STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsA demoralizing series defeat in the longer format, followed by Virat Kohli’s shocking decision to step down from captaincy in Tests. India has seen quite a bit of lows in a week’s span. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul captained India in the white ball format for the first time.
Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat first. South Africa were in early trouble as Janeman Malan departed early. Quinton de Kock was also given an early pass as he was dismissed in the 16th over and Aiden Markram’s poor tour continued after he was caught inches short of a direct hit from Venkatesh Iyer in the 18th over. There on, it was all about the two centurions, Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen. The pair forged a 204-run partnership for the fourth wicket and propelled South Africa to a fighting total of 296/4. Bavuma scored 110 and Dussen remained unbeaten on 129.
In reply, India lost its skipper cheaply after Rahul fell for 12. A 92-run partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli looked threatening at one time. However, the wicket of Dhawan triggered a collapse. Kohli followed Dhawan three overs later as he miscued a sweep to mid-wicket. With both set batters dismissed, India needed a steady partnership, but none stood up. In a span of 50 runs India lost four wickets. Shardul Thakur in the end played a cameo to bring up his half-century. Eventually, India fell short by 31 runs. Here are a few notable stats from the first ODI:
A mammoth partnership
Dussen joined hands with Bavuma in the 18th over of the innings. A stage where Indian spinners were taking charge with a bit of assistance from the pitch. However, none of those hampered the two batsmen. In each of their 30-ball phases, their partnership runs rate never fell under the six-run mark, that’s how effective they were. But by the time Bavuma was dismissed in the 49th over, the duo had posted a 204-run partnership, the second highest for South Africa in ODIs against India.
In addition, their partnership of 204 runs for the fourth wicket was the second highest against India for a wicket-order four or lower. Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik in 2009 in Centurion had forged a 206-run partnership, the highest.
Bavuma shines in his first match as captain against India
Since the start of this tour, Bavuma has been a thorn in India’s way, first in the Test series and now in the ODIs. After scoring 221 runs at an average of 73 in the Test series, Bavuma has started the ODI series with a century to his name. Captaining for the first time against India, Bavuma became the sixth captain to hit a century in his first captaincy match against India. Faf du Plessis in his first match as captain against India, scored 120. Glenn Turner (114*) in 1975, Inzamam-ul-Haq (122) in 2004, Michael Clarke (111*) in 2010 and Steve Smith (149) in 2016 are the other four to achieve this feat.
van der Dussen impressive runs continues
In just 24 ODI innings, Dussen has scored 1178 runs at a staggering average of 73.6. He has scored nine fifties and two centuries, out of which one came today. Batting at number five, Dussen scored an unbeaten 129, the second highest for a batsman batting at five or lower against India in ODIs. To his glory, he surpassed his previous highest score of 123 against Pakistan in centurion in 2021.
Kohli surpasses Ponting and Tendulkar
Kohli might not have a century for a long time, but he isn’t one of those batsmen who bogs down easily and today’s knock was one of those. Though he scored only 51 runs, Kohli registered a significant milestone. Kohli now has 5108 runs in away matches only (home of opposition) in 104 innings. He went past Ricky Ponting’s tally of 5090 and Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 5065 to sit at second spot behind Kumar Sangakkara (5518).
Thakur cameo in vain
Time and time, Thakur proves he can be a good all-rounder that India are in search of. After a failure from the middle order (4, 5, 6 & 7) batsmen, Thakur scored a valuable half-century. Though it came in a losing cause, he stayed till the end and made sure India weren’t bowled out. He became the second number eight or lower Indian batsman to register a half-century in South Africa. Saba Karim in 1997 against South Africa in Bloemfontein scored 55 batting at number eight.