Virat Kohli all praise of the team after winning the first ODI

The Indian captain Virat Kohli is extremely happy after his team won the first of the six-match ODI series against South Africa in Durban. It was an all-round effort from the visitors as the bowlers first restricted the home side on a below-par total after which the batsmen led by the captain himself shepherded the chase with utter ease. India also broke the jinx of six losses at the venue and went on to halt the 17-match winning streak of South Africa at home in ODIs.

While it was the 189-run stand between Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane that delivered a crushing victory for the Men in Blue, it was the wrist-spinning duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav that changed the game with the ball in hand. They shared 5 wickets between them conceding only 79 runs in 20 overs which was excellent as South Africa could only post 269 on the board after winning the toss.

Rahane is a top class player

Virat Kohli stunned everyone by including Ajinkya Rahane in the team and played him at number 4 as the decision turned out to be a masterstroke. He was happy for the right-hander and termed him as the top-class player. “Jinx (Rahane) is a top class player. We understood fast bowling was going to be a big factor in this tour. He was superb, he took on the fast bowlers,” said Kohli who was adjudged man of the match,” he said after the match.

The skipper also believed that the win in the first match of the series will give them the momentum and they would like to carry on with that now. “First match of the series is important. We wanted to take the momentum of the (third) Test win into this and when we restricted South Africa to 270 on this sort of a pitch, we were happy,” Kohli added. He had special praise for the bowlers who were instrumental in India’s second win on the tour and hailed them for their show in the middle.

“Bhuvi and Bumrah, we bank on them. Picking up one or two wickets in the top ten is what we wanted to do. And then the two wrist-spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal), outstanding bowling by both of them. They are working wonderfully for the team. They’re playing in South Africa for the first time. They were very brave, they were throwing it up and that’s why they got wickets. As a captain, it’s outstanding when you have two guys who know what they want to do,” the 29-year-old concluded.

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