At the beginning of the tournament, this match was touted to be one of the close humdingers - but sadly on the day, it was not to be, as a depleted South Africa, both in resources & spirit, caved into tournament favourites India & losing by 6 wickets.
Winning the toss & electing to bat, South Africa openers Hashim Amla & Quinton de Kock, known for their cavalier batting, were all at sea against a probing & sizzling pace attack of Bumrah & Bhuvi - Bumrah was a delight to watch, as he toyed with the batsmen, teasing them outside the off stump & then nipping in an occasional bouncer - the ball zipping past the flaying bat time & again. Within the first six overs, he had consumed both the batsmen, as South Africa looked deflated at 24 for 2. According to me, the match was done & dusted there itself, & the Proteas could never recover from that setback. A little resistance from Faf & Dussen raised desperate hopes, but again wickets crumbled in a heap & the score was a dreadful 89 for 5 in just 22 overs. Miller, Phehlukwayo, Morris all played small cameos & so did Rabada towards the end to drag the score past 200 & ended the innings at 227 for 9 - respectable, but not adequate. The only thing they could do from here on was to attack the Indian batting with some fiery pace. Amongst the Indian bowlers, apart from Bumrah, Chahal bowled well picking up 4 wickets, & so did Bhuvi, picking up 2.
As Indian openers came into bat, Rabada greeted them with fearsome pace, cracking the bat of Dhawan & had Rohit poking uncertainly, as Morris too bowled with intent & fire from the other end. Dhavan went cheaply & so did Virat, as India hung on to the crease in a dour display of batting. It was slow progress, but without much pressure, as the target was easy & the batting line up had depth. Rohit on the other end, survived quite a few close calls including a LBW decision going his way, but he scratched & hung around to absorb the sting of the SA attack. Rohit went onto get a deserving hundred, staying unbeaten with 122 runs & stitching useful partnerships with Rahul, Dhoni & Pandya to take India home for a 6 wickets win, with 15 balls to spare. With this, Rohit went past Saurav Ganguly's tally of 22 ODI centuries, & is now third in the list behind Sachin & Virat for India.
South Africa, had a rather poor day in field once again, as easy catches fluffed out, run outs missed & runs leaked, as the depleted bowling attack could not contain the run flow, despite superb efforts by Rabada, Morris & Phehlukwayo. It was their third consecutive loss & they are out of the race, unless a miracle happens.
Though Rohit Sharma was declared the Man of the Match for his hundred, according to me, it was Jasprit Bumrah, who tore SA apart with his opening spell.
Winning the toss & electing to bat, South Africa openers Hashim Amla & Quinton de Kock, known for their cavalier batting, were all at sea against a probing & sizzling pace attack of Bumrah & Bhuvi - Bumrah was a delight to watch, as he toyed with the batsmen, teasing them outside the off stump & then nipping in an occasional bouncer - the ball zipping past the flaying bat time & again. Within the first six overs, he had consumed both the batsmen, as South Africa looked deflated at 24 for 2. According to me, the match was done & dusted there itself, & the Proteas could never recover from that setback. A little resistance from Faf & Dussen raised desperate hopes, but again wickets crumbled in a heap & the score was a dreadful 89 for 5 in just 22 overs. Miller, Phehlukwayo, Morris all played small cameos & so did Rabada towards the end to drag the score past 200 & ended the innings at 227 for 9 - respectable, but not adequate. The only thing they could do from here on was to attack the Indian batting with some fiery pace. Amongst the Indian bowlers, apart from Bumrah, Chahal bowled well picking up 4 wickets, & so did Bhuvi, picking up 2.
As Indian openers came into bat, Rabada greeted them with fearsome pace, cracking the bat of Dhawan & had Rohit poking uncertainly, as Morris too bowled with intent & fire from the other end. Dhavan went cheaply & so did Virat, as India hung on to the crease in a dour display of batting. It was slow progress, but without much pressure, as the target was easy & the batting line up had depth. Rohit on the other end, survived quite a few close calls including a LBW decision going his way, but he scratched & hung around to absorb the sting of the SA attack. Rohit went onto get a deserving hundred, staying unbeaten with 122 runs & stitching useful partnerships with Rahul, Dhoni & Pandya to take India home for a 6 wickets win, with 15 balls to spare. With this, Rohit went past Saurav Ganguly's tally of 22 ODI centuries, & is now third in the list behind Sachin & Virat for India.
South Africa, had a rather poor day in field once again, as easy catches fluffed out, run outs missed & runs leaked, as the depleted bowling attack could not contain the run flow, despite superb efforts by Rabada, Morris & Phehlukwayo. It was their third consecutive loss & they are out of the race, unless a miracle happens.
Though Rohit Sharma was declared the Man of the Match for his hundred, according to me, it was Jasprit Bumrah, who tore SA apart with his opening spell.
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