World Cup 2019: India beat South Africa by six wickets

India began their 2019 World Cup campaign with a crushing six-wicket win over South Africa at Rose Bowl, Southampton on Wednesday. It was a dominating performance by Men in Blue, who restricted South Africa to a modest total and then chased down the target with ease.

South African captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and decided to bat first. It was a perfect start for the Indian team as Jasprit Bumrah got South African openers Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla. At the end of 10 overs, South Africa were reduced to 34 for 2.

After the power play overs, Faf du Plessis and Rassie Van der Dussen steadied the South African innings with good stroke play. Yuzvendra Chahal got the breakthrough by dismissing Van der Dussen for 22. Faf and Van der Dussen added 54 runs for the 3rd wicket. In the same over, Chahal dismissed South African captain Faf du Plessis.

Kuldeep Yadav got the wicket of JP Duminy, reducing South Africa to 89 for 5. David Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo steadied South African innings adding 46 runs for the 6th wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal struck again by dismissing David Miller for 31 to put South Africa on the backfoot. Andile Phehlukwayo played some lovely strokes before being dismissed by Chahal for 34.

Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada added some vital runs in the end. Both added 66 runs for the 8th wicket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Morris and Imran Tahir in the last over. India restricted South Africa to 227 for 9 in 50 overs. For India, Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of bowlers with 4 for 51.

Chasing the target of 228 runs to win, India lost an early wicket of Shikhar Dhawan for 8 runs. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played with caution. At the end of 10 overs, India scored 34 for 1.

After the power play overs, Phehlukwayo dismissed the Indian captain Virat Kohli, courtesy a brilliant catch by Quinton de Kock. Rohit Sharma showed his class taking singles and hitting odd boundaries. KL Rahul also played some lovely strokes. Rohit reached his fifty off 70 balls. Kagiso Rabada got the breakthrough dismissing KL Rahul for 26. Rohit and Rahul added 85 runs for the 3rd wicket.

MS Dhoni came to the crease and forged a good partnership with Rohit. Rohit Sharma reached his century off 128 balls and remained not out till the end. Dhoni and Rohit Sharma added 74 runs for the 4th wicket. Hardik Pandya hit the winning runs and helped Team India win the game with 15 balls to spare.

Brief scores: India 230 for 4 in 47.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 122*, MS Dhoni 34, Kagiso Rabada 2/39) beat South Africa 227 for 9 in 50 overs (Chris Morris 42, du Plessis 38, Rabada 31*, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/51, Jasprit Bumrah 2/35) by 6 wickets.

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