South Africa V. India First ODI: Kohli Stars Again To Guide India To A Comfortable Win
Day Highlights:
- India won by 6 wickets
- They made 270-4
- Kohli made 112
Riding on the back of their exploits in the last test match, India took off from where they had left to win the first ODI with ease. Squaring off in Durban, South Africa and India kicked off the six match ODI series with a comfortable win for India. Restricting South Africa to 268 from their 50 overs, India cruised to a 6 wickets victory to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
South Africa chose to bat first after Indian skipper Virat Kohli said that is what he would have done too if he had won the toss. It was however a bad start for the hosts on a good wicket for batting as the lost wickets in a sport after a good start. Four wickets for 41 runs gave India the upper hand before Faf du Plessis played perhaps the most important innings of his career to get the Proteas back on track. A 120 in just 112 balls by him powered the African innings to 268, giving their bowlers a good total to defend.
The Indians ended losing up both their openers for 67 runs after Rohit Sharma was dismissed by Morkel and Dhawan was run out after some poor running between the wickets. It was the Rahane and Kohli show from there on as both of them grabbed the game by the scruff to stamp their authority over the match. Making the most of a nice and flat pitch, Rahane showed why the team think tank was wrong to drop him for the first two matches as he went onto to score a well made 79. He was the perfect anchor to the skipper’s innings who for the hundredth time in his career helped India to a comfortable victory after he scored a classy 112 before being dismissed with just eight runs needed for a win. With rain just around the corner, MS Dhoni smashed a four to seal the match for India in style and give India a 1-0 lead in the series.
It was a good day for India at this year’s first open event with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu winning their opening games easily. Both women advanced through to the next round of the India Open after defeating their Dutch Opponents. It was however a disappointing exit for Prannoy who exited the tournament due to corn in his feet which prevented him from showing a good fight against fellow countryman Shreyash Jaiswal.
Top seed PV Sindhu showed why she deserves to be ranked as the best player in the tournament as.
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