South Africa (296/4) beat India (265/8) by 31 runs after centuries by van der Dussen and Bavuma

[Energy]

India has been pulling off Pakistan style game play for the last few months.

[MenInG]

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma expressed happiness after his side defeated India in the first ODI on Wednesday. Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen's centuries were backed by a spirited bowling performance as South Africa defeated India by 31 runs in the first ODI of the three-match series. "We played close to a perfect game, that's quite hard in 50-over cricket. We can take a lot of confidence. I struggled throughout the innings, Rassie seemed like batting on another wicket. That partnership was the decider. I tried to partner him as much as I could.

"Another good debut for him (Jansen), we feel he can take wickets with the new ball. He's growing from strength to strength and it's nice to see. Aiden is always an option with the ball, especially with the new ball," said Bavuma after the game.

"He's been doing a fantastic job. Andile was good, he understood the situation. He knew what he needed to do. He's a big player within the team. It's good to see him take charge. Spinners have been great. Shamsi - we are trying to use him differently, using him at the death and he's doing it well. Spinners have been good. Nice to have Quinny back, nice to see him smile. He's a big player for me, he's a big player for the team, his energy and his experience helps us a lot," he added.

For India, only Shikhar Dhawan (79), Shardul Thakur (50*), and Virat Kohli(51) got going with the bat, and otherwise, it was a disappointing show.

NDTV

[MenInG]

India's stand-in captain KL Rahul conceded that India gave 15-20 runs too much to South Africa in the first ODI against South Africa but rued the lack of partnerships in the middle-order after they fell to a 31-run defeat at the Boland Park in Paarl.

KL Rahul, speaking after the defeat, pointed fingers at the middle-order after they were restricted to 265/8 in their quota of 50 overs. India fell from 138/1 to 199/7 as they suffered a collapse after well-set batters Shikhar Dhawan (79) and Virat Kohli (51) departed in quick succession following a 92-run stand for the 2nd wicket.

Rishabh Pant, who had headed into the ODI series after a hundred in the 3rd Test, and Shreyas Iyer, who returned to the XI failed to get going after which R Ashwin fell cheaply.

Shardul Thakur hit his maiden ODI fifty in a valiant knock towards the end but the asking rate shot up with wickets falling in regular intervals.

KL Rahul conceded that India's middle-order issues have been long-standing and also pointed out the lack of wickets in the middle overs.

India had South Africa reeling at 68/3 but a 204-run stand between centurions Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen helped them post an above-par total of 296 on a sluggish pitch in Paarl.

"It was a nice game. There's so much to learn. We started off really well, we couldn't get wickets in the middle. We'll look to see how we get wickets in the middle overs and stop the opposition. The middle-order couldn't get going. We were on par for the first 20-25 overs of the game. I thought we would chase it down easily but SA bowled really well and got crucial wickets.

"I didn't bat after the 20th over, I don't know if it changed drastically. Virat and Shikhar told that it was a good wicket to bat on, you just had to spend some time in the middle, unfortunately, we couldn't get the partnership going. They did really well, they put pressure on the bowlers and we couldn't get those wickets in the middle. 290+ was 20 runs extra, but we just needed more partnerships in the middle," Rahul said.

India will look to bounce back when they take on the hosts in the 2nd ODI on Friday in Paarl at the same venue. While the ongoing 3-match series is not part of the ODI Super League, Rahul said the series gives them a great opportunity to work on their shortcomings in the lead up to the next year's World Cup.

"Every game is important for us, we all want to go out there and give our best performances. We haven't played one-day cricket for a while, we have the WC in mind and we want to get the best XI on the park. We'll make mistakes but we'll learn from them," he added

https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cri...019-2022-01-19

[Savak]

Is it true that Kohli was very aloof, dis interested and kept to himself?

[Babeikh]

Is it true that Kohli was very aloof, dis interested and kept to himself?

Don't think so. I watched some of the match, seemed quite standard, nothing noticeable.

[topspin]

Just you buddy. Strange going after a guy that actually maximizes his limited potential instead of going after guys who've either failed for years or aren't even close at maximizing their full potential. Played a top innings today did Bavuma

Nah it was a dead innings from a dead player.

[Babeikh]

Nah it was a dead innings from a dead player.

Definitely just you.

Top player.

[Rana]

Is it true that Kohli was very aloof, dis interested and kept to himself?

He wasn’t sitting with the KL Rahul group. He was with Bumrah and a few others. They were not all sitting together that’s for sure

[LegendAli]

Is it true that Kohli was very aloof, dis interested and kept to himself?

Seeing the latter two replies to your post, makes me curious why you would of asked this to begin with?

[Savak]

Just saw the highlights. A very flat performance by India, zero energy in the field. Kohli with his non stop chirping and energy would have ensured that this was not the case. Definately a difference seen with Kohli not captaining India.

[topspin]

Definitely just you.

Top player.

He never was and never will be a top player.

He makes the team merely due to SA's racial quota.

[shamaan]

Jadeja is a nothing bat in LoIs, just a pretender.

Stil better than ashwin who was batting at 7.

[shamaan]

Dhawan is the 2nd best Asian opener after Rohit sharma in ODIs in the last 10 years. Makes batting look so easy.

Dhawan is good but fakhar has more gears.

[shamaan]

Thakur can only bat at 7 if they have someone who can smash at 8.

Pant is batting to high at 4.

[Babeikh]

He never was and never will be a top player.

He makes the team merely due to SA's racial quota.

He is a very good batsman

[Sarwar89]

I think golden age of india producing big players 2000-2018 is gone.

I think current lot will struggle.

I feel Indian cricket is on slow gradual decline, they will definitely come back stronger but i think that will happen post 2025.

India at its peak 2011-2021 was once in a life experience.

[Ab Fan]

A fully fit Hardik Pandya is still India's best bet here at no 6.

He is not only a better bowler than trundler Venky Iyer but also a better batsman, fielder and hitter than him. He was missed yesterday.

It is a shame that when he should have been at peak of his powers, he is abandoning the LOI matches for his team.

[Ab Fan]

I think golden age of india producing big players 2000-2018 is gone.

I think current lot will struggle.

I feel Indian cricket is on slow gradual decline, they will definitely come back stronger but i think that will happen post 2025.

India at its peak 2011-2021 was once in a life experience.

2007-11 was even greater peak. Yuvi and Dhoni winning games and chasing totals were normalcy back then.

[MP2011]

Stil better than ashwin who was batting at 7.

Sure. But that doesn't say much.

[Ab Fan]

Jadeja has improved his batting in last couple of years and his bowling in ODIs is good for home conditions. He averages 33 at home being economical while 40 away in ODIs.

Problem in his case is that he is a poor T20 cricketer but he gets consistent run in that format because they mix formats.

Dhawan and Jadeja are good ODI cricketers but bad T20I cricketers. Same is the case with Shreyas Iyer too.

[Saurav]

Jadeja has improved his batting in last couple of years and his bowling in ODIs is good for home conditions. He averages 33 at home being economical while 40 away in ODIs.

Problem in his case is that he is a poor T20 cricketer but he gets consistent run in that format because they mix formats.

Dhawan and Jadeja are good ODI cricketers but bad T20I cricketers. Same is the case with Shreyas Iyer too.

Even in T20s he gets chances because there is no one who can bat at 7 and bowl 4 overs. Performs in IPL so gets picked.

Its all because of Hardik's injury. Jaddu was dropped in 2017 but brought back due to HP's injury and they haven't developed anyone for the role in both LOI formats.

In future,Abhishek Sharma can be developed. Though he too is opener for Punjab.Everyone lines up to bat top 3 these days