Virat Kohli gave the Indian team a magnificent return gift on his 35th birthday, the former skipper smashed his 49th ODI century, followed by a fiery five-wicket haul from Ravindra Jadeja which guided India to a massive 243-run win over South Africa.
Following their triumph over the Proteas at the Eden Gardens, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team are assured of a top-spot finish in the World Cup points table, after a consecutive eighth win in a row during the group stage.
While Virat insisted that he will ‘never be as good as Sachin Tendulkar’ in his post-match interview, the 35-year-old delivered the nation just as much happiness as the Master Blaster did when he stepped onto the pitch.
IND vs SA Highlights: Kohli’s Birthday Ton, Jadeja’s Five-Fer Help India Crush South Africa
The Proteas had scored multiple 350-plus totals in the World Cup so far, but Indian captain Rohit insisted that he wanted to bat first after winning the toss to ‘challenge’ themselves.
The Hitman led his side from the front, scoring a brisk 40 off 24 balls to set the stage for the likes of Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer. Both of them continued their form from Wankhede and stitched together a century partnership to help India recover after the quick dismissals of Rohit and Shubman Gill.
Iyer’s 77-run inning helped Kohli navigate his inning at his desired pace, and then Suryakumar Yadav, and afterwards Ravindra Jadeja allowed the legendary batter to record his milestone 49th century.
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Jadeja and Kohli applied the finishing touches to India’s total helping the Men in Blue score 326/5 but the South African batters faced a daunting total to chase.
Temba Bavuma’s men could only muster up 83 in reply, they found the Indian bowling attack too hot to handle and recorded their lowest total in World Cup history.
Mohammed Siraj started things off by getting rid of the tournament’s top scorer Quinton de Kock on five runs before Jadeja joined the party. The likes of Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, and Heinrich Klaasen had punished opposition bowlers at will but they failed to answer the questions asked by Shami and Jadeja. On a turning track, the Indian all-rounder became only the second spinner after Yuvraj Singh to register a fifer leaving South Africa in tatters at 59/6 when David Miller departed for the dugout.
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India’s invincible run continued as they passed their biggest test in the tournament with flying colours. With top assured, Rohit and Co. will turn their attention to their last group stage game against the Netherlands on 12 November, before preparations for the semifinal get underway.
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