India beat South Africa by 8 wickets in the first ODI to go 1-0 up in series

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first in the first One-Day International (ODI) against India’s KL Rahul-led team in Johannesburg. Sai Sudarshan makes his ODI debut for India, while Nandre Burger makes his ODI debut for the home team, just a few days after earning his maiden T20I cap. Only Shreyas Iyer, skipper Kl Rahul, and Kuldeep Yadav are playing for India from the World Cup final playing XI.

Arshdeep Singh struck out Hendricks and Dussen in the second over after both hitters failed to score.  Arshdeep departed Zorzi (28) on the fifth delivery of the eighth over, caught by KL Rahul, just as South Africa appeared to be gaining pace. Arshdeep Singh bowled Klaasen out on the last delivery of the tenth over, striking his stumps.

Following that, Avesh Khan dismissed Proteas skipper Aiden Markram (12) for a golden duck in the 11th over and then bowled Wiaan Mulder for a golden duck in the following delivery. He then dismisses David Miller (2) on the final delivery of the 13th over and Keshav Maharaj (4) on the first delivery of the 17th over. This is also his fourth wicket. Arshdeep Singh bowls his last over and dismisses Andile Phehlukwayo (33) by LBW on the first delivery of the 26th over. This is his fifth wicket. Kuldeep Yadav was sent back to conclude the Proteas’ innings, which he achieves in his customary way in the 28th over by smashing the latter’s stumps, bringing an end to SA’s innings.

Andile Phehlukwayo (33) scored the most runs for South Africa, followed by Tony de Zorzi (28 runs). Aside from these two individuals, no other hitter scored more than 15 runs.

In response, India needed only 16.3 overs to reach the mark. Debutant southpaw Sai Sudharsan’s (55*) and Shreyas Iyer’s (52) blistering performances helped the visitors take a 1-0 series lead with an eight-wicket triumph.

South African Captain Markram: “Tough one. We would’ve liked to put on a really good score batting first. Credit to their bowling attack with the lateral movement. We weren’t even to settle and build partnership. Problem right from the start and couldn’t pull things back. We expected it to go around a little bit. Generally in the day games it does do something for 5-7 overs, we’ve seen that before. But today it went along for longer and we couldn’t get in and build partnerships. Strange one. I think it comes down to individuals. When you are out there you have to assess yourself and communicate with the partner. We encourage guys to be positive but also choose smart options. We’ll have to assess. Probably not.”

Player of the Match Arshdeep Singh: “Feel little sore but loving the movement. I learnt about the altitude only after a few overs when I was running out of breath. Had to build on from there. Personally it feels good because when you play you have a dream to play for the country. I am enjoying my role and want to thank Rahul bhai as well. He said I should come back strongly and aim for a five-for. Its about enjoying the game. When we go there, we need to know what will work there and look for a good result there too.”

Indian Captain Rahul: “Lost three ODIs as captain here last time around. Good to get a win here in SA today. The plans were to bring the spinners into the game, but there was lot of help in the wicket early and the boys bowled really well. Its just how cricket is being played in the last couple of years. You have to rest some players, you prioritise one format every now and then. Now it is T20s and Tests. But we want to take guys who are doing their best. Everyone’s doing well in first class and IPL too, so good for them to get a taste too.”