South Africa vs India, 1st ODI- 5 Talking Points

India’s tour of South Africa commenced with a couple of drubbings for Team India at the hands of the mighty Proteas in the Test series. However, the Indians salvaged pride after turning over the hosts in Johannesburg. One-Day International cricket is a different ballgame altogether and both teams wished to get off the mark with a victory.

South Africa won the toss, elected to bat first and notched up a respectable score of 269 runs in their allotted 50 overs. However, India were clinical during their run-chase and brushed the Proteas aside with a six-wicket victory. Meanwhile, they also raced away to their maiden ODI victory against South Africa at the Kingsmead in Durban. The game had several intriguing and captivating moments which kept the viewers on the edge of their seats. In our article, we take you through five of them.

#1 Spinners choke South Africa

South Africa got themselves off to a healthy start with the score reading 83/1 after 15 overs. The pitch was a belter and the foundation was laid for the Proteas to rack up a massive total. However, the Indian spinner had other plans. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have foxed the best in the business with their guile and trajectory.

At the Kingsmead, they broadcast their valour and undid South Africa’s impressive start. Chahal’s lucky scalp of Quinton de Kock sparked the mini-collapse. The leggie followed it up with Aiden Markram’s wicket as the left-hander unsuccessfully tried to clear mid-wicket. Kuldeep joined the part as he bamboozled JP Duminy with a wrong ‘urn followed by David Miller’s wicket courtesy Virat Kohli’s sharp catch.

#2 Francois du Plessis- South Africa’s lone ranger

Francois du Plessis took charge after the loss of the opening wicket in the form of Hashim Amla. He stitched an impressive 50-run stand with de Kock. However, after the keeper-batsman’s dismissal, South Africa slumped during the phase when the Indian spinners weaved their magic with the leather.

Even as wickets kept tumbling from the other hand du Plessis didn’t lose heart and marched on. He wasn’t outrageous, yet was able to get under the skins of the Indian bowler. He masterfully staved them off and eventually creamed his way to his ninth ton in One-Day Internationals.

The Proteas skipper was dismissed in the last over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, however by then, he already guided South Africa to a competitive total from a precarious situation.

#3 Impressive tail-enders

‘One hand can’t clap alone’- rightly so and its implications are applicable to the game of cricket as well. After South Africa lost a flurry of wickets, it was imperative for the lower-order batsmen to support Faf du Plessis, their skipper.

To their delight, a couple of them- Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo put their hands up and lent support to their captain. Morris stitched together a stand of 74 runs with his skipper and injected momentum into the Proteas innings.

Meanwhile, he also scored 37 runs in quick time, which included four boundaries and a six. After his dismissal, Phehlukwayo joined du Plessis and both raced away to a 50-run partnership. He rotated the strike efficiently and played until the very end.

#4 Virat Kohli steals the show

Virat Kohli is deemed to be a class apart from his contemporaries and he showed just why he is regarded as one of the modern-day greats. He scored a stupendous ton and shepherded India to the victory in the opening game of the series.

Rohit Sharma’s dismissal brought Virat to the crease and he hit his straps right from the word go. He looked unflustered and notched his 33rd ODI century. He didn’t slog or play the rash shots yet he scored at nearly a run-a-ball.

The pitch was sluggish, but Kohli smothered the bowlers efficiently and guided India to the threshold of victory. He peppered the boundaries across the entire circumference of the ground as the Proteas tried haplessly against the Indian skipper.

#5 Not to undermine Ajinkya Rahane

India’s number-four conundrum is an open secret, something which has been bothering the Men in Blue for quite a while now. They have tried KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav but somewhere down the line, they didn’t fit the bill.

They tried another batsman in Ajinkya Rahane at the position and the decision paid dividends as he smothered the Proteas bowlers for a knock of 79 runs off 86 balls. He stomped in after Shikhar Dhawan’s dismissal and built a match-winning partnership of 189 runs with Kohli.

While the Mumbaikar gracefully creamed the ball across the carpet, he also didn’t shy away from taking the aerial route. He, eventually, perished to Phehlukwayo’s medium pace after taking India to the brink of a stupendous victory.