AB de Villiers
India was treated to a comprehensive defeat by 135 runs in the first ODI by South Africa. The match played in Kingsmead was started with South Africa batting first. India started well by taking the wicket of Smith.
However Hashim Amla kept playing aggressive shots and kept the board ticking. Soon Ingram departed and Hashim Amla too got out by playing a lofty shot against Munaf Patel , which was caught by Harbhajan Singh just behind mid-on.
Just when South Africa were looking to come down as a pack of cards AB de Villiers and JP Duminy put on a great partnership with individual scores of 76 and 73 respectively. Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma as well as Raina too bowled quite well .However with the help of cameos from Botha and Parnell South Africa managed to put on very competitive score of 289.
India would have hoped to get off to a good start. However Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn kept the pressure on the Indian batsman and never allowed them to get the free flow that was required for the Indians to chase the target.
Tsotsobe backed the main pacers by keeping it tight. It was because of his wicket to wicket bowling that he secured 4 wickets and gave away a meagre 31 runs. He was thrilled to have taken Tendulkar’s wicket as well , which he claimed after the match . Morkel and Steyn too managed to bag in 2 wickets each.
India tried to keep the chase on however failed to do so effectively. The only glimmer of hope perhaps was the half century from Virat Kohli. India finally collapsed in the 36 th over with 135 runs deficit.
At the post match presentation Dhoni admitted that South Africa outplayed them completely. He further said that a score close to 290 -300 is always difficult to score in Kingsmead. Smith iterated Dhoni’s point of view and also said that he was thrilled by his team’s performance.
Tsotsobe was adjudjed the man of the match for his bowling performance. The teams play their next match on the 15th. Indian captain would just be hoping to play to their potential in the next match and give in their 100%.
Tags: 1st ODI, AB de Villiers, Cricket, India, JP Duminy, Kingsmead, ODI Cricket, ODI Match, South Africa
