India, you are witnessing something special!
KOLKATA: Sometimes you play to your strength and sometimes you play on your opponents' weakness. India skipper Rohit Sharma perhaps opted for the latter against South Africa at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.
Batting first in this World Cup, South Africa had scores of 428, 311, 399, 382 and 357. And each time, they won by more than 100 runs. But while chasing, they lost to Netherlands and narrowly escaped with a one-wicket win against Pakistan.
But whatever might be the rationale behind the call, at the end of the day, the Indian juggernaut kept rolling as the Men in Blue thrashed South Africa by 243 runs to make it eight-out-of-eight wins in this ICC ODI World Cup.
The packed Eden got all that it had wished for as the fans not only enjoyed another dominating India win but also became part of history witnessing Virat Kohli equalling Sachin Tendulkar's 49th ODI hundred, the highest in this format, on his 35th birthday.
The Indian bowlers then turned this potential blockbuster into a one-sided affair by bowling out South Africa for 83 only in 27.1 overs.
On a tricky pitch where shot-making was not easy, Kohli showed character to stay till the end remaining undefeated on 101 to take India to 326 for five. He even foresaw the result after the first innings when he stated, "According to me, the total is well above par."
Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja all picked up wickets in their first overs as South Africa lost the plot early after being reduced to 40 for five in the 14th over. Only on Saturday, India head coach Rahul Dravid had said, "because of how good our seamers have been and how fantastic it has been to watch them upfront, the performances of people like Jaddu (Jadeja) and Kuldeep (Yadav) have probably gone slightly unnoticed."
Jadeja once again bowled that nagging wicket-to-wicket line that saw him return with five for 33 in his nine overs. Kuldeep finished with two for seven in his 5.1 overs that included one maiden too.
1/10:World Cup: Virat Kohli leads India stat attack against South Africa
PTI
2/10:Virat level with Sachin
<p>India's Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI hundreds as unbeaten World Cup hosts India thrashed fellow semi-finalists South Africa by 243 runs on Sunday. </p>AFP
3/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Virat Kohli's 101 not out was the centrepiece of India's 326/5 before they skittled out South Africa for 83, with Ravindra Jadeja taking 5/33 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. <br /></p>ANI
4/10:49 ODI tons
<p>Sachin Tendulkar took 452 innings to score 49 ODI hundreds while Virat Kohli reached the milestone in 277 innings. </p>PTI
5/10:Virat Kohli vs SA
<p>This was the fifth ODI century for Virat Kohli against South Africa - joint most by a player against them alongside Sachin Tendulkar and David Warner. </p>Getty Images
6/10:Birthday ODI ton
<p>Virat Kohli is the seventh batsman in the world to score an ODI century on his birthday and third to have done it in World Cup games. </p>PTI
7/10:Marco Jansen
<p>Marco Jansen, 9.4-0-94-1, is the most expensive spell by a South Africa bowler in a World Cup game. </p>AP
8/10:Ravindra Jadeja
<p>Ravindra Jadeja's 5/33 is the second best spell for an Indian spinner in World Cups after Yuvraj Singh's 5/31 vs Ireland in Bengaluru 2011. </p>AP
9/10:SA's lowest WC total
<p>83 all out is South Africa's lowest total made at any World Cup and the 243-run loss is their biggest ODI defeat by runs. </p>Reuters
10/10:2nd-lowest ODI total
<p>83 all out is South Africa's second-lowest ODI total, behind their 69 against Australia at Sydney in 1993. </p>IANSWhile Shami picked two for 18, Siraj got one for 11.
In contrast, South Africa bowlers were way below average. Except Keshav Maharaj, none of the others could create any impact. While South Africa's highest wicket-taker in this World Cup, left-arm pacer Marco Jansen bowled all over the place, Tabraiz Shamsi, coming in place of Gerald Coetzee, never got his line right straying mostly down the leg.
The situation also exposed the fact that the Proteas lacked a meaningful sixth bowler. South Africa were guilty of bowling 22 wides and two no balls thereby giving India the luxury of playing four extra overs.
Earlier, the Indian innings was orchestrated by Kohli while Shreyas Iyer hit his second successive half-century to establish his credentials for a permanent spot in the playing XI. The Kolkata Knight Riders skipper was happy to be back at 'home' as he hit an 87-ball 77 with the help of seven fours and two sixes.
After Rohit and Gill were off to a flying start, Iyer provided steam to the innings by being involved in a 134-run third-wicket stand with Kohli that took India to a position of strength.
1/10:Virat Kohli's four centuries at ODI World Cup
AP
2/10:History created
<p>Virat Kohli on Sunday created history with a record-equalling 49th ODI century against South Africa at the World Cup in Kolkata.<br /></p>ANI
3/10:Record-equalling ton
<p>With the ton, Kohli equalled legendary Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring most centuries in the 50-over format.<br /></p>
4/10:Fourth World Cup ton
<p>The century was also Kohli's fourth at the 50-over World Cup and the second in the ongoing edition of the tournament.<br /></p>Getty Images
5/10:First ton at the World Cup
<p>Kohli's first ever century at the World Cup came against Bangladesh in Dhaka in the 2011 edition.<br /></p>AFP
6/10:Kohli blitz
<p>Kohli slammed an 83-ball 100 not out at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium where India beat Bangladesh by 87 runs.<br /></p>
7/10:The second ton
<p>Kohli's second World Cup ton came in the 2015 edition when he slammed 107 against Pakistan in Adelaide.<br /></p>Getty Images
8/10:A century against arch-rivals
<p>Kohli's century guided India to 300 for 7 after which Pakistan folded for 224 in the chase to suffer a 76-run loss.<br /></p>
9/10:Third century for Kohli at home
<p>Kohli notched up his third World Cup hundred in the clash against Bangladesh in Pune in the 2023 edition.<br /></p>Reuters
