Rohit Sharma’s fantastic 150 went in vain as South Africa beat India by a narrow five-run margin in the first One-Day International (ODI) at Green Park, Kanpur, on Sunday. Rohit’s innings ranged from the serene to the savage; for every delicate drive there was a fearsome pull. He ended up hitting his third-highest ODI score, and in the process reaching 150 for the third time as well. He received commendable support from India’s newest No. 3 Ajinkya Rahane. The duo added an excellent 149 that ensured India were well in control of the chase. He was dismissed with 35 to win off the last four overs, but would have hoped he had done enough to help India win. It was not to be. Live Scorecard: India vs South Africa 2015, 1st ODI at Kanpur
Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan got India off to a good start, adding 42 in 7.3 overs before the latter was out LBW to Morne Morkel. His 23 came off 28 balls and included five boundaries. All doubts were settled about who would at at No. 3 for India when Rahane walked out to join Rohit. The two Mumbai boys put on 149 in quick time, taking India to 191 before being separated. He fell against the run of play, driving part-timer Farhaan Behardien to David Miller for a well-compiled 60 off 82 balls. Live Updates: India vs South Africa 2015, 1st ODI at Kanpur
Virat Kohli came in at No. 4 and took his time to get in. India’s talismanic ODI batsman has had a lean run so far this year, and continued his lacklustre form in 2015. He was unfortunate though; a powerful flick found the tallest man in the field — Morne Morkel — who had to dive forward to secure the ball. His 11 came in 18 balls, but with Rohit going strong at the other end it seemed like India would romp home. They could not have been more wrong.
MS Dhoni was the next man in. Rohit and Dhoni added 55 in very quick time; Dhoni choosing to briskly and Rohit opting to go for the big hits. The duo kept the runs coming at a fair clip, but soon after Rohit got to his third ODI 150 he chipped one back to Imran Tahir. Disaster struck for India when Suresh Raina was dismissed in the same over, getting caught by JP Duminy trying to slog Tahir. That united Stuart Binny and Dhoni, for what proved to be India’s most anxious partnership of the match. Dhoni took charge, converting ones to twos and ensuring India took the game deep into the final over, but was dismissed with seven runs needed off three balls.
Earlier, AB de Villiers‘ belligerent unbeaten 104 took the Proteas to 303 for 5. India’s bowlers struck at regular intervals, but the South African batsmen ensured the runs kept coming at at a fair clip. De Villiers scored a sensational century and Faf du Plessis made a fine 62, while Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla got South Africa off to a quick start. David Miller and JP Duminy did their bits as well, while Farhaan Behardien played a good cameo at the end. Amit Mishra bowled beautifully for India, but Ravichandran Ashwin — playing his 100th ODI — injured himself while fielding and could not bowl even half his overs. That proved to be a crucial blow to India, as Stuart Binny and Suresh Raina had to bowl more than Dhoni would have wanted them to. It was a good exhibition of cricket all-round on a pitch without much help for the pace bowlers. READ: Ravichandran Ashwin — From just another mystery spinner to India’s premier bowler
The Proteas’ openers got them off to a good start, putting on 45 in 8.4 overs before Ashwin took out de Kock. It was a perfect off-spinner’s delivery to a left-hander; pitching on leg and middle, and spinning past the batsman to take the edge to slip. De Kock was out for 29 off 33 balls. Amla was the next to go, bowled by Mishra for 37 off 59 balls. At this point South Africa were 104 for 2 in the 24th over.
South Africa’s fourth-wicket partnership was worth 48, but it laid a vital platform for the late assault. Du Plessis, who laid the groundwork for South Africa’s innings, was out LBW to Umesh Yadav against the run of play. His 62 came off 77 balls. Miller and Duminy scored 13 and 15 respectively, but ensured runs came at a good rate toward the end. Behardien was outstanding as well, playing a lively boundary-filled cameo to boost South Africa past the 300-run mark, in no small part thanks to the horrendous bowling from India’s pacers in the last five overs.
South Africa won the toss and de Villiers elected to bat first on what looked like a fairly innocuous Green Park surface. Both teams wore quite a different look from the sides that met in the T20I series. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel returned for the visitors, replacing Kyle Abbott and Chris Morris. For India, Amit Mishra, Stuart Binny, and Ajinkya Rahane made it to the side in place of Harbhajan Singh, Akshar Patel, and Ambati Rayudu. READ: India vs South Africa ODI series: Statistical preview
Brief scores:
South Africa 303 for 5 in 50 overs (Faf du Plessis 62, AB de Villiers 104*; Amit Mishra 2 for 47) beat India 298 for 7 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 150, Ajinkya Rahane 60; Kagiso Rabada 2 for 58, Imran Tahir 2 for 57) by 5 runs.
Man of the Match: AB de Villiers
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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