The Indian Cricket Team started the 2019 World Cup on a winning note by defeating South Africa played at Rose Bowl, Southampton on 5th June.
South African captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and decided to bat first. It was not an ideal start for the Proteas as they wickets of Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock cheaply. South African openers were dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah. Van der Dussen and Faf du Plessis played cautiously to end the first 10 overs at 34 for 2.
After the power play overs, both batsmen tried to put the Indian bowlers under pressure. Yuzvendra Chahal got the breakthrough dismissing Dussen for 22. Du Plessis and Dussen added 54 runs for the 3rd wicket. The spin twin of Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav wreaked havoc as they reduced South Africa to 89 for 5.
David Miller and Andile Phehlukawyo tried to repair the damage as they added 46 runs for the 6th wicket before Chahal dismissed Miller. India reduced South Africa to 158 for 7 before Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada put on 66 runs for the 8th wicket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Morris and Imran Tahir to restrict South Africa at 227 for 9 in 50 overs. For India, Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 51 while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Bumrah 2 wickets each, Kuldeep Yadav 1 wicket.
Chasing 228 runs to win, it was a cautious start by Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. Kagiso Rabada got the breakthrough dismissing Dhawan for 8. It was a tough wicket to bat on as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli survived great bowling by Rabada and Morris. At the end of 10 overs, India were 34 for 1.
After the power play overs, both batsmen played the ball on the merit. A sensational one-handed catch by Quinton de Kock ended Virat Kohli’s innings. Kohli and Rohit added 41 runs for the 2nd wicket. After settling in, Rohit was in fluent touch and made the batting look easy completing his fifty off 70 balls.
Soon after reaching fifty 50, the opener survived another chance. Rahul and Rohit kept rotating the strike making life tough for the South African bowlers. Rabada struck an important blow dismissing Rahul for 26. Rahul and Rohit added 85 runs for the 3rd wicket.
The experienced MS Dhoni came to the crease and took a few balls to settle. On the other hand, Rohit showed his class to complete his 23rd ODI century off 128 balls. Chris Morris dismissed MS Dhoni for 34 to end 74 runs stand for the 4th wicket. Hardik Pandya looked in fine touch and hit the winning runs which helped India register a six-wicket win with 15 balls to spare.
Rohit Sharma remained not out on 122 off 144 balls. For his match-winning unbeaten 122, Rohit Sharma was awarded the man of the match. India 230 for 4 in 47.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 122*, MS Dhoni 34, Kagiso Rabada 2/39) beat South Africa 227 for 9 in 50 overs (Chris Morris 42, Faf du Plessis 38, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/51) by 6 wickets.
