[ad_1]
Team India have been a dominant force in the ongoing men’s ODI World Cup, winning all the eight matches they’ve played so far. So far none of the other teams have given India much fight, and a similar sight was witnessed when the Men In Blue met with second-placed South Africa, whom they demolished by 243 runs.
Although it was an all-round display, Virat Kohli in particular had a lot to celebrate in India’s win. Named player of the match for his unbeaten 101, Kohli also matched legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s record of slamming the highest number of centuries in ODIs.
Shreyas Iyer also made a significant contribution of 77 off 87 balls, which included a 100-plus stand with Kohli for the third wicket. The knocks took India to 326/5 after Rohit Sharma gave the team an explosive start.
Sharing his views on the stellar show, former India batter Gautam Gambhir felt the duo of Kohli and Iyer were batting “on a different planet.” Gambhir praised the way the two assessed the conditions, which gradually became slower. He felt their efforts deserve more praise than of Shubman Gill and Rohit, who added 62 for the opening wicket in less than six overs.
“I believe Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli batted on a different planet. This was not the Wankhede or Delhi where the conditions are easy throughout the innings. Here it was easy at the start and became difficult in the middle and at the end. So I believe both should be praised more than Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill,” noted Gambhir while speaking on Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the tournament.
“Spin was going to be the biggest challenge. The way the two of them batted against Keshav Maharaj, he might have conceded just 30 runs but the important thing was that he picked up just one wicket, and because of that South Africa had to get their fast bowlers back,” he added.
If the batters had a field day, the bowlers were not far behind. Ravindra Jadeja emerged as the leader of the pack and completed a five-wicket haul. Riding on his clinical bowling, India folded South Africa for 83 in 27.1 overs.
[ad_2]
Source link