Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.
Venue – Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban [February 1, 2018].
In the summer of 2018, the Indian Cricket Team toured South Africa to play 3 Tests, 6 ODIs and 3 T20 Internationals. The men in blue looked promising, and everyone expected that they could script history in the rainbow nation. However, batting collapses in Cape Town and Centurion meant that the Proteas were able to win the test series with one game remaining to play. The media and the press were expecting a whitewash. However, the Indians fought back hard in Johannesburg and secured a famous win, defying all odds [To know more about that Test Match, Click Here].
The action now shifted to white-ball cricket. Interestingly, the charismatic Proteas batsman AB de Villiers was ruled out of the first 3 ODIs due to a finger injury. Moreover, Dale Steyn was also injured. However, despite the injuries, the Proteas were a formidable side to beat. Apart from that, Indians have also never won an ODI series before in South Africa. So, the contest between the two powerhouses was expected to be a strong one.
South African Captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and decided to bat first in Kingsmead. The hosts got off to a slow and steady start. However, the regular fall of wickets kept the visitor alive in the game. At one stage the Proteas' scorecard read 134/5 with Indians squeezing in. However, this is when Faf du Plessis played a captain's knock and helped his side reach a formidable score of 269/8 in 50 overs. Captain Faf scored a magnificent 120 off just 112 deliveries in the toughest of conditions as the Proteas launched a brilliant counterattack in the final overs of the innings.
The Indians now needed 270 runs to win the game and take a 1-0 lead in the series. The chase was not going to be an easy one, and the matter even became complicated when Shikhar Dhawan got run out. The Indian scorecard read 67/2 with Rahane joining Captain Kohli in the center. The match was on a knife-edge. A wicket now would have pushed India on the back foot.
But this is when Virat Kohli led from the front and took his side home. Captain Kohli scored yet another century while chasing as he stitched a match-winning partnership of 189 runs with Rahane. Kohli, who was in the form of his life, battered the Proteas with a brilliant knock of 112. It is interesting to note that in an innings which lasted for around 164 minutes, Kohli faced a total of 119 deliveries in which he hit just 10 boundaries. This implies that he scored the remaining 72 runs by running between the wickets, which requires a lot of strength and fitness.
Apart from Kohli, Rahane too scored a well-composed 79 as the Indians won the match by 6 wickets with 27 balls to spare. The game awareness of Kohli and Rahane was simply superb as they batted sensibly without taking any unnecessary risks and always kept the required rate in control. Nowhere did it appear that we were lagging in the run-chase. The duo soaked up all the pressure like anything.
Captain Kohli was awarded the man of the match award for his excellent hundred as we took a 1-0 lead in the series. Though the knock deserves all the praise and accolades. But it was the celebration of Kohli which grabbed all the headlines for good reasons. The celebration was a captain's roar who would only accept victory and nothing else.
To watch the Highlights of the Match, Click Here.
To watch the Innings of Virat Kohli, Click Here.
No comments:
Post a Comment