KOLKATA: Virat Kohli’s record 49th ODI century and Ravindra Jadeja’s five-fer powered India to a commendable victory against South Africa in the 37th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Set to chase a daunting 327, the strong South Africa batting lineup unfolded in the 28th over and could score a meager 83 runs in response.
SCORE
INDIA 326/5 (50 OVERs)
South Africa 83/10 (27.1)
All-rounder Marco Jansen remained the top-scorer for South Africa amid their dismal show with the bat with a cautious 14-run knock.
View this post on Instagram
Besides him, only Rassie van der Dussen (13), David Miller and Temba Bavuma, 11 each, were the other batters to get into the double digits.
Ravindra Jadeja led the bowling attack for India with 5/33, followed by Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Shami, who bagged two wickets each.
View this post on Instagram
Kohli on his 35th birthday remained unbeaten on 101, equalling Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI centuries – 49.
After winning the toss, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma helped India race to 61 runs in five overs, scoring a blistering 40 off 22, however, he got out two balls later courtesy of a terrific catch by his South African counterpart Temba Bavuma.
His opening partner soon followed him back to the pavilion after scoring 23 off 24 as he was undone by Keshav Maharaj to disturb his stumps.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then joined hands and knitted a 134-run stand for the third wicket to take India’s total to 227.
Both batters reached their half-centuries before Lungi Ngidi broke the partnership by taking wicket of Shreyas Iyer. Iyer scored a gutsy 77 from 87 balls with the help of seven boundaries and two sixes.
Kohli was then involved in two brief partnerships with Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, scoring 36 and an unbeaten 41 respectively to push India’s total to 326-5.
Virat Kohli, on the other end, took 121 balls for his anchoring yet record-breaking 101, featuring 10 boundaries.
Kohli’s unbeaten 101 left him level with Indian great Sachin Tendulkar on 49 one-day international hundreds as he continued his superb form by taking his tally past 500 runs in the tournament.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
India
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa
Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada
HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:
Overall ODIs: Matches 90, South Africa 57, India 37, NR 3
ODI World Cup: Matches 5, South Africa 3, India 2
