Rohit Sharma curbed his natural flair for greater good as his gritty hundred complemented a superb bowling effort in India’s resounding six-wicket victory over a hapless South Africa in their World Cup opener in Southampton on Wednesday.
It was an uncharacteristic 23rd ODI hundred for the Indian vice-captain (122 no off 144 balls) in a successful chase of 228 in conditions that were not exactly conducive for free-flowing strokeplay.
It might have taken India 47.3 overs to complete the chase but not for once were they in any sort of trouble as the Men in Blue began their campaign on a promising note while South Africa’s hopes of qualifying for the last four were dented miserably.
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Jasprit Bumrah (10-1-35-2) bowled a scary opening spell while spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (10-0-51-4) displayed his guile in the middle overs, making them equal contributors in India’s victory.
For South Africa, everything went wrong from the start as skipper Faf du Plessis first surprised everyone by deciding to bat first and then dropped Rohit in the slips when he had barely got off the mark. Rohit then steered India to victory to pile more misery on the Proteas.
Here’s a look at some interesting stats from yesterday’s game:
(with PTI inputs)
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