Cricket: Kohli back with a bang as India edge South Africa to victory in first ODI
Stalwarts shine in Ranchi to give India 1-0 lead over Proteas
After a very disappointing performance in the Test series, which ended in a 2-0 whitewash, India drew first blood in the ODI leg by clinching a thrilling 17-run victory over South Africa at the JSCA International Stadium Complex on Sunday.
The Men in Blue confirmed our cricket predictions thanks to a few standout performances, most notably that of Virat Kohli, who returned to the squad and scored a sensational 135 runs from just 120 deliveries to help his side to a solid 349/8 in the first innings.
Fellow stalwart Rohit Sharma notched up a half-century at the top of the order, while stand-in captain KL Rahul scored 60 off 56 balls and Ravidra Jadeja added a quick-fire 32 from 20 deliveries batting at number seven.
The major contributor to South Africa’s downfall in Ranchi was their top order, with skipper Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickleton and Quinton de Kock all being dismissed inside the first five overs. Markram and Rickleton were both sent back without troubling the scoring.
On the positive side, South Africa’s middle order was very impressive, with Matthew Breetzke scoring 72 runs off 80 deliveries, Corbin Bosch posting 67 off 51, and Marco Jansen once again proving his all-round capabilities by blasting 70 from just 39 balls.
The Proteas were eventually dismissed for 332 in the final over. Kuldeep Yadav finished with figures of 4/68 (10) and Harshit Rana picked up 3/65. Arshdeep Singh (2/64) and Prasidh Krishna (1/48) shared the remainder of the wickets for the Men in Blue.
Sharma breaks long-standing ODI sixes record
While Virat Kohli will no doubt capture most of the headlines over the coming days for his superb knock in Ranchi, Rohit Sharma quietly went about his business and etched his name in the history books with yet another record.
The former India captain blasted three maximums in his innings, and in doing so, surpassed Shahid Afridi’s record, which had stood for 15 years, for the most sixes struck in one-day internationals.
Sharma now stands alone at the top of the record charts with a staggering 352 ODI sixes, ahead of Afridi (351), Chris Gayle (331), Sanath Jayasuriya (270) and MS Dhoni (229). He also leads the way for the most sixes across all formats with 642.
