Rohit Sharma’s team has also confirmed to be at the top of the points list with full 16 points. Even if they lose the next match, their position will not change.
Looking at the results of the match, who will say that the two teams at the top of the list faced each other! India and South Africa have fought so one-sidedly. The Proteas lost by 243 runs, the biggest loss in their ODI history. With the capital of 326 runs in Virat Kohli’s century, the Indians bowled out the opponent for just 83 runs in Ravindra Jadeja’s fifer.
World Cup hosts India maintained their triumph by defeating South Africa in 27.1 overs in Kolkata on Sunday. They got their eighth win in eight matches. Rohit Sharma’s team has confirmed to be at the top of the points list with full 16 points. Even if they lose the next match, their position will not change. On the other hand, the Proteas experienced their lowest run-out in the World Cup. That is their second lowest in all ODIs combined. The Proteas with 12 points have already confirmed the semis like India. However, such a loss will undoubtedly worry them.
Support for the spinners was plentiful on the Kolkata pitch. The need for a good start was even greater. But the Proteas’ trusted inform batsman Quinton de Kock had to go back in the second over. Cock got out for a single on the inside edge. The Proteas could not recover from the controlled bowling of Mohammad Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. Both of them could not take any more wickets but gave 21 runs in 8 overs. Jadeja and Shami came and then opened the wicket. Jadeja bowled Temba Bavuma for 11 runs off 19 balls.
Shami seems to have found some secret mantra to get wickets. Aiden Markram got back to single figures in his first over. The danger of the Proteas, who lost three wickets in the chase, increased the danger. Heinrich Klaasen goes LBW as he sweeps Jadeja’s full ball. South Africa’s wicket tally increased without adding any more runs. Shami’s superb inswinger ended Rassie von der Dusen’s 32-ball 13-run innings when he was LBW. Losing half a wicket in just 40 runs, the Protea fans had no time to digest. While sweeping the paddle for 59 runs, Miller was also bowled by Jadeja.
After a while, Jadeja got the fourth wicket by bowling Maharaj too. South Africa lost by seven wickets for 67 runs but it was not too late to keep the formalities away with the pair of Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada. Jansen got out in the 26th over after scoring a team-high 14 runs. Jadeja got his first Fifer in the World Cup. Kuldeep came in and put the final nail in the coffin by dismissing Ngidi.
Earlier, the high-voltage match started aggressively. Rohit hits his shot. South Africa’s successful pace attack struggles to stem the flow of boundaries. Marco Jansen started the Cold War with five runs from wide-bye. Jansen finished the first over of nine balls with 17 runs. Shubman Gill scored his first 22 runs from the boundary. The Proteas couldn’t find a way to stop Rohit Sharma at the other end. India got fifty in 27 balls with the bat of aggressive Rohit and Gill.
Captain Temba Bavuma made a change in bowling in the sixth over. Kagiso Rabada came in to take the wicket of Rohit as India reached 62 runs. Rohit returned after playing a stormy innings of 40 runs off 24 balls with 6 fours and 1 six. Kohli also got off to a flying start hitting four boundaries in the powerplay. India scored 91 runs in the powerplay with 14 fours and 3 sixes. Jansen remained wicketless in the power play for the first time in this World Cup with 43 runs in 4 overs.
After the power play, the storm stopped and coldness descended on Kolkata. Keshav Maharaj bowled Gill on a dream delivery for the left-arm spinners. The ball falling outside the leg stump turns and breaks Gill’s stump. Gill had to stop after playing an innings of 23 runs with 4 fours and 1 six off 24 balls. Maharaj held India to a tight line-length on a slow-turning Kolkata wicket. Rabada also ended his spell of 5 overs to stop the storm with 19 runs. Shreya Iya suffered a lot in the beginning. After Iyer, who was once on 12 runs from 35 balls, returned to the XI and rode on Tabreiz Shamsi. Iyer hits a few boundaries on Shamsi However, Maharaj spelled ten overs without boundaries in perfect bowling at one end with 30 runs.
However, the Proteas could not break the pair of Kohli-Iyer. On 36, Kohli got the edge of Shamsi’s leg stump, but it didn’t fall into the hands of wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. The 123-ball fourth wicket pair became a century. Kohli completed his fifty off 67 balls. Iyer also got fifty off 64 balls. India crossed two hundred in the 34th over. Schreyer Iyer then picked up a catch from Ngidi to choose the attacking route. While returning with an innings of 77 runs off 87 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes, India lost the third wicket for 227 runs. Lokesh Rahul scored 8 runs off 17 balls when he was caught on the boundary and India lost their fourth wicket for 249 runs.
Suryakumar Yadav came in and hinted at the rampage but bounced back with a cameo of 22 runs off 5 fours from 14 balls. On the other hand, Kohli got his century off 119 balls. Ravindra Jadeja added to his century celebrations at the end with a storm. Jadeja remained unbeaten on 29 runs off 15 balls with 3 fours and 1 six. Kohli remains unbeaten on 101 runs off 121 balls.
