Virat Kohli’s stupendous 52nd ODI hundred, Kuldeep Yadav’s left-arm wrist spin trickery and Harshit Rana’s pace laced India’s tense 17-run win over South Africa in the first match.
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RANCHI — Virat Kohli’s stupendous 52nd ODI hundred, Kuldeep Yadav’s left-arm wrist spin trickery and Harshit Rana’s pace laced India’s tense 17-run win over South Africa in the first match of the three-match series here on Sunday.
India now lead the rubber 1-0, and the second match will be played at Raipur on Wednesday.
Once Kohli’s 120-ball 135 (11x4, 7x6) guided India to a massive 349 for 8, South Africa failed to produce the Herculean batting effort needed for a tall chase, folding for 332.
Kuldeep (4/68) and Harshit (3/65) struck at vital junctures as India quelled the hints of Protean fightback.
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Matthew Breeetzke (72), Marco Jansen (70) and Corbin Bosch (kept SA afloat after the visitors found themselves at 11 for three.
Earlier, Kohli’s hundred and his 136-run stand with long-time associate Rohit Sharma (57, 51b) was the engine room of India’s charge to a 300-plus total.
Rohit too had his own moment when he smashed a world record 352nd six in ODI cricket to go past former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi’s mark of 351.
KL Rahul gave a late thrust to the innings with a 56-ball 60.
Brief scores: India: 349/8 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 135, Rohit Sharma 57, KL Rahul 60; Ottneil Baartman 2/60, Nandre Burger 2/65) beat South Africa: 332 all out in 49.2 overs (Matthew Breeetzke 72, Marco Jansen 70; Kuldeep Yadav 4/68, Harshit Rana 3/65) by 17 runs.