Virat Kohli dropped his bat, looked up, and let out a roar of relief and joy. At MS Dhoni’s home ground, the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi, the century was a statement in itself. After scoring only 74 in three innings on the Australia tour, and with whispers about his ODI future swirling around him, the emotions were raw. His 52nd ODI hundred, a fluent 135 on a sluggish pitch, propelled India to 349. The total was just enough, as India defended it by 17 runs to take an early lead in the series against South Africa. Matthew Breetzke, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch gave India a little scare at the end, but the Men in Blue did not let the game slip away.
India once again lost the toss, but everything else fell in their favour. Leading the way with the bat was Kohli.
Yashasvi Jaiswal fell after an 18-run cameo, poking at a delivery in the corridor of uncertainty, much as he had done in the Test series against Jansen. Aiden Markram brought more fielders inside the circle to put pressure on Kohli early in his innings. The veteran batter responded with an off drive and two lofted shots down the ground. Seldom does Kohli go aerial early in an innings, but he looked in a different zone, and those two sixes proved it. He went on to hit five more. Only twice had he struck more than five sixes in an ODI before, and this was his first such feat against South Africa. Apart from the one six hit square on the off side, the rest cleared the bowler’s head.
It was not a typical Kohli innings. For once, he was keen to play his shots. Another aspect of his beautifully crafted knock was his running between the wickets. At 37, he still runs hard, which has been a hallmark of his ODI career.
With Rohit Sharma (57) equally adept, the experienced duo put together a stroke-filled 136-run stand for the second wicket, giving India a strong platform. Kohli was the aggressor in the partnership, while Rohit was undone by the variable bounce of the wicket.
The Proteas mounted a fightback in the middle overs with a couple of wickets, including that of the returning Ruturaj Gaikwad. It slowed Kohli down, but could not stop him from milking singles. Skipper KL Rahul struggled to gauge the pace of the wicket, prompting Kohli to take on the aggressor’s role again and find the boundary ropes. Once he reached his three-figure mark, he went into overdrive. Nandre Burger, who looked the best of the Proteas bowlers, eventually claimed the prized scalp of Kohli. During the slog overs, Rahul found his rhythm and scored a 56-ball 60. Ravindra Jadeja complemented him with a quick 20-ball 32 to ensure a strong finish for India.
Both teams wanted to bowl first, as dew was expected to play a big role. Thankfully for India, before the dew settled, the hosts had reduced South Africa to 77 for 4. In pursuit of their highest run chase away from home, the Proteas struggled. The assistance available during the day became more pronounced under the lights. Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh made the new ball talk and rattled South Africa’s top order.
Breetzke was the only batter to construct an innings in 50-over mode. The rest of the middle order came out swinging as if it were a T20 game. Dewald Brevis provided entertainment with a quickfire 37 but could not convert it into a big score. Jansen rose to the occasion with the bat, and his partnership with Breetzke put India on edge as he struck the ball with authority. Kuldeep Yadav ended the resistance by taking both wickets in a single over to finish with 4/68. Bosch scored his maiden ODI fifty but couldn’t take his team home.
Brief Scores: India 349/8 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 135, KL Rahul 60; Ottneil Baartman 2/60) beat South Africa 332 in 49.2 overs (Matthew Breetzke 72, Marco Jansen 70; Kuldeep Yadav 4/68) by 17 runs.
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