India finally has a win against South Africa albeit in a different format. India came out all guns blazing and played the key moments a tad better than their opponents South Africa who showed tremendous fighting spirit to stay in the game till the end. Put into bat first, India rode on a masterful 52nd ODI ton from Virat Kohli and handy fifties from Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul to take their score to 349/8 in 50 overs.
In reply, India rode on a 4-wicket haul from Kuldeep Yadav and 3 wickets from Harshit Rana while Arshdeep Singh picked up 2 wickets as the Indians weathered the storm from Matthew Breetzke, Marco Jansen, and Corbin Bosch and a cameo from Dewald Brevis as South Africa came so close yet so far but India held their nerves for a 17-run win.
Virat Kohli’s masterful 52nd ton powered India to 349/8.Â
Put into bat first, Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma came out to start the proceedings while Marco Jansen had ball in hand for South Africa. Jansen was all over the place as he gave a boundary away first ball and then banged in short to give away extra runs. Jaiswal was the aggressor of the two and looked good while he was there with his 18 off 16 balls. But he couldn’t last long as Nandre Burger removed him as Jaiswal’s problem with right-handers continued.
Virat Kohli came out to bat next. Rohit Sharma got a lifeline as his pull shot was dropped by Tony de Zorzi at deep square leg and Sharma was batting only on 1. Then it was the Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma show as they complimented each other really well and took on the South African bowling head on. Virat was surprisingly the aggressor of the two and looked a determined individual this afternoon taking the attack by hitting sixes either from his crease or even stepping down the track as well. Burger was taken to the cleaners and whoever bowled weren’t spared.
Rohit Sharma too got into the act and was just unstoppable playing the pull shots and complimented Virat really well. They played their roles to perfection and soon they built a strong partnership. When they batted, the pitch looked like a batting paradise which it was but they made it look ridiculously easy. Virat first completed his 76th ODI fifty while Rohit a bit later on got to his 60th ODI fifty. The duo converted their partnership from a half-century to over a hundred runs and Rohit completed 352 sixes which is the highest by any ODI batter ever.
Soon, Marco Jansen broke the 136-run stand as he removed Rohit for 57 off 51 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name with the ball keeping low as he was adjudged LBW and he was stone dead and did not bother to review. This wicket allowed South Africa to claw their way back in the game as the upcoming Indian batters struggled to come to terms of the surface.
Ruturaj Gaikwad came in next and took his time but was eventually prized out for 8 through a brilliant catch by Dewald Brevis a one-handed stunner at backward point. Ottneil Baartman had a wicket to his name. Washington Sundar came to the crease and hogged the strike and got into double figures with the maximum through an upper cut over third man. But he played a lot of dot balls and eventually fell as Baartman got another wicket. Sundar made 13 off 19 balls. KL Rahul came out to bat next as the captain walked out at 6.
Virat Kohli had lost most of the strike by now and lost a little bit of rhythm as well. KL Rahul also took his time to get in while Virat slowed down a bit after entering the nervous 90s. He hit a boundary to get to 98 and then an over or two later dabbed it away down to the third man fence for a boundary and completed his 52nd ODI ton which is the most by any player in a single format. He got past Sachin Tendulkar’s 51 Test tons. He punched the air in delight and was very happy with the knock. The dressing room and the crowd gave a standing ovation.
Kohli soon cut loose after getting his hundred and was back to his best hitting boundaries and sixes at will as no bowler was spared. Subrayen was taken for 21 in his final over as Kohli showed him who the boss really is. KL Rahul after starting slowly switched gears as well as the duo completed a crucial 50-run stand for the 5th wicket. Kohli was fantastic but his innings was cut short on 135 off 120 balls with 11 fours and 7 sixes to his name as Burger removed him with a slower ball which Kohli went for it and miscued it with Rickelton running backwards and taking the catch.
Ravindra Jadeja came out to the middle and combined well with KL Rahul to give India the finishing kick. Both of them played aggressive cricket and took on the bowling in the death overs. The captain Rahul played innovative shots as well as he grew through the innings as he scored 60 off 56 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name. Rahul fell to Marco Jansen trying to play the reverse scoop and got out. Ravindra Jadeja played a useful knock as he made 32 off 20 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name. Harshit Rana got in and got bat to ball to get 3 off 2 balls.
Bosch bowled a pin point yorker to knock over Arshdeep Singh after dismissing Jadeja and was on a hat-trick. But Kuldeep Yadav survived it and managed to get 2 leg byes off the final ball of the innings as India ended with 349/8 in 50 overs. They could have gotten more but would be relatively happy with the score. 23 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a hard toil for the South African bowlers but they did well to drag things back from a massive score to a par score. Marco Jansen finished with 2/76 in 10 overs. Nandre Burger bowled well for his 2/65 in 10 overs. Corbin Bosch finished with 2/66 in 10 overs. Ottniel Baartman finished with 2/60 in 10 overs. Prenelan Subrayen finished with 0/73 in 10 overs as South Africa used only 5 bowlers as captain Aiden Markram did not utilise himself with the ball. South Africa now needed 350 runs to win the contest to go 1-0 up in 3-match series.
Kuldeep Yadav’s 4-wicket haul helps India hold their nerves to win the contest by 17 runs.Â
Chasing 350 for the win, captain Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton came out to start proceedings for South Africa. Arshdeep Singh took the new ball for India. South Africa got off to the worst possible start as they lost their top 3 in a jiffy. Harshit Rana broke through in his first over as he removed Ryan Rickelton for a golden duck and then Quinton de Kock for a silver duck. Arshdeep Singh got into the act as he removed Markram for 7 off 15 balls with a boundary to his name as South Africa were reduced to 11/3 in 4.4 overs.
Matthew Breetzke and Tony de Zorzi joined in the middle and if we thought that India would win easily, we were mistaken as South Africa came out all guns blazing and kept fighting till the end. Breetzke and de Zorzi got together and started the counterattack against the Indian bowling. The duo put on 66 for the fourth wicket before de Zorzi fell to Kuldeep Yadav as the southpaw made 39 off 35 balls with 7 fours to his name as Kuldeep Yadav got his first breakthrough courtesy a brilliant DRS taken by India.
Dewald Brevis came out to bat next and he started and played in one way going for the big hits and he connected. Breetzke dropped anchor but also maintained a good tempo while batting at the other end. Brevis and Breetzke took the score from 77 to 130 before Brevis finally hit one shot too many and was holed out in the deep as Ruturaj Gaikwad took the catch while Rana got his third wicket. Marco Jansen came out to bat next.
The duo of Jansen and Breetzke started to take the game away from India and took the Indian bowlers to the cleaners. India had 6 bowling options but it did not matter as these two were unstoppable. India just did not know how to dismiss the duo as South Africa came roaring back in the game. Jansen was the aggressor and tore India apart while Breetzke used timing to get his runs.
The duo put on what was turning out to be a match defining partnership of 97 runs in quick time off 69 balls. India were running out of ideas, but then Kuldeep Yadav came back into the attack and he turned the game on its head. First, he dismissed Jansen for a magnificent 70 off 39 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes to to his name. Then two balls later he dismissed the set batter and anchor player Matthew Breetzke for 72 off 80 balls with 8 fours and one six to his name as the catch was taken by Virat Kohli at long-on.
Corbin Bosch and Prenelan Subrayen joined forces together and despite being 7 down, the Proteas kept fighting. Bosch was the aggressor and the last recognised batter for South Africa and kept fighting for the visitors. Subrayen hung in there for a while as the duo put on 42 runs for the 8th wicket to put pressure on India. But Subrayen’s innings was cut short as he scored 17 off 16 balls with one four and one six to his name as Kuldeep got another wicket to reduce South Africa to 270/8 in the 40th over.
Nandre Burger joined Bosch and kept the fight as South Africa are known for it. Burger showed his batting skills as well even as Bosch completed his half-century as well. Burger and Bosch also put on 42 for the 9th wicket and kept India thinking and at bay. Bosch played his shots and Burger also played a useful hand by playing good shots. But Bosch was the main player.
Eventually, Arshdeep dismissed Burger and break the stubborn stand by bowling a slower bouncer and Burger couldn’t get his bat away and top edge it to the keeper as South Africa lost their 9th wicket for 312 runs in the 47th over. Ottneil Baartman came out to bat and just had to hang in there in the middle.
Bosch kept on hitting the lusty blows into the stands and kept taking the game deep till the end overs. Bosch farmed the strike and took the game deep and into the final over as well as South Africa needed 18 runs off the 6 balls with one wicket in hand. But Prasidh Krishna held his nerves and got rid of Bosch for a magnificent 67 off 51 balls with 5 fours and 4 sixes to his name as Rohit Sharma completed the catch. Baartman remained unbeaten on 0 off 6 balls as South Africa were eventually bowled out for 332 in 49.2 overs. 6 extras given by the fielding side.
The Indian bowlers held their nerves and won the contest in the end. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/68 in 10 overs. Harshit Rana picked up 3/65 in 10 overs. Arshdeep Singh finished with 2/64 in 10 overs. Prasidh Krishna finished with 1/48 in 7.2 overs. Washington Sundar bowled 3 overs for 18 runs. Ravindra Jadeja bowled 9 overs for 66 runs. So, India win a thriller by 17 runs and for his outstanding 52nd ODI ton, Virat Kohli was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, the first ODI is done and dusted with India winning by 17 runs to go 1-0 up in the 3-match series. The next ODI is on Wednesday 3rd December, 2025 in Raipur at 1:30 PM IST. South Africa will want to bounce back and level the series 1-1 which they can for sure while India will hope to seal the series in Raipur itself.
Let’s see if the second ODI has the same thrills and spills like the first ODI.
Also Read: IND vs SA: Virat Kohli’s Masterful 52nd ODI Ton Powers India To 349/8