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Virat Kohli celebrates after scoring a ton against South Africa. (BCCI)
Kohli remained unbeaten on 160 and with that he set numerous new milestones as well. He went past Sourav Ganguly (127 in Johannesburg in 2001) in the list of highest individual score by an Indian batsman against South Africa in South Africa.
Kohli also became the second opposition captain to score 150 runs in South Africa (the 1st being Ricky Ponting in 2006 at Johannesburg).
This is also his 54th International century where he will be the outright 5th-most prolific century-maker in international cricket behind Tendulkar (100), Ponting (71), Sangakkara (63) & Kallis (62).
He is currently level with Mahela Jayawardene and Hashim Amla.
Chasing a daunting target of 304, the Proteas were off to the worst start possible as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Hashim Amla (1) in the second over of the innings itself. That brought JP Duminy on to the crease and along with Aiden Markram, he issued a stunning fightback. The duo kept hitting boundaries here and there and took the score past the 50-run mark without any further hiccups.
Kohli was finally fed up of the partnership and decided to bring spinners into the attack and that ploy worked wonders for the visitors. Kuldeep Yadav fooled Aiden Markram with a googly and MS Dhoni effected the easiest of stumpings. And with that, Dhoni became the first India wicket-keeper to effect 400 dismissals (fourth overall). Chahal was the next to scalp a wicket as he got rid of debutant Heinrich Klaasen for 6.
Meanwhile, Duminy held the innings from one end as he completed his 25th ODI fifty. But soon after reaching that milestone, Duminy lost his concentration and was trapped plumb LBW by Chahal.
Khaya Zondo and David Miller frustrated the Indian bowlers for a brief period but the 34-run partnership was ended by Bumrah, who scalped his second of the innings.
Chris Morris hit a boundary early in the innings to announce his intentions but his innings was cut short by Kuldeep as well. The two wrist spinner then cleared up the tail by sharing the last four wickets as India completed a resounding victory.
Earlier, put into bat, India didn't enjoy the best of starts as opener Rohit Sharma was dismissed in the first over of the match itself as he edged a Kagiso Rabada delivery straight into the hands of debutant wicket-keeper Heinrich Klaasen.
Skipper Virat Kohli then joined Shikhar Dhawan at the crease and the duo stitched together a 140-run partnership. However, while batting on 0, Kohli survived an early lbw shout off Kagiso Rabada in the third over. He immediately asked for DRS review, which showed an inside edge and the decision was overturned.
From there on, the duo started to deal in boundaries and took the team's score past the 50-run mark in no time. Dhawan was the aggressor of the two and he was first to reach his half-century, which was his 25th in the 50-over format of the game. Also, this was Dhawan’s second half-century against the Proteas in their backyard and his fourth against them overall.
Kohli too notched up his well-deserved fifty and at this point, the Indian innings was moving along nicely. However, the introduction of part-time spinner JP Duminy did the trick for the hosts as he broke the 140-run stand between the two by removing Dhawan for 76. This partnership of 140 is the second best by an Indian pair for the 2nd wicket in South Africa while this is also the only 100+ run partnership for the 2nd wicket by any visiting team against the Proteas in South Africa.
Soon after Dhawan's dismissal, Ajinkya Rahane (11) followed suit as he became Duminy's second scalp of the day after playing a rash shot. Hardik Pandya (14) too didn't trouble the scorers much as he was dismissed by Chris Morris, before he could add to his solitary six in the innings.
Kohli then brought up his hard-fought hundred off 119 balls, which included just seven fours and that said it all about the innings. Meanwhile, Kohli became the first Indian batsman to score a hundred against South Africa at Newlands (only Ganguly previously had an ODI century at this ground, but that came against Kenya in March 2003).
MS Dhoni (10) and Kedar Jadhav (1) departed in quick succession but Kohli finally found an able partner in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the duo put on a 63-run stand for the seventh wicket to propel India's score to 303/6.
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India vs South Africa Third ODI - As It HappenedFirst Published: February 8, 2018, 12:03 AM IST