India and South Africa played out an entertaining game overall for the fans which India eventually won by 6 wickets with 15 balls left in the game.
Team South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf Du Plessis (captain), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi.
Team India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.
South Africa Innings:
South Africa were rocked early on by the dismissals of Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock courtesy some brilliant bowling by Jasprit Bumrah. Faf Du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen steadied the innings thereafter with knocks of 38 (54) and 22 (37) although JP Duminy got out for just 3 runs later on. David Miller made 31 (40) while Andile Phehlukwayo and Chris Morris put up vital knocks of 34 (61) and 42 (34) respectively while Kagiso Rabada chipped in with a well-made 31 of 35 balls. Imran Tahir was out without scoring as South Africa posted 227/9 in their 50 overs. Bumrah picked up 2 wickets for 35 runs while Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up 2/44. Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers, picking up 4 wickets for 51 runs while Kuldeep Yadav gave him good support with 1/46. Hardik Pandya conceded 31 runs in his 6 overs while Kedar Jadhav had four overs for 16 runs.
India Innings:
In similar fashion, Shikhar Dhawan fell cheaply for 8 runs of 12 balls while skipper Virat Kohli fell for 18 runs of 34 balls. However, KL Rahul (26 runs of 42 balls) built a stand with Rohit Sharma and then MS Dhoni (34 runs of 46 balls) continued in similar fashion to take India across the winning line in style. Hardik Pandya remained not out on 15 runs of 7 balls while Sharma scored a majestic 122 not out of 144 balls to take home the Man of the Match award. Sharma was sublime all throughout his innings once he was well set and David Miller also grassed a chance when Sharma was on 107 which could have made things tighter for India in the end. Kagiso Rabada bowled well, taking 2/39 while Imran Tahir went wicketless for 58 runs in his 10 overs. Chris Morris picked up 1/36 while Andile Phehlukwayo had figures of 1/40. Tabraiz Shamsi went wicketless, conceding 54 runs in his 9 overs.
Match Summary:
South Africa- 227/9 in 50 overs
India- 230/4 in 47.3 overs
Match Review:
It was the Rohit Sharma show all throughout, the opener compiling a masterful century and winning the Man of the Match award in the process. A late chance off Kagiso Rabada nonetheless, Sharma was impeccable on the day. He was well backed up by KL Rahul and MS Dhoni in vital partnerships which helped India win the game before a late flurry of 15 runs from Hardik Pandya which helped them finish the game faster.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Bumrah struck with two wickets each at vital moments which helped tilt the game in India’s favour. Right from the outset, the Indian team bowled in a disciplined manner although they could have been tighter in the end.
Chahal was the bowling hero of the day with his 4 wickets and Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah also picked up two apiece. Even Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav did the 5th bowler’s job decently.