Rohit Sharma scored a gusty century as India began their ICC World Cup 2019 campaign with a 6-wicket win against South Africa. Rohit was adjudged the player of the match for his 122* off 114 balls. Rohit had to curb his natural flair on a difficult batting track in Southampton.
India lost KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli early but Rohit kept his cool and continued batting in a smart way. Dhoni played a supporting hand of 34 runs off 46 deliveries as India chased down 228 in 47.3 overs. India might have finished the game sooner, but the South African pacers, namely Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris, bowled a tight line and kepttroubling the batsmen with their pace and bounce.
For South Africa, everything went wrong from the start as skipper Faf du Plessis first surprised everyone by deciding to bat first and then dropped Rohit in the slips when he had barely got off the mark.
The Men in Blue were brilliant in the field and did not allow the South African batsman to score big runs. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah kept things tight and gave India early breakthroughs. They were backed well by spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Chahal took 4 wickets for 51 runs in 10 overs and was the pick of the bowlers.
South Africa top order struggled once again and they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Du Plessis was looking good but failed to seize the moment. Hashim Amla’s return to the team also failed to make an impact, as he was dismissed by Bumrah early on. However, late strikes from Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada helped the Proteas reach 227.
India will next face Australia on June 09, 2019. India have hit the ground running and would want to continue their good form against Australia.
India beat South Africa by 6 wickets. Hardik Pandya scores the winning runs. India will play their next game against Australia on 9th June.
Hardik Pandya looks to finish the match in a hurry as he smashes two boundaries of Morris.
Morris gets Dhoni! is this the opening that South Africa needs to win.
India needs 15 more runs to win. Who will hit the winning shot?
Dhoni and Sharma will look to the end the game as early.
Rohit Sharma is looking to finish the game off in style.
MS Dhoni and Sharma will now look to shift gears as India would like to close the game with a good margin. The run rate can play an important role in the tournament.
Rohit Sharma smashes his first century of the tournament. Sharma has been instrumental in today's game.
India needs almost run a ball at this stage and it should be done comfortably if these two batsmen bat till the very end.
Dhoni is looking good today. He has been at ease on a wicket where almost all the batsmen have struggled. The experience of MS Dhoni will play a huge role in India's world cup campaign.
Rohit Sharma is being watchful and is taking his time to reach his hundred. Fans all across the world will be applauding this knock from him as this really is a difficult wicket to bat on. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has praised Sharma for being able to handle the pressure well today.
MS Dhoni looks in good touch now as he smashes Morris for a four. Dhoni has averaged above 44 against fast bowlers in the early part of his innings.
Rohit Sharma has played a brilliant knock till now. Sharma has been patient today and has avoided playing any big shots. Rohit was looking in discomfort against Rabada and Morris in the beginning but got past that phase and helped India in keeping the scoreboard moving.
Dhoni has come out to bat with Rohit Sharma as India look to take the game away from South Africa. Sharma has played a good knock today and it will be important for him bat till the very end.
MS Dhoni has come to bat after Rahul's dismissal. Dhoni will be the key for Indian here.
KL Rahul gone for 26! Rabada strikes to break the partnership.
Jasprit Bumrah was in really good form and the former England captain was all praise for him.
Morris has bowled 28 dot balls in the last 5 overs which shows how good this wicket is for the bowlers. Rahul and Rohit have done well in this situation to make sure that India builds a partnership.
Here is how Virat Kohli got out!
Rohit Sharma smashes first fifty of the tournament. India will be hoping that Rohit can continue like this throughout the match.
Rohit Sharma hits Shamsi for a six
Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi could have played crucial roles in today's match for the Proteas today. With the ball moving around they could have surely been a deadly bowling unit. Faf Du Plessis will be hoping that Morris and Rabada can pick as many wickets as possible for them.
Imran Tahir and Shamsi will have to pick wickets today as wickets at regular intervals will keep them in the hunt today.
KL Rahul will have to play an important knock in today's game. The Indian captain Virat Kohli has shown faith in him and has given him the job of the number 4 India. Virat will be hoping Rahul comes good. Rohit has been there for sometime and being the senior player he should anchor the innings from here on.
Phehlukwayo gets rid of Virat Kohli! Big Blow for India
Rohit Sharma survives again! LBW shout against him goes down as reviews give it as umpires call.
Virat Kohli and Kagiso Rabada are undoubtedly two of the best cricketers of this generation. They have played against each other 11 times in One Day Internationals. Kohli has managed to come out on top most of the times. Recently, Rabada called Kohli immature for not being able to take abuses. It will be interesting to see how Kohli reacts in today's match.
Chris Morris is bowling beautifully as he bowls the first maiden of the match.
Rabada Strikes! Gets Dhawan for 8 in 12 balls.
Rohit Sharma is 74 runs away from becoming the 9th Indian to score 12,000 runs in International cricket.
Rabada and Chris Morris have been started well for the South Africans. The ball is moving a bit and edges are flying.
Rohit Sharma dropped on 1 by Du Plessis off Rabada's bowling.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have come out to the middle as India chase 228 against South Africa in their World Cup opener. Proteas skipper has handed the new ball to leggie Imran Tahir.
Virat Kohli and his team will need 228 runs to win the match against South Africa.
Bhuvi strikes! gets rid of Morris in the final over of the match. Chris Morris scored an impressive 42 runs off 34 balls to help South Africa cross the 200 run mark.
Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris have managed to keep South Africa alive with valuable knocks towards the end of the innings.
Jasprit Bumrah stopped Hashim Amla from breaking Virat Kohli's record as he dismissed him cheaply. Virat's record of scoring the fastest 8,000 runs in one-day internationals was in danger of being breached — by his old nemesis Hashim Amla. However, Amla was stopped today by Jasprit Bumrah.
Rabada and Morris help South Africa reach the 200 run mark.
Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were able to utilise the conditions well during the early stages of the match. The ball was swinging and doing a bit at the beginning which proved to be a huge factor for the early wickets that the South Africans lost. We have seen in the past how big a role the weather plays during matches in England.