Kohli, Jadeja help India to crushing win over South Africa
Cricket
Kohli, Jadeja help India to crushing win over South Africa
(Web Desk/Reuters) – India defeated South Africa by 243 runs to win the 37th match of the ICC World Cup at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday.
Virat Kohli scored 49th century of his career, equalling Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most ODI hundreds. He scored unbeaten 101 runs off 121 balls, helping his team to post 326 on the board.
In reply, the Proteas bowled out for just 83 runs in the 28th over. Jadeja took five wickets. Shami grabbed two scalps.
Earlier, India won the toss and elected to bat first. India slowed down after an early blitz as they lost both openers inside 11 overs for 93 runs. Opener and captain Rohit Sharma was in devastating form as he scored 40 runs off 23 balls with the help of two sixes and six fours. He fell to Kagiso Rabada when skipper Temba Bavuma took a splendid catch.
Fellow opener Shubman Gill seemed subdued as his senior partner was on a run spree. However, he was clean bowled by Keshav Maharaj when he tried to launch as attack on the Proteas bowling. He had scored 23 runs off 24 deliveries with the help of four fours and a six.
Earlier, India won the toss and decided to bat.
Both teams have already qualified for the semi-finals.They have played seven matches in the tournament and India have not lost a game. However, Proteas have lost a game to the World Cup minnows, Afghanistan.
India named an unchanged side from their thumping win over Sri Lanka, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to an ankle injury.
"It looks like a good pitch and honestly it's more to do with what we want to do as a team," Rohit said. "It's going to be a good game with two teams at the top of the table.
"I love playing here and the Indian team loves playing at this historic ground."
South Africa made one change bringing in spinner Tabraiz Shamsi in place of Gerald Coetzee.
"Looking at the wicket, we would have batted first, but it will be a nice challenge for us to chase," said South Africa captain Temba Bavuma.
India’s top five batsmen have all shown form, with even Shubman Gill getting among the runs at Wankhede with a solid 92.
India’s pace attack has looked leagues ahead of their counterparts, performing with aplomb under the lights in their last two fixtures.
And barring New Zealand’s semi-successful charge, Kuldeep Yadav continues to bamboozle the opposition batters.
While the side will miss important all-rounder Hardik Pandya for rest of the tournament, skipper Rohit Sharma will hope that the remaining squad members continue standing up in the manner they have so far.
However, South Africa will know that batting first has worked in their favour so far in the tournament.
The Proteas have thrived with that option, regularly crossing the 350-run threshold with ease.
Other than skipper Temba Bavuma, all the other top and middle-order batters have had a scintillating run in the World Cup so far.
And even if they don’t get their preferred bat-first, there is enough firepower in the South Africa pace attack to rattle India.
In addition, they carry a strong spin arsenal in Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.
An important factor in the contest will be the wicket in Kolkata, which hasn’t yielded big-scoring games so far.
TEAMS
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar Yadav.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams.
KEY PLAYERS
India - Mohammed Shami
Having returned to the India playing XI after an injury to Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami has made the global tournament his very own with three stupendous bowling displays.
While his 14 wickets at a mind-boggling average of 6.71 are exceptional at the very least, what has stood out is the manner in which he has gotten these wickets.
He has struck regularly in his opening spell, managing to eke out big top and middle-order batters.
If South Africa’s batting first juggernaut is to be stopped, Rohit will know that Shami will have to play a crucial role.
South Africa - Quinton de Kock
The task for South Africa’s opening star Quinton de Kock will be quite straightforward: to keep doing what he has been doing and scoring plenty of runs.
The tournament’s leading run-scorer has batted at an exceptional strike rate of 112.6. He has four tons in this World Cup and would love to add another one at Eden Gardens.
Having already taken on and succeeded against good bowling attacks in the tournament, de Kock will now look to excel against the Indian challenge.
When it comes off, the southpaw’s usual blistering style at the top is well-supplemented by the big-hitting prowess that the Proteas possess lower down the order.
And Temba Bavuma’s side will hope that de Kock gets going in style against India.
