Sharma ton inflicts third successive defeat on Proteas

Man of the match Rohit Sharma struck his 23rd ODI hundred as India won their first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup by six wickets at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton on Wednesday, thereby consigning South Africa to their third successive defeat and a full-on crisis.

 

It was a relatively low-scoring match on a tufty pitch that was more helpful to the pace bowlers than is usually the case at the spacious, high-scoring ground.

The difference between the sides was Sharma’s unbeaten 122 (144 balls, 13x4, 2x6) – no South African batsman reached 50 – and legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal who picked up 4-51 in the middle overs while the Proteas' wrist-spinners, Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi, didn't capture a scalp between them and conceded a combined total of 112 runs.

Chasing a modest 228 for victory, India knew they didn't need to score quickly, but, like the South African top-order batsmen before them, they had a torrid time up front on a lively surface that encouraged seam movement and produced occasional excessive bounce.

Chris Morris gave one of his most consistently disciplined performances (1-36 in 10 overs) as South Africa's makeshift opening bowler in the absence of Lungi Ngidi and Dale Steyn, but it was the fiery Kagiso Rabada who was the most impressive performer, taking the early wicket of Shikhar Dhawan for eight and causing all the batsmen real concern.

And when Andile Phehlukwayo grabbed the major prize of Virat Kohli – brilliantly caught by a diving wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock – for just 18 to reduce India to 54 for two in the 16th over, South Africa would have felt they were in with a chance.

But it was then that the ultra-calm Sharma, after enjoying some early luck, got into his stride as he and KL Rahul added an invaluable 85 for the third wicket.

When Rahul became Rabada's second victim, misjudging the length and driving meekly to Faf du Plessis at mid-off, it was the mega-experienced MS Dhoni who arrived at the crease to help solidify the Indian run chase.

The South African bowlers continued to fight hard, however, and they would have expected to pick up the centurion in the 43rd over when Sharma, on 107, spliced the ever-willing Rabada to David Miller at cover who dropped the easy catch, a heartbreaking moment for the fast bowler who had given everything for the cause, finally finishing with an impressive 2-39 in his 10 overs.

The two men took India to the brink of victory, and although Dhoni was eventually caught and bowled by Morris after the two men put on 74 for the fourth wicket, Hardik Pandya struck a couple of quick fours to take his team to victory with a comfortable 15 balls to spare.

CHAHAL CLAIMS FOUR VICTIMS

Earlier, India paceman Jasprit Bumrah took two early wickets in a potent opening spell while Chahal continued the bleeding with four scalps as South Africa were restricted to a modest 227 for nine after Du Plessis won the toss and chose to bat first.

It took an aggressive 42 in 34 balls by Morris in an eighth-wicket partnership of 66 with Rabada (31*) to take South Africa to a total that they hoped would be enough to give India problems.

The Indian pacemen bowlers immediately put the South African batsmen on the back foot after Bumrah quickly dismissed both Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock in an initial spell of 2-13 in five overs.

Amla was the first to go, edging to Sharma at second slip, while the left-handed De Kock, who suffered agonies as he played and missed time and again to balls that slanted away from him, was eventually caught by Kohli at third slip going for an expansive drive.

South Africa's problem was that seven of their batsmen got to double-figures, but nobody reached 50.

Faf du Plessis, who struck 38, was one of Chahal’s four victims at a cost of only 51 runs as the right-arm wrist-spinner weaved a web of magic around the Proteas' batsmen.

Chahal was given good support by his left-arm spin twin, Kuldeep Yadav, who trapped JP Duminy leg before as the Indian spinners ruled the middle overs.

Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen battled to reset the innings, featuring in a third-wicket partnership of 54 for the third wicket.

But their resistance ended in the 20th over when Chahal bowled Van der Dussen round his legs as the South Africa attempted an ungainly premeditated reverse-sweep. It was then double trouble for the Proteas' cause when the leggie bowled Du Plessis through the gate with the last ball of the over.

With South Africa needing to ensure they batted out their overs, David Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo added 45 in sensible style before both departed in disappointing fashion: Miller succumbing to a tame caught and bowled for 31 and Phehlukwayo (34) slogging vainly at Chahal after dancing down the pitch, leaving MS Dhoni with an easy stumping.

It was left to Morris and Rabada in an enterprising partnership to take South Africa to their final total which at least gave the Proteas something to bowl at.

As it turned out, it wasn’t enough and South Africa face a difficult week of soul-searching before they meet the West Indies at the same venue next week.

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INDIA: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (capt), Lokesh Rahul, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

SOUTH AFRICA: Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (capt), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jean-Paul Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi