most successful bowler for South Africa.

Brief scores: South Africa for 287 all out in 49.5 overs (Quinton de Kock 124, Rassie van der Dussen 52; Prasidh Krishna 3/59) beat India 283 all out in 49.2 overs (Virat Kohli 65, Shikhar Dhawan 61, Andile Phehlukwayo 3/40) by 4 runs