Amid ear-splitting cheers from the packed Eden Gardens, Virat Kohli brought up his 49th ODI hundred, equalling the great Sachin Tendulkar, that headlined another impressive win by India. It was a battle between the top two teams on the table. India have been the irresistible force in the tournament and South Africa, the immovable object. It was a battle for top slot, bragging rights and psychological edge. And it was, therefore, expected to be a thrilling affair. Instead, it turned out to be a damp squib as India bossed the game through and through to ensure themselves a top finish on the World Cup table.
After posting 326 for five on the back of Kohli’s 101 n.o. (121b, 10x4), Shreyas Iyer’s 77 (87b, 7x4, 2x6) and cameos by Ravindra Jadeja (29 off 15) and Suryakumar Yadav (22 off 14) after Rohit Sharma’s brisk but brief innings (40, 24b, 6x4, 2x6), Indian bowlers brought down the high-flying South African batters crashing down to earth. On a tricky pitch, where the ball was gripping and stroke-making became progressively difficult, South Africa caved in in the meekest of manners. With both seamers and spinners running amok, the Proteas collapsed to 83 in 27.1 overs, handing India comprehensive 243-run win here on Sunday.
Though the pacers set the tone for collapse, it was Jadeja who ripped the heart out of South Africa’s middle order with figures of 5/33.
The Indian innings began in a blazing fashion, was followed by consolidation before concluding with a flourish they were hoping for. Almost half-way through the innings, the score predictor put India’s total at 370-plus, a far cry from what they eventually settled for after opting to bat first. But the exaggerated total was down to the false impression created in the first 10 overs of India’s innings.
The brilliance of Rohit and the waywardness of the South African new-ball bowlers appeared to give an impression of a flat surface. A whopping 61 runs were plundered in the first six overs when the Indian skipper fell against the run of play. Thanks to the early fireworks, India reached 91 in the first 10 overs despite the run-rate slowing down considerably.
The next 20 overs, however, saw just 88 runs being scored with the South African spinners -- Keshav Maharaj (1/30) and Tabrez Shamsi tying down both Kohli and Iyer by bowling some tight lines and lengths while extracting appreciable turn off the pitch that offered good bounce as well.
Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen copped heavy punishment from Rohit but Kagiso Rabada stepped up to the occasion. He dismissed Rohit and brought a semblance of sanity in the visitors’ camp with a tidy first spell (5-1-19-1). Maharaj produced a contender for the ball of the tournament that ended Gill’s sparkling stay in his very first over. The ball pitched on the leg and turned in sharply to beat the right-hander’s leading edge and clip the bail. The turn and bounce would have lit up Jadeja and Kuldeep’s eyes watching in the change room.
Having assessed the conditions, both Kohli and Iyer, who shared a 134-run stand for the third wicket, didn’t take undue risks against the spinners. South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma may have missed a trick or two by placing defensive fields and doing nothing to put the Indian batters under any pressure. The big gaps allowed Kohli and Iyer to rotate strikes without much trouble and set the base for a big total.
On the day he turned 35, Kohli was determined to get the hundred. So it fell on Iyer, Surayakumar and Jadeja to shore up the scoring rate. India gathered 87 runs in the last 10 overs, four less than they managed in the first 10, but given the precision and penetration of their bowlers, South Africa were always going to have it tough. But few expected such a meek surrender.