India’s former captain Sunil Gavaskar believes India’s close victory in the first ODI against South Africa should encourage the team to stay cautious in the upcoming matches. India secured a 17-run win in Ranchi, and the match went to the final over, which shows that South Africa are capable of crossing the mark.
In a conversation with Star Sports after the game, Gavaskar praised South Africa’s fighting spirit and said, “South Africa’s fightback was fantastic to watch. Right till the end, till the last over, it was a question of touch and go, and you have got to admire the way that despite them being in dire straits, three wickets down for 11 runs.”
Gavaskar further added that South Africa kept fighting till the end and said, “The way they have fought back, India better watch out for the next two games.”
South Africa were struggling at 11 runs for 3 wickets but managed to reach 332 runs in the final over. Matthew Breetzke (72), Marco Jansen (70) and Corbin Bosch (67) kept the chase alive.
India earlier posted 349 runs at the loss of eight wickets with the help of Virat Kohli’s 52nd ODI century. He was well supported by Rohit Sharma (57) and captain KL Rahul (60). Kuldeep Yadav was the key bowler, taking four crucial wickets while conceding 68 runs.
The second ODI will be played on December 3 in Raipur, where South Africa will hope for a comeback.
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