Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 86 went in vain as South Africa beat India by 9 runs in a thriller at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. South Africa posted 249/4 in the rain-affected match which was reduced to 40-over-a-side, while India took the game to the final over but failed to get the job done and ended up scoring 240/8.
30 runs were required from the last over and Samson tried hard to achieve it but he only managed to collect 20 off it. The match turned completely in the penultimate over where Samson didn’t get the chance to face any ball as Rabada was right on the money against Avesh Khan for the first five deliveries. Samson smashed 9 fours and three sixes but the South African bowlers held their nerves. Lungi Ngidi was the pick of bowlers for them with three wickets.
India vs South Africa 1st ODI Match Highlights
Chasing the 250-run target in 40 overs, India lost their openers Shubman Gill (3) and Shikhar Dhawan (4) early. The opening duo who shared some solid partnerships in recent times, failed on Thursday as Kagiso Rabada castled Shubman to provide the first breakthrough, while Dhawan also joined him in the dressing room soon after getting outfoxed by Wayne Parnell.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan joined hands in an attempt to revive the Indian innings but they played too many dot balls which allowed the Proteas bowlers to tighten their grip.
Gaikwad scored 19 runs off 42 balls and was eventually dismissed by Tabraiz Shami after he charged down the ground but failed to get anything and got stumped. Kishan also failed to put his foot on the accelerator and was dismissed by Keshav Maharaj on 20 runs for which he took 37 balls.
Shreyas Iyer shifted the momentum in India’s favour with a counter-attacking half-century. Iyer batted with a positive approach to pull India back into the game as he smashed 50 runs off 37 balls. However, Lungi Ngidi got the better of him to put the pressure back on the hosts.
Samson shared a crucial 93-run stand for the sixth with Shardul Thakur (33) to keep India’s hopes alive. Both batters hit the boundary at regular intervals to keep the scoreboard moving. At one stage, when India were almost the favourites, Ngidi claimed another wicket as this time he got the better of Thakur with a slower delivery which shifted the momentum in the Proteas’ favour.
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Earlier, David Miller (75*) and Heinrich Klaasen (74*) counter-attacked the Indian bowlers to guide South Africa to a formidable score of 249/4 in 40 overs. It was another disappointing day for India in the fielding departments as they dropped catches at crucial stages of the game which allow the Proteas batters to post a challenging total in the series-opener.
Miller and Klaasen shared an unbeaten 139-run stand to counter-attack Indian bowlers who were not backed by their fielders.
Shardul was the pick of the bowlers for India with two wickets, while Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep took a wicket each.
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