India beat South Africa by 17 runs in the 1st ODI at Ranchi, despite a strong comeback effort from the Proteas.
Virat Kohli smashed his 52nd ODI century, while Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul contributed important half-centuries as India posted 349/8.
Harshit Rana’s double strike in one over reduced South Africa to 11/3, giving India a dominating start.
Mathew Breitzke (72), Marco Jansen (70 off 39), and Corbin Bosch (67 off 51) revived South Africa and took the match till the final over.
Kuldeep Yadav was India’s best bowler, finishing with 4/68, including the key wickets of Jansen and Breitzke in the same over.
Sunil Gavaskar warned Team India to stay cautious, praising South Africa’s fighting spirit and saying the remaining two ODIs won’t be easy.