India broke the Durban jinx by beating South Africa by 6 wickets in the first ODI of the 6-match series.
Riding on a superb bowling performance from the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, India had reduced SA to just 269/8 before Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane took India home with 6 wickets in hand to register their first victory at the venue.
The win also made India the best ranked team in ODIs. They already hold the top spot in Tests.
Chasing a target of 270, India had an opening stand of 33 runs before Rohit Sharma, who looked in good touch, was dismissed by Morne Morkel. Another 34 runs stand followed before Shikhar Dhawan was run out after a mix up with Virat Kohli.
However, that proved to be the last good thing for SA in the match. Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli had a partnership of 189 runs to all but seal the game for India before Rahane fell. Phehlukwayo broke the stand to give SA some consolation.
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Two balls later the hosts had a chance to have some more smile but a drop catch from Khaya Zondo added to their misery. Though Kohli was not destined to go unbeaten as Phehlukwayo finally had his man with just 8 runs remaining.
Dhoni and Pandya then completed the formalities as India romped home with 27 balls in hand.
Kohli’s first ton in SA in ODI
It was interesting to see how Virat Kohli played second fiddle in the partnership but he still eased to his maiden ton in the Rainbow Nation in ODIs. It was his 33rd in ODI. Kohli was dismissed for 112 but he had done his work by then.
Rahane proves his critics wrong
Ajinkya Rahane had scored 3 back to back ODI half-century and was the man of the tournament when he last played in the limited overs but he was questioned everytime. Kohli decided to give his trusted warrior another chance and Jinx proved everyone wrong. He scored another half century and never looked like struggling as he scored 79 runs off just 86 balls, including 5 fours and 2 sixes.
SA struggle without ABD
Earlier, Du Plessis won the toss and opted to bat first after winning the toss. They had a steady start as Quinton de Kock looked to leave behind the disappointing run of the Tests. He took his time while Hashim Amla scored from one end.
But Indian spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal once again showed why they have emerged as the top choices and have forced the selectors to forget Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin by picking up 5 wickets for just 79 runs in the 20 overs that they bowled together but South African Faf du Plessis led from the front with a ton as the hosts posted 269-8 in their quota of 50 overs.
Amla’s horror run against India
Jasprit Bumrah got one to hit Amla’s pad and though he wanted to review but de Kock rightly suggested him against it. Had he reviewed it would have been ‘Umpire’s call’ and the umpire would have stuck to his decision. That dismissal for just 16 runs meant that Amla’s dry run against India at home continued.
De Kock and Du Plessis then added 53 runs for the second wicket.
Spinners to the fore
After the two helped South African led the recovery and started looking in danger, the Indian spinners got into the act. Chahal first got the better of de Kock after the wicketekeeper had scored 34 runs.
Skipper sees it all from one end
Plessis then had to witness his partners getting dismissed one after other despite trying his best, he almost sacrificed himself to get struggling Aiden Markram off the strike. The hosts were reduced to 134/5 in 27.5 overs before Chris Morris proved to be the support his skipper and country needed.
Plessis then added 64 runs with Andile Phehlukwayo and got to his 7th century in the process before falling to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the last over. His dismissal meant they could add just 5 runs from the last 5 balls to score 269.
Turning Point
Morris’ dismissal proved to be the turning point of the game. The duo had added 74 runs from just 77 balls before Morris missed a juicy full toss from Kuldeep at a crucial stage. The batting powerplay had just started and SA were threatening at that time. His dismissal meant SA fell atleast 20-30 runs short and 269 didn’t prove enough to put pressure on Indian batsmen.
Kuldeep Yadav picked up 3 wickets for 34 runs while Chahal picked 2 for 45. Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar picked up 1 wicket each.
With the win India took a 1-0 lead in the 6-match series, winning which will take them back to the number one spot in ICC ODI Rankings.