India survived a scare and sailed past South Africa in a closely fought encounter to register a 17-run victory in the first ODI and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. It was a tough battle between the batters of both sides and a contest with several lessons to take away.
India posted a commanding first-innings total, powered by a superb century from Virat Kohli and vital fifties from Rohit Sharma and K.L. Rahul. After being asked to bat, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early to Nandre Burger, but Rohit and Kohli quickly seized control.
The experienced pair stitched together a fluent 136-run stand, easing the pressure after the early setback. Rohit reached a brisk 57 off 51 balls and broke Shahid Afridi’s long-standing record for most ODI sixes before Marco Jansen trapped him lbw.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s brief stay ended with a stunning catch from Dewald Brevis, and Washington Sundar added a steady 17 before falling to Ottneil Baartman. Kohli, meanwhile, remained unruffled, bringing up his 52nd ODI hundred and 83rd international ton. He accelerated sharply after reaching three figures, taking on Prenelan Subrayen with two fours and two sixes.
Rahul provided strong support with a well-paced 60, adding 76 crucial runs with Kohli. After Kohli’s dismissal for 135, Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja pushed India towards a big finish with a 65-run partnership. However, a late mini-collapse, including wickets from Jansen and Corbin Bosch, restricted India to 349/8—still a formidable total.
Chasing a daunting 350, South Africa were rocked early as India’s bowlers came out firing. Harshit Rana, entrusted with the second over, made an immediate impact on his very first legal delivery. After starting with a wide, he found his rhythm and produced a sharp good-length ball that jagged back into Ryan Rickelton, who offered a lazy defensive push and saw his stumps shattered.
Rana wasn’t done. Just a ball later, he removed Quinton de Kock for a duck, with KL Rahul taking another clean catch. South Africa were stunned early.
The pressure mounted further when Arshdeep Singh dismissed skipper Aiden Markram for seven, leaving the visitors three down within the first few overs. Good strategic bowling from Prasidh Krishna in the 10th over capped off a dominant Power-play from India.
Matthew Breetzke and Tony de Zorzi steadied the innings and shared a 66-run stand for the fourth wicket before Kuldeep Yadav trapped de Zorzi lbw. Dewald Brevis then showed composure and joined Breetzke to add 53 more runs, but India kept striking at the right moments.
Jansen’s whirlwind knock shook India as the tall all-rounder took on the bowlers with confidence, with Breetzke playing second fiddle as the target came down quickly.
In the 34th over, Rohit’s decision to bring back Kuldeep Yadav worked wonders as the spinner dismissed the in-form Jansen and Breetzke within three deliveries. Subrayen and Bosch kept South Africa in the hunt briefly, but Kuldeep removed Subrayen to claim his fourth wicket.
Bosch and Burger stretched the game deep, but Arshdeep struck late in the 46th over to dismiss Burger and keep the match finely poised.
With only one wicket left, Bosch kept the chase alive, even bringing up his fifty. It came down to the final over with South Africa needing 19 off six balls. But the visitors’ fight finally ended when a mis-hit from Bosch led to Rohit completing a fine catch to seal the match.
With Prasidh Krishna landing the final blow, India clinched a close 17-run win and took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Brief scores:
India 349/8 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 135, K.L. Rahul 60; Ottneil Baartman 2-60, Nandre Burger 2-65) beat South Africa 332 all out in 49.2 overs (Matthew Breetzke 72, Marco Jansen 70, Corbin Bosch 67, Tony de Zorzi 39, Dewald Brevis 37; Kuldeep Yadav 4-68, Harshit Rana 3-65, Arshdeep Singh 2-64) by 17 runs.
(IANS)