India vs South Africa 1st ODI: Rohit century in vain as Proteas win thriller

A brilliant 150 off 133 balls from Rohit Sharma was in vain as South Africa defeated India by five runs in the first one-day international in Kanpur on Sunday.

In a high-scoring thriller helped by short boundaries at the packed Green Park stadium, India made a spirited chase of the Proteas' challenging 303-5 before being stopped just short on 298-7.

Sharma nearly upstaged South African captain AB de Villiers' 104 off 73 balls before the tourists' bowlers fought back in front of 40,000 home fans.

Leg-spinner Imran Tahir removed Sharma and Suresh Raina in the space of five deliveries in the 47th over, before 20-year-old fast bowler Kagiso Rabada nailed his side's victory in the final over.

With India needing 11 runs off six balls, Rabada conceded just five runs and claimed two wickets, including the important one of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for 31, to dash India's hopes.

The victory put South Africa ahead in the five-match series, which follows their 2-0 success in the preceding Twenty20 games. 

Sharma put on 149 for the second wicket with Mumbai team-mate Ajinkya Rahane (60) after opener Shikhar Dhawan was leg-before to Morne Morkel for 23 in the eighth over.

Sharma, the only batsman in the world to have hit two double-centuries in one-day cricket, stroked 13 boundaries and six sixes before he offered a tame return catch to Tahir.

Earlier, the Proteas had put on a breathtaking batting display after de Villiers won the toss and elected to bat.

De Villiers reached his century off the last ball of the innings, hitting Umesh Yadav for a six. He finished with six sixes and five boundaries.

Farhaan Behardien was unbeaten on a 19-ball 35 as the Proteas plundered 86 runs in the final six overs - which proved to be the key to success in the end.  

"It was an amazing game of cricket," said a visibly tired and relieved de Villiers, who was named man of the match. "It is close games like these that bring the fans in.

"The momentum turned around several times, but I thought Tahir turned the game on its head. Rabada, of course, proved to be a handful with his pace. He's got a bright future."

India were dealt a blow when frontline spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, playing his 100th one-dayer, suffered a side strain while bowling his fourth over and left the field.

Ashwin returned to bowl only one more over before going off again.

Veteran Harbhajan Singh has been drafted into India's one-day squad for the South Africa series, the Indian board said on Sunday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not rule out Ashwin, who was playing his 100th one-dayer, but summoned Harbhajan to join the squad as a precaution.

"After making a detailed assessment of the injury, the medical team will confirm the timeframe required for Ashwin to fully recover from the injury," the BCCI said in a statement.

"Harbhajan Singh has been included in the squad and will join the team before the second match in Indore on Wednesday."

Harbhajan, 35, has claimed 263 wickets in 232 one-day internationals.

Disappointed

Dhoni said he was disappointed by the narrow loss which he blamed on his bowlers leaking runs in the final overs.

"The outcome was not great for us," he said. "There were plenty that went wrong, but we showed character to get close. Frankly, we should have won this game.

"We missed the six overs from Ash (Ashwin) which was crucial because he is our best spinner. But the bowlers should have done a bit better.

"The partnership between Rohit and Rahane was superb. This was a fantastic innings from Rohit. It wasn't an easy wicket to bat on but he made it look so easy."

The second one-dayer will be played in Indore on Wednesday.

Full scoreboard

South Africa:

Q. de Kock c Raina b Ashwin 29
H. Amla b Mishra 37
F. du Plessis lbw b Yadav 62
AB de Villiers not out 104
D. Miller st Dhoni b Mishra 13
JP Duminy c Dhoni b Yadav 15
F. Behardien not out 35
Extras: (lb3, w5) 8
Total (for five wickets, 50 overs) 303
Fall of wickets: 1-45 (de Kock), 2-104 (Amla), 3-152 (du Plessis), 4-197 (Miller), 5-238 (Duminy)
Bowling: Kumar 10-0-67-0, Yadav 10-0-71-2 (w1), Ashwin 4.4-0-14-1, Mishra 10-0-47-2 (w1), Binny 8-0-63-0 (w2), Raina 7-0-37-0 (w1), Kohli 0.2-0-1-0
(Note: Ashwin left the field after bowling four balls of his fourth over. Kohli completed the over).

India:
R. Sharma c and b Tahir 150
S. Dhawan lbw b Morkel 23
A. Rahane c Miller b Behardien 60
V. Kohli c Morkel b Steyn 11
M. Dhoni c and b Rabada 31
S. Raina c Duminy b Tahir 3
S. Binny c Amla b Rabada 2
B. Kumar not out 1
A. Mishra not out 0
Extras: (lb4, w13) 17
Total (for seven wickets, 50 overs) 298
Fall of wickets: 1-42 (Dhawan), 2-191 (Rahane), 3-214 (Kohli), 4-269 (Sharma), 5-273 (Raina), 6-297 (Dhoni), 7-297 (Binny)
Bowling: Steyn 10-0-54-1 (w1), Rabada 10-0-58-2 (w4), Behardien 6-0-38-1 (w1), Morkel 10-0-51-1 (w2), Duminy 4-0-36-0 (w5), Tahir 10-0-57-2

India innings

South Africa pulled off an remarkable five-run win over India with Rabada claiming two wickets in two balls.

Chasing a target of 304, India finished on 298-7 despite a magnificent century from Rohit Sharma (150).

India were cruising towards victory at 269-3 when his dismissal in the 47th triggered a stunning comeback by South Africa.

Tahir claimed Rohit and Raina in his final over while Dhoni and Binny fell in successive balls in the final over after India needed 11 off six balls.

Binny going for the glory shot also perishes as Rabada picks up two off two balls. India 297-7, 49.5 overs.

Dhoni goes for the big one off Rabada who delightfully scoops up the skier. Ind 297-6, 49.4 overs.

Binny going for the glory shot also perishes as Rabada picks up two off two balls. India 297-7, 49.5 overs.

Dhoni goes for the big one off Rabada who delightfully scoops up the skier. Ind 297-6, 49.4 overs.

Dhoni lap sweeps Steyn to fine leg for a boundary and India need 11 off the last over to be bowled by Rabada. Ind 293-5, 49 overs.

India need 22 from the last two overs with Dhoni and Binny in the middle. Ind 282-5, 48 overs.

Double strike by Tahir as Raina miscues a googly as South Africa are back in the hunt. Ind 273-5, 46.5 overs.

Suresh Raina c Duminy b Tahir 3 (3b)

Tahir strikes a crucial blow plucking a return catch off Rohit. Ind 269-4, 46.1 overs.

Rohit Sharma c & b Tahir 150 (133b 13x4 6x6)

Even Steyn is not spared by Rohit who sends him sailing into the stands. Ind 269-3, 46 overs.

Rohit blasts Morkel for his fifth six to keep India on course. Ind 258-3, 45 overs.

Rohit slog sweeps Tahir for his fourth six as he keeps up the momentum despite the fall of Kohli. Indi 225-3, 41 overs.

Morkel takes a low catch inside the circle as Kohli flicks Steyn. Ind 214-3, 40 overs.

Virat Kohli c Morkel b Steyn 11 (18b)

Rohit reaches his eighth ODI century by flicking Behardien to midwicket for a boundary. Ind 201-2, 34 overs.

South Africa finally get a breakthrough as Rahane chips to extra cover. Ind 191-2, 33.3 overs.

Ajinkya Rahane c Miller b Behardien 60 (82b 5x4)

Rahane has pounced on Behardien unleashing a blistering offdrive for a boundary. Ind 186-1, 32 overs.

Rahane completes his 11th ODI fifty off 67 balls while Rohit blasts a boundary and a six off Tahir. Ind 176-1, 30 overs.

Rohit virtually drags Duminy from outside off almost with the toe end of the bat for an incredible six over square leg. Ind 162-1, 29 overs.

Rahane jabs Behardien late to third man fence to bring up the 100 partnership with Sharma off 120 balls. Ind 147-1, 27 overs.

Rahane pounces on a loose delivery to swing it to the midwicket fence. Ind 135-1, 25 overs.

Rahane gets only his second boundary stepping out to Tahir and hitting on the full through the covers. Ind 127-1, 23 overs.

Rohit slams Morkel to the fence to bring up his 27th ODI fifty and his second against Proteas. Ind 108-1, 18 overs.

The 50 partnership between Sharma and Rahane comes off 51 balls. Ind 94-1, 16 overs.

Rohit uses his dancing shoes to slam Duminy back over his head for the first six of the innings. Ind 78-1, 13 overs.

Sharma sizzles with two consecutive boundaries off Morkel. Ind 59-1, 10 overs.

Rahane cracks Rabada for a boundary with a ferocious shot which sails over the cover fielder. Ind 49-1, 9 overs.

Morkel strikes with his third delivery trapping Dhawan leg before to break the opening stand. Ind 42-1, 7.3 overs.

Shikhar Dhawan lbw b Morkel 23 (28b 5x4)

Sharma gets into act drivng the first ball from Behardien through the covers before finding the third man fence with a late jab. Ind 42-0, 7 overs.

Dhawan is dealing in boundaries pulling Rabada to the square leg fence. Ind 32-0, 6 overs.

Steyn leaks runs as Dhawan goes after him getting a streaky boundary past the keepr before pulling another to backward square leg. Ind 26-0, 5 overs.

Rohit gets his first boundary by punching Rabada through point after Dhawan pulls one over the square leg fielder for his second. Ind 18-0, 4 overs.

Dhawan steers Steyn through point for a delightful boundary as India begin their chase of 304. Ind 5-0, 1 over.

South Africa innings

AB de Villiers smashes his sixth six off the last ball of the innings to bring up his century off 73 balls as South Africa finish on 303-5 with Behardien remaining unbeaten on 35.

AB de Villiers and Behardien plundered 65 off the last 4.5 overs as India missed Ashwin who left the field with a side strain after bowling only 4.4 overs.

Binny went for 63 off 8 overs.

Behardien cracks two consecutive boundaries off Yadav to bring up the 50 partnership off 25 balls following it up with a six.

AB de Villiers moves into the 90s by clobbering two towering sixes off Kumar over the sight screen and long on as Binny goes for 19. SA 282-5, 49 overs.

Yadav strikes with his first delivery again as Duminy chases a widish delivery to be caught behind. SA 238-5, 45.1 overs.

JP Duminy c Dhoni b Yadav 15 (17b 1x6)

Binny goes for 21 as Duminy him for a six while de Villiers smashes a couple of boundaries and a towering six off consecutive balls. SA 238-4, 45 overs.

Ashwin is off the field again after bowling one over. SA 217-4, 44 overs.

AB de Villiers completes his 48th ODI fifty and sixth against India off 54 balls. SA 209-4, 42 overs.

Mishra has struck again in his final over outfoxing Miller who gave him the charge only to be out by a mile. SA 197-4, 40.3 overs.

David Miller st Dhoni b Mishra 13 (22b)

De Villiers rocks back and smashes a slower delivery from Binny into the stand. SA 189-3, 39 overs.

AB de Villiers decides to turn it on charging down the wicket and hoisting Raina over midwicket for a six. SA 164-3, 35 overs.

Yadav strikes with the first ball of a new spell trapping du Plessis leg before. SA 152-3, 33.1 overs.

Faf du Plessis lbw b Yadav 62 (77b 5x4 1x6)

Ashwin is leaving the field in the middle of his fourth over which will be a concern for Dhoni. SA 147-2, 32 overs.

Faf du Plessis completes his 17th ODI fifty and third against India in style by clubbing Raina over long on for the first six of the match. SA 129-1, 27 overs.

Mishra gets the breakthrough castling Amla with a flipper. SA 104-2, 23.2 overs.

Hashim Amla b Mishra 37 (59b 3x4)

Faf du Plessis has added 50 off 68 balls for the second wicket with Amla. SA 95-1, 20 overs.

Faf du Plessis steps out and slams Binny  past mid off for a boundary which prompts Dhoni to stand up close to the stumps. SA 68-1, 14 overs.

Faf du Plessis survives being stumped off Mishra before sweeping to square leg for his first boundary. SA 56-1, 13 overs.

Ashwin draws first blood in his first over finding the outside dedge of de Kock who smashed a couple of boundaries off Yadav in the last over. SA 45-1, 8.4 overs.

Quinton de Kock c Raina b Ashwin 29 (33b 5x4)

Amla hits his first boundary cracking Yadav through point. SA 29-0, 6 overs.

De Kock cracks two consecutive boundaries off Kumar on either side of the wicket through midwicket and point. SA 23-0, 5 overs.

De Kock survives barely beating a direct hit from Kohli with a frantic dive. SA 15-0, 4 overs.

Quinton  de Kock hits the first boundary of the match flicking Yadav through midwicket. SA 10-0, 2 overs.

South Africa have won the toss and AB de Villiers has decided to bat first,

Playing XI

India: S Dhawan, RG Sharma, V Kohli, AM Rahane, SK Raina, MS Dhoni, STR Binny, R Ashwin, A Mishra, B Kumar, UT Yadav

South Africa: HM Amla, Q de Kock, F du Plessis, AB de Villiers, DA Miller, JP Duminy, F Behardien, DW Steyn, K Rabada, M Morkel, Imran Tahir

Preview

South Africa hope to build on their Twenty20 success in India by winning the one-day series starting Sunday as rival skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni prepared to douse the fire around him.

The Proteas made a solid start to their 10-week Indian tour by winning both the first two T20 internationals before Thursday's final match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata was washed out.

With four Tests looming in the last leg of the arduous tour, South Africa will be seeking to continue the momentum in the one-day series which opens at the Green Park in Kanpur.

The tourists will have a new captain for the five internationals, with AB de Villiers taking over from T20 skipper Faf du Plessis. De Villiers will then make way for Hashim Amla in the Tests.

South Africa will be strengthened by the return of pace spearheads Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, who were rested for the T20s to keep them fresh for the sterner tests ahead.

However, Proteas coach Russell Domingo was not looking too far ahead, saying his team will not take victory for granted despite the T20 success.

"India are pretty good in all three formats so we are very pleased with the results so far," Domingo said of the team that defeated his boys in the World Cup earlier this year.

"But we have only played two days of cricket on the tour and there are 25 days of cricket still left. We have to focus all our energy on Kanpur."

Critics

India's Dhoni, meanwhile, needs to bounce back in the one-dayers to silence critics after the T20 loss which followed a stunning 2-1 one-day defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in June.

Under Dhoni, India have won the 50-over World Cup, the World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy, but his poor batting form of late has been slammed by the unforgiving local media.

"Is finisher Dhoni getting closer to finish line?" screamed a headline in the Times of India recently. "Time seems to be running out for the man once considered indispensable in limited-overs formats," the paper wrote.

With young Test captain Virat Kohli waiting in the wings, Dhoni may not be guaranteed the leadership role in the World T20 which India hosts next year if the one-day series too is lost.

Team director Ravi Shastri said the endeavour was to get Dhoni back to his best batting form, adding he was confident India will perform better in the upcoming series.

"We know what he can do when he starts striking," Shastri said of the captain. "The world knows. I don't have to say anything.

"In one-dayers, we understand our game better. We are a much better side in one-dayers and Tests than in T20s and I expect a very, very good contest."

The Kanpur match will be played during the day, while the remaining four games in Indore (October 14), Rajkot (Oct 18), Chennai (Oct 22) and Mumbai (Oct 25) will be day-night affairs.

India (from) - Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Amit Mishra.

South Africa (from) - AB de Villiers (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Khaya Zondo, Dale Steyn.

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