Jadeja also became only the second Indian spinner to take a five-wicket haul in World Cups. Yuvraj Singh was the first, picking up 5 for 31 against Ireland in 2011…reports Asian Lite News
The Indian juggernaut continues in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 as they beat South Africa by a massive 243 runs, the biggest defeat for Proteas in ODIs, at the Eden Gardens Stadium, here on Sunday.
India bundled out the Proteas for 83 in 27.1 overs courtesy of Ravindra Jadeja’s five-wicket haul after Virat Kohli’s brilliant show with the bat.
It was a masterclass by the Indian bowlers, starting with Mohammad Siraj who drew the first blood by clipping Quinton de Kock’s off-stump, who got out on 5 runs.
Brought into the attack in the Power-play, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja started his hunt by clearing off Proteas’s skipper Temba Bavuma’s off stump for 11 runs.
Jadeja continued his hunt as he went on to take four more wickets from there on. He trapped Heinrich Klassen (1) in front of the stumps, bowled out David Miller (11), cleaned up the off-stump of Keshav Maharaj (7) and got rid of Kagiso Rabada (6), catching him off his own bowling.
Jadeja also became only the second Indian spinner to take a five-wicket haul in World Cups. Yuvraj Singh was the first, picking up 5 for 31 against Ireland in 2011.
Mohammed Shami, yet again, shone bright with two wickets getting rid of Aiden Markram (6) and Rassie van der Dussen (13). Kuldeep Yadav also got two wickets, sending back Marco Jansen (14) and Luni Ngidi (0).
With this win, India registered their eighth successive win in the World Cup 2023, remaining unbeaten with one more game with the Netherlands to go. India now have 16 points from eight games and are the only unbeaten team in the World Cup 2023.
This was supposed to be the big battle as the top two teams squared off. But India have just shut it off well before time. South Africa didn’t even last 30 overs.
India now have eight wins in eight games, making sure they finish the league stage at the top of the points table. South Africa are still on 12 points, losing their second game out of three when chasing. Their net run rate has taken a hit but it’s still a healthy 1.376.
Brief scores:
India 326/5 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 101, Shreyas Iyer 77, Rohit Sharma 40, Ravindra Jadeja 29; Keshav Maharaj 1-30) beat South Africa 83 all out in 27.1 overs (Marco Jansen 14; Ravindra Jadeja 5-33, Kuldeep Yadav 2-7) by 243 runs.
Kohli’s Milestone Century
Virat Kohli has revealed that the wicket on which he achieved his 49th ODI century, scoring 101* off 121 deliveries batting against South Africa at Eden Gardens, was a tricky one to bat on.
Kohli’s handy century came in 119 balls and comprised 10 boundaries. Kohli scored his 49th hundred in only his 289th ODI, needing 173 matches fewer than the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who got there in his 463rd match.
The 34-year-old batter also racked up his 79th hundred for India and is now 21 short of Tendulkar’s world record of 100 centuries.
“It was a wicket that was tricky to bat on. We got a great start. My job was to keep the momentum going when I got in. But after 10 overs, the ball started gripping and the wicket started slowing down. My role was to bat deep and till the end after the openers fell because that’s what I’ve done, that was the communication as well — to have guys bat around me,” said Virat Kohli to broadcasters,” he said.
“Shreyas starting hitting well as well. Shreyas and I had a lot of practice sessions before the Asia Cup and invariably batted together at 3 and 4. Both of us are comfortable against spinners,” he added.
“When you lose two wickets and don’t have Hardik (Pandya), you need to bat deep and get to a stage where the opposition feels like we have to restrict them. Grateful to God that I’ve been blessed with such moments,” he added.
India have posted a mammoth total of 326/5 on a tricky surface where batting doesn’t look easy. Virat Kohli talking of India’s score, said, “It’s a target well above par for me as the ball was gripping and it wasn’t easy to get hold of the bowlers. We have a quality attack. Wicket will get slower, pressure will mount, so hopefully we start well with the new ball.”
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