India restricted the Proteas on a moderate 227/9 in their 50 overs. (AP Photo) Individual brilliance by Rohit Sharma and Yuzvendra Chahal helped India start their World Cup campaign on a positive note. While Chahal delivered with the ball, Rohit scored a gritty century to help the Men in Blue beat South Africa by six wickets in their opening fixture.
After electing to bat first, the South African batsmen faced the wrath of Chahal’s spin as the leggie picked four wickets and gave away 51 runs in his 10 overs quota. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah also shared two wickets each as India restricted the Proteas on a moderate 227/9 in their 50 overs. In response, the Men in Blue got off to a poor start as Shikhar Dhawan was removed cheaply on 8. However, an unbeaten knock of 122 off 144 balls by Rohit helped India chase down the target with 15 balls to spare.
After securing a comprehensive victory over Proteas former India cricketers congratulated the team for the all-round display. Here are the few tweets:
Wonderful result for India. Many boxes ticked. Bumrah was magnificent as was Chahal and India will like the solidity from Rahul and Dhoni. And Rohit Sharma was unhurried, his slowest odi century but one that was invaluable
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 5, 2019
Clinical… from the #MenInBlue. Bowled extremely well to restrict South Africa to 227 and then finishing it up well with a win. A Good day, a good start @cricketworldcup for India @BCCI @OfficialCSA #CWC19 #INDVSA
— Anjum Chopra (@chopraanjum) June 5, 2019
A wonderful, mature innings from Rohit Sharma. Great assessment of the situation and seeing India through to the win in the end, a hallmark of top players @ImRo45 . A well begun World Cup campaign for Team India #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/Hmul57c4BO
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) June 5, 2019
Shaabash Rohit ! Bumrah, Chahal creating pressure throughout . Fantastic win to start the World Cup for Team India. #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/lGVHj8mfuO
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) June 5, 2019
And that’s how you start the campaign.
Bumrah with the new ball, Chahal in the middle…Rohit and Dhoni with the bat. Well done, India 🇮🇳 #CWC19 #IndvSA— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) June 5, 2019
The Indian opener was named the Man of the Match for his match-winning knock. Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit said, “Was something in it for the bowlers through the game, couldn’t play my natural game. Had to take my time to play shots, had to cut down certain shots I love to play. Wanted to leave a lot of balls initially, was trying to stick to the basics and build partnerships even though it was a small total. All the batsmen in the team have a job, it’s their role to bat through and get the job done. We can’t rely on one or two individuals. That’s been the hallmark of this team. We’ve done that well, this is a big tournament and at some stage someone else will put their hand up and do the job for us. We’re playing a little early in the summer in England, weather was good through the day, you don’t sweat. I had fun, wasn’t typical Rohit Sharma innings, had to play out the overs to ensure I get the job done.”
