India v South Africa 1st ODI review: Rohit’s 150 in vain as South Africa clinch thriller

India v South Africa 1^st ODI review: Rohit’s 150 in vain as South Africa clinch thriller: Kagiso Rabada’s final overturned the game on its head after India looked set to achieve the target. 304 was always going to be a tricky chase on the Kanpur track and it was. Rohit Sharma’s stroke filled 150 and all the good work of his partnership with Rahane went in vain as South Africa won by 5 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the 5 match series.

The game was a tale of tilting fortunes as India were made to work hard by a disciplined South African bowling performance and eventually fell short. South Africa must thank their skipper AB who made a terrific ton to get the visitors to a fabulous total.

Earlier AB de Villiers won the toss and as expected chose to bat on the Green Park track which was expected to deteriorate as the match progresses. MS Dhoni also had his wish as he wanted to bowl anyway. Steyn and Morkel returned to the side after the T20Is while India went in with Amit Mishra ahead of Axar Patel.

Openers Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock got the visitors off to a good start. There was a hint of movement into the left-handed de Kock for Bhuvneshwar, but the southpaw dealt well with him. Yadav had a typical start to his spell dazzling and disappointing to equal measure. The openers were beginning to hit their strides as India offered loose deliveries regularly.

Dhoni’s man of the moment Ravichandran Ashwin struck in his very first over and removed de Cock with a classic off-spinner. At the earliest hint of an opening, Dhoni brought Amit Mishra from the other end. Amla and du Plessis were playing well but not at a considerable pace. Though the run rate was below 5 it was not a concern considering the long batting line up. Mishra unleashed a flipper to sent Amla packing as he failed to bring the bat down in time.

Also read: Twitter Reactions: Young Rabada stars in thrilling win

In the meanwhile, India received a huge jolt as Ashwin went off the field in the mid of his over after suffering a side strain. Umesh Yadav returning after an indifferent first spell sent down a pacy delivery to catch du Plessis in front and Aleem Dar quickly raised his finger.

AB de Villiers and Miller were shaping up to explode in the last 10 but the latter shimmied down the deck only to miss a flighted Mishra delivery as Dhoni did the rest. That put the onus solely on the South African skipper to give impetus to the visitor’s innings. And didn’t he do that?

To start the rampage, Duminy and AB took Binny for 21 in the 45^th over. Duminy departed soon, but Behardien proved an able partner. Along with AB he took the Indian pacers to the cleaners as the run rate started rising rapidly. The Proteas skipper was on 98 with two balls left in the innings and reached his century off the final delivery with yet another six.

The knock followed a standing ovation from the crowd assembled in Kanpur, most of whom felt the tourists had scored above par. South Africa scored 65 runs off the last five overs and India needed to pull off the highest successful run chase at the venue to stop them from taking the series lead.

India began their efforts in pursuit of the large total on a sorry note. Morkel removed Dhawan in his first over. The decision though was a marginal one. Rahane walked out to bat ahead of India’s prolific number 3 Virat Kohli.

Rohit Sharma was on song with his perfect drives and authoritative pull shots and was going great guns with Rahane. They didn’t allow the South African spinners to settle and were particularly severe on Duminy. India reached the 100 in the 17^th over as Rahane also started to look assured.

The hosts reached 176/1 in 40 overs, needing 128 runs off 120 balls. Rahane was dismissed at 60 and the going was tough after that. Virat made a sedate 11 but Morkel caught him brilliantly at fine leg. Rohit got his century off 98 balls. It was a sublime and classy knock filled with delightful strokes. South bowled some tight overs to come back but Rohit was a thorn in their flesh. India were 269/3 in 46 overs, needing 35 runs off 24 balls.

Then began the turnaround as Rohit chipped one straight to Tahir. Raina didn’t last long and the things were getting tight. Dhoni was fighting hard and India needed 11 off the final over which looked likely. But Rabada had other ideas. He sent the Indian skipper back to the hut in what turned out to be the decisive blow. India needed six off the last ball but it was not to be and the visitors won a close match by 5 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the 5 match series.

South Africa have pulled off an impressive squeeze, and can thank Tahir and Rabada, who delivered at critical junctures. Despite Rohit Sharma’s sizzling century, the hosts have slipped towards a gut-wrenching defeat and have the lot to reflect upon. The match also proved that MS Dhoni is no longer the finisher he once was. The hosts will look to win the key moments in the second game and level the series.

Brief Scores:

South Africa: 303-5 (de Villiers 104*, du Plessis 62; Mishra 2-47)

India: 298-7 (Rohit 150, Rahane 60; Tahir 2-57)

South Africa won by 5 runs

Man of the Match – AB de Villiers