ICC World Cup 2019: Match 8, South Africa vs India, Review – Rohit’s grit and Chahal’s bowling blitz get India off to a winning start

The fans had to wait almost a week to witness India in action and the enthralling action in the Rose Bowl was definitely worth all the wait. Rohit Sharma’s century and Yuzvendra Chahal’s outstanding wrist spin rendition saw the Men in Blue hand South Africa their third consecutive defeat this tournament. South African cricketers made some wrong decisions on the day and eventually paid for it.

Their decision to win the toss and bat first didn’t prove to be great as Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar troubling them with good new ball bowling. Bumrah first found the outside edge of Hashim Amla in the 4th over and did the same against Quinton de Kock in the next over, both caught at slips by Rohit and Kohli respectively.

Thereafter, a partnership followed between skipper Faf du Plessis and Van der Dussen, but that was going nowhere. Both batsmen never seemed comfortable in the middle and the wizardry of Yuzvendra Chahal knocked both these men our of the picture in the 20th over. Kuldeep soon chipped in with another wicket which saw South Africa lose half their side inside the 23rd over.

David Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo sailed against the wind and fought their way through to stitch 46 runs for the 6th wicket. After Chahal removed Miller, Chris Morris joined the act and he added another fantastic partnership with Kagiso Rabada. Morris and Rabada battled their way through the death overs and added a fantastic 66 runs for the 8th wicket.

Although some wickets fell towards the end, South Africa posted a respectable 227 runs on board to give their bowlers something to fight with. Chahal picked up four wickets for the Men in blue with Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar taking a couple of wickets each.

Hitman strikes gold!

Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris exhibited some outstanding fast bowling with the new ball and troubled the Indian openers profusely. Shikhar Dhawan eventually capitulated courtesy Rabada’s outstanding bowling and Virat Kohli too struggled to keep up with the standard. Although Rohit started to get going, Kohli got dismissed via a brilliant catch from Quinton de Kock off Phehlukwayo.

KL Rahul’s first major test as a number four batsman was a pretty challenging one and he did show some grit. His partnership alongside Rohit Sharma saved the day big time as they tired the Proteas quicks with some brilliant defensive play. Rohit began to up the ante after getting to a fifty and his 85-run partnership with Rahul came to an end with the latter playing a loose shot.

Rohit continued batting alongside the cool and calm MS Dhoni. The duo steered the side brilliantly towards the winning line, ensuring there were no hiccups. The Indian vice-captain completed his second World Cup century in the process and perhaps the finest in his career to take India closer to the finish line.

Although Dhoni was dismissed towards the end, Hardik Pandya came out and finished the game in style for the Indian side, who romped home after a lot of struggle with 15 balls to spare.

Brief Scores

South Africa: 227/9 in 50 overs (Chris Morris 42, Faf du Plessis 38; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/51, Jasprit Bumrah 2/35)

India: 230/4 in 47.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 122 n.o, MS Dhoni 34; Kagiso Rabada 2/39)

Result: India won by 6 wickets

Man of the match: Rohit Sharma.