1st ODI: Chase master Kohli shines as India register convincing 6-wicket win over SA, take 1-0 lead

Durban, Feb 1: It was yet another sensational batting performance from chase master Virat Kohli as he slammed his 33rd ton and helped India register an easy win over South Africa in the first one-day international here at Kingsmead Durban on Thursday (February 1).

Match Scorecard

Living up to his reputation as the best batsman the world has ever seen, while chasing, Kohli smashed his 20th ODI century batting second.

Coming out to chase 270, the visitors never looked in trouble and cruised towards an easy win. With this victory, India have also reached the top of ICC ODI rankings by displacing their current opponents (SA) from the top spot.

India - beaten 2-1 in the Test series - overhauled the target with 27 balls to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the six-match series. It was a complete team effort as the Indians outplayed the hosts in every department of the game.

He is at is again .. The Greatest chaser the game has ever seen .. #Fact #SAvIND @imVkohli

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 1, 2018

The tourists lost their first wicket in Rohit Sharma at 31. The opener was dismissed for just 20 after getting off to a decent start but he top-edged Morne Morkel and Quinton de Kock took an easy catch with his gloves on.

Shikhar Dhawan also looked in sublime form as he was timing the ball beautifully but a mix-up in the middle with skipper Kohli cost the southpaw his wicket.

India win and take 1-0 lead ✅
Virat Kohli’s 1st ODI ton in SA✅
Virat Kohli - Man of the Match✅
Rahane’s 5th straight ODI 50✅#TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/tVyX5P4Q8a

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 1, 2018

Chris Morris appealed for an LBW and the shout sparked panic in the running between the wickets. A little nick off the inside edge caused the umpire to shake his head to the appeal, but Dhawan was late to respond to Kohli's call of a single.

The ball dropped into the offside, where Aiden Markram picked it in and fired the throw to the non-striker's end and the ball nailed the stumps. Dhawan wasn't in the frame when the ball hit the stumps and the opener left the ground fuming as there was no run.

Ajinkya Rahane was the new man in at number four and he didn't let the opportunity slip through his hands. Capitalising over the opportunity, the right-handed batsman crafted his innings brilliantly and acted as a second fiddle to Kohli by rotating the strike brilliantly.

Fabulous start to the series!! An all round effort in securing a big win. Another great century by the run machine, @imVkohli and a superb innings played by Ajju @ajinkyarahane88. Keep it up boys!@BCCI #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/uudgYEtl6k

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) February 1, 2018

The Mumbaikar, who was dropped in the ODI series against Australia and New Zealand at home, went on to notch up his fifth consecutive ODI fifty and once again presented his contention with his knock of 79. The batsman played some elegant strokes down the ground to showcase his timing and technique. He also hammered two huge sixes in his innings to show how well he can switch gears. It seems Rahane will be playing at this spot in the remainder of the series.

Meanwhile, the skipper looked in a different zone and led his team from the front and has made it a habit of slamming a ton while chasing. His exuberant knock finally came to an end at 112 but he had already done the damage and brought his side closer to the win.

MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya were the new men-in and it was almost a formality when Dhoni hit the winning runs. With this win, India have taken a 1-0 lead in the series and also registered their first win against the Proteas at Kingsmead Durban.

What a chaser, what an incredible player- Virat Kohli. A hundred​ in every country he has played. This one has made what looked a tricky chase look like a cakewalk.#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/E9GuAVFq1Y

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 1, 2018

Earlier, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis led from the front as he completed a brilliant century and helped Proteas reach a competitive 269/8. At 134/5, South Africa made a great recovery and took the hosts to a decent total at the end of the innings. Though many felt that the Proteas fell 50-55 runs short of what could have been a decent total.

Du Plessis put up two crucial fifty-plus partnerships, first with Chris Morris (37) and later with Andile Phehlukwayo (27*) and helped the hosts reach a competitive total. No other batsman really stood up to the occasion and started struggling no sooner that India skipper Virat Kohli introduced his wrist spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep emerged as the pick of the bowlers for India as he returned with brilliant figures of 3/34 from his quota of 10 overs. Chahal, on the other hand, was lethal as he too picked up two important South African wickets and conceded 45 runs from his stipulated 10 overs.

South Africa had battled to 79-1 off 14 overs before the introduction of Chahal (2-45) and Yadav (3-34), who had the home side's batsmen toiling.

Quinton de Kock (34), Aiden Markram (9), JP Duminy (12) and David Miller (7) all fell victim to the duo before Du Plessis came to the rescue. Chahal and Yadav shared 5 wickets amongst them, which are best figures from Indian spinners on South African soil.

India's strike pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the costliest of all as he leaked 71 runs from 10 overs and got the only wicket in Du Plessis in his final over of the day.

Who do you think will take the ODI trophy home? #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/TQBVp5VNpL

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 1, 2018

Jasprit Bumrah got the visitors their first breakthrough after getting rid of Hashim Amla for 16. The right-arm pacer, however, conceded 56 runs from his quota of 10 overs.

Kohli also used Hardik Pandya (41 runs from 7 overs) Kedar Jadhav (19 runs from 3 overs) to complete the remaining 10 overs in the middle.

Meanwhile, the hosts would be hoping to improve their batting in the second game as they failed as a batting unit. Barring Du Plessis, who once again showed his brilliance with the bat against India, no other batsman batted well against Indian spinners.

The two teams would now be seeing each other on February 4 in Pretoria.