South Africa have grabbed the early momentum in the ODI series in India with a rather nervous victory in the opening match.
Rain interruptions cut the contest to 40 overs per team.
The Proteas batted first, and it was the usual circumspect start from the openers. Janneman Malan struggled for fluency and was the first to depart when he hacked a pull shot straight to midwicket. Shardul Thakur claimed his second wicket when he bowled captain Temba Bavuma with a cross-seam peach.
Quinton de Kock had to steady the ship alongside Henrich Klaasen after Aiden Markram went without scoring. But India continues to strike at regular intervals when Ravi Bishnoi trapped de Kock in front.
Thereafter, it was a gradual shift of gears for the middle-order duo of Klaasen and Miller. They calmly played out the threatening deliveries from Kuldeep Yadav as well as capitalized on scoring opportunities on offer.
It wasn’t until the back end of the innings when both batters decided to up the ante. They reached half-centuries and the late kick was enough to set up a target of 250. Sloppy fielding from the hosts helped the cause for SA.
Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell unleashed a barnstorming opening spell, with openers Dhawan and Gill both outbowled within the first six overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan tried to cobble together a partnership, but neither player looked threatening. Gaikwad had a rush of blood against Shamsi and got stumped. And in the very next over, Kishan tickled one straight-to-leg slip.
It seemed like the Proteas were strongly holding the upper hand, but this game was far from complete. Shreyas Iyer brought out a determined counterattack and got priceless backing from Sanju Samson at the other end.
The reintroduction of Lungi Ngidi finally brought about the breakthrough that the Proteas were desperately looking for. It was the short ball that got Iyer, yet again.
Shardul Thakur backed up his excellent returns with the ball with a few handy blows with the bat. He and Samson added 93 runs between them, and it looked like India might gradually break free.
Both were keeping the asking rate under control to an extent, but Ngidi’s final over was the turning point, as Thakur mishit one to mid-off.
India made a dogged effort to take the game to the final over, where Samson gave SA a scare. Tabraiz Shamsi regained his composure and managed to seal the game, but the overall performance was a bit rough around the edges.
Rabada and Parnell set the tone early on, but Maharaj’s 1/23 in 8 overs went under the radar. It was a relentless containing spell to keep the Indian batters at bay, and provided key support for the rest of the bowling unit.
SA 249/4 in 40 overs (Miller 75, Klaasen 74 – Thakur 8-1-35-2)
IND 240/8 in 40 overs (Samson 86*, Iyer 50 – Ngidi 8-0-52-3, Rabada 8-2-36-2)
