India edge South Africa in last-over thriller as Virat Kohli shines with 135 in Ranchi

After a brilliant and deep chase, India got the better of South Africa. The Proteas played till the last over and chased the 350 target with all their might. But they fell short of 17 runs. With that India takes the first ODI in the series. This game was a full team effort from both the sides. Be it batting, balling or fielding, we have witnessed some phenomenal moments. Special innings from Virat Kohli has to be mentioned. What a wonderful white-ball game this was.

Bosch is making it difficult for India with each ball. He is looking for those big ones and so far he has been pretty successful in hitting it out. Such pressure also turns into wickets a lot of times. Arshdeep is balling. Bosch hits a sixer on his third ball. Rest of the over remains quite. He tries to hit but Rohit Sharma slows it down and they take a single. SA need 18 runs off 6 balls.

Even with last wicket remaining, Bosch is in the game and giving it his all to successfully chase the target. Harshit Rana would want to take him down as soon as possible. Bosch hits Rana for a boundary and a sixer in this spell. They continue to fight. Corbin Bosch has put up a brilliant half-century. The game has so far seen several amazing innings from both the camps. SA need 27 runs off 12 balls.

Arshdeep comes in for this one. All the efforts will be directed towards taking a wicket and the pacers throws fullish to keep the big runs in check. Successfully so, seven runs come off this over. SA need 43 off 30 balls.

Bosch starts Harshit’s over with a boundary. It has come to fall of wickets once again. The Proteas were 11/3 shortly after their innings started but their batting power from the following players in the lineup has kept their chase alive even after the team is 8 wickets down. Tight bowling can land this match in India’s favour. Burger ends the over with a boundary. SA need 50 runs off 36 balls.

Corbin Bosch holds the fort and he has got the power. He shows it on the third ball of Jadeja. Smashes away for a sixer. 11 runs come off this over. SA need 61 off 42 balls.

It’s Bosch and Burger on the crease now. Harshit Rana bowls this one. It has been three dots so far. Burger finds a gap on the fourth ball and he drives through the extra for a boundary. Nothing else comes off the over. The required rate has gone to 9. SA need 72 runs off 48 balls.

This has been a spirited run chase so far. After the fall of Breetzke and Jansen, we thought momentum is in India’s favour. Comes Bosch and Subrayen and another partnership starts building. But Kuldeep’s wrong’un removes Subrayen too. His fourth wicket of the game. SA need 80 runs off 60 balls.

Both set batters are back in the pavilion. A massive momentum shift. Matthew Breetzke, who had calmly played the supporting role to Jansen’s hitting, finally tried to unleash. But he picked the wrong ball for the big swing, sending a flat hit straight to long-on. Not enough elevation, not enough distance. SA need 87 runs in 66 balls.

Marco Jansen just refuses to go away. After haunting India in the Guwahati Test, he’s back to doing damage and he isn’t even slogging. Three sixes, five fours… all pure, effortless timing. The skiddy surface is playing sidekick to his brute elegance, and suddenly India look nervous again.

From 11 for 3 to now needing just 144 off 120 balls — South Africa have roared back into this chase. India badly need a breakthrough… and fast.

Jansen and Breetzke have taken charge of the South African innings after the early fall of wickets. Both the batters are smashing sixers and boundaries as the Proteas put in their all to successfully chase the target. The pressure comes on the bowlers now. SA 177/5 (26)

Matthew Breetzke brings up yet another fifty — his sixth in just 10 ODI innings — and he’s done it in only 55 deliveries. While he has largely played the supporting role to Dewald Brevis and Tony de Zorzi, his scoring rate has been impressive in its own right. The pace on the ball and the skiddy surface have been right in his wheelhouse, allowing him to keep the scoreboard moving smoothly. SA 162/5 (25)

Kuldeep Yadav strikes in his first over. He broke a crucial partnership by dismissing Tony de Zorzi for 39. Brevis comes in to play. South Africa’s opening lineup has crumbled under India’s bowling attack. SA 77/4 (15)

India make their first switch — Prasidh Krishna takes the ball. The new-ball pair created serious pressure early and this is the phase where teams can either tighten the noose or let the game slip.

Too often in these conditions, first-change bowlers get greedy for wickets — banging it in too short or overpitching — and suddenly batters get easy scoring opportunities.

And the signs are there…Breetzke and De Zorzi have settled in, soaking up the early heat and punching back. That window India opened with the new ball? It’s closing fast. Prasidh needs to slam it shut again. SA 58/3 (12)

Arshdeep comes for this over. He was hit for six runs in the opening spell but his last one was quite. And this one just got great after he dismisses SA skipper Aiden Markram. The Proteas are in trouble here and it’s still very early into the chase. SA 15/3 (5)

Two wickets in three balls — the perfect opening statement from the young quick. First ball of the chase, Ryan Rickelton gone. Two deliveries later, Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s biggest power threat, is walking back stunned. A dream start for Rana, a nightmare for the Proteas. SA 9/2 (3)

India storm their way to 349, finishing with a flourish as KL Rahul pulls out a reverse ramp six to close the innings. That’s 16 sixes in total — only six times in ODI history have India cleared the ropes more in one innings.

This show belonged to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Kohli slammed century No. 52, now the most hundreds ever by a player in a single international format, and what a statement knock it was. He and Rohit were a bullet train when the ball was new, then Kohli dug in when conditions slowed, running like a man possessed despite a sore back. The hunger, the stamina, the roar — vintage King Kohli.

So, is 349 enough? On this surface, yes. But with dew expected to roll in hard later this evening, the chase could get slippery — literally.

Buckle up. We might just have a thriller brewing in Ranchi. Second innings coming next.

There comes another good innings from the Indian side. KL Rahul slams his 19th fifty as the team is eyeing a big finish against the Proteas. IND 329/5 (48)

KL Rahul has hit Burger hard in the previous over with two sixes. A total 17 came off that over. Bosch comes in for this one. It’s Jadeja and Rahul on the pitch. Jadeja hits a sixer on the fourth delivery. The batters have put the South African bowers under pressure once again. IND 313/5 (46)

Virat Kohli’s outstanding innings finally comes to a close and the numbers underline just how far ahead of the game he was. Since Rohit Sharma’s dismissal, India managed 115 runs in 21.3 overs — Kohli alone contributed 63 off 59 balls in that period. The rest of the batting unit, extras included, mustered only 55 off 70 deliveries on a surface slowing down noticeably.

It was that change of pace that eventually undid him. Nandre Burger rolled his fingers over a short ball, Kohli miscued the loft towards long-off, and Ryan Rickelton completed a superb running catch. Kohli walks back for 135 off 120 balls, leaving India 276/5 in 42.5 overs — a knock built on supreme timing and control.

With Harshit Rana at No. 8 and limited boundary-hitters to follow, South Africa will now aim to restrict India to under 350 from here.

There is no stopping Virat Kohli! The white-ball great is showing absolute class and smashing boundaries. With KL Rahul on the other end, looks like a big total awaits the Proteas. IND 264/4 (40)

Virat Kohli shifts gears. He finished his ton with a boundary and in this over of Subrayen, he hits a boundary on the third ball. He follows it up with two sixers and ends the over with a boundary. There is no stopping the King from here. Another interesting stat by Abhishek AB – “Virat Kohli’s performances against South Africa in last 10 years have been nothing short of phenomenal. In just 13 innings, he has hammered 5 centuries and 4 half-centuries, racked up 1000 runs, with a staggering average of 140.”

All rise for King Kohli.

Century No. 52 and Ranchi witnesses another chapter in his legend. His first international ton since February 2025 and his third in this very arena, where the crowd seems to adore him just a little louder.

Helmet off, arms raised, Virat Kohli turns to every corner of the stadium as the roar washes over him. Ranchi and Kohli — the romance lives on.

India’s batting blueprint has been clear and brutal. India have already launched 10 sixes into the stands, setting a tempo South Africa may struggle to match when it’s their turn. The Proteas’ heavy reliance on pace, which has been punished relentlessly on this surface. IND 201/4 (31)

In the last 34 deliveries, India has added 25 runs to the scoreboard. Also, 1 wicket has fallen and 1 sixer and a boundary has come off in the last 34 deliveries. And after struggling for a bit, Washington Sundar goes back to pavilion in Baartman’s over. KL Rahul will now join Kohli on the crease. 200 runs comes up on the scoreboard.

The run-rate has dipped to little over 6.5 after the wickets of Rohit and Gaikwad. Washington Sundar is on the pitch with Kohli and he is trying to settle in. There was a run-out scare for Washington in Baartman’s over (26) but all went well. He had a brief chat with Kohli after that. Washington hit a sixer to Burger in the previous over’s second last delivery. IND 192/3 (28)

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Virat Kohli are on the pitch facing Nandre Burger. The pacer has been able to keep the batters in check in this over so far. Three runs, including 1 extra, has come off this over. IND 182/2 (26)

A century incoming from Kohli? A vintage, aggressive Kohli is on the crease and looks in a phenomenal rhythm. Abhishek AB comes in with an interesting stat – “Virat Kohli just tonked his fifth six! That’s a huge deal – in his entire 17-year ODI career, he has only cleared the ropes five or more times in an innings on five occasions. This is his second time doing it against South Africa, the first being that 2015 ODI in Chennai. And here’s the exciting part: every single time he’s hit this many sixes before, he has gone on to score a century.” IND 172/2 (24)

Jansen gets a big breakthrough for his team by dismissing Rohit Sharma on 57. A partnership broken with that wicket. A very good over by Jansen. With that, the bowling side now has a good opportunity to tighten the screws. IND 163/2 (22)

Rohit Sharma hits his 60th ODI half-century shortly after Kohli’s 76th century. Unbelievable innings from the two batters. They are tearing into the South African side with massive sixers and stunning boundaries. IND 153/1 (20)