Ind vs SA as it happened: De Kock, Steyn lead South Africa to crushing win

Time for the presentation ceremony. Dhoni: Overall, not a very good game for us. I don’t think we started well with the new ball when we were bowling. Sprayed quite a few deliveries. Not a wicket where the opposition can score 350 runs. Bowlers definitely let us down. But the batting also needs to pull up its socks. Dhoni: A few more days would work but that is more of an excuse. We need to adapt slightly better. Need to give credit to the South African bowlers. Bowled in good areas. Dhoni: Need to bowl in the right areas. Can’t give away so many runs. Once the opposition scores 350 odd runs, you have to go for it from the start. More than the death bowling. I was disappointed with the new ball bowling. We were not able to find the right length. Shami bowled well. The two spinners also. The other two gave away a few too many. De Villiers: It is important to be confident in sport. On the field, there is no way we are going to stand back for any team in the world. Even though they are the No 1 team in the world, and we respect that, there is no way we are going to stand back for any team in the world, especially at home. De Villiers: Lots of credit to Amla and especially Quinnie. Showed a lot of maturity and it was easy to bat around him. We showed a lot of care. The partnerships gave me a lot of pleasure. JP came in and made it look really, really easy. 0030 IST WICKET! Mohammed Shami c & b Steyn 0 (3m 4b 0x4 0x6) India all out for 217 as Shami pops a simple return catch back to Steyn, who finishes with 3 for 25 from 8 overs. South Africa have won by 141 runs with 9 overs to spare. It was actually an undisciplined bowling performance from South Africa as they bowled 24 wides. A side better prepared to face the conditions would have made them pay for the four extra overs and the free runs.0027 IST WICKET! Dhoni b Steyn 65 (71b 8x4 1x6) Dhoni goes to cut but the ball is too close to him and the inside edge crashes into the stumps. End of a stubborn, excellent innings from the India captain. He has shown his team-mates how to play the South Africa quicks. India now 217/9 from 40.2 overs.

0022 IST India is 212/8 after 40 overs (Dhoni 60, Mohit 0) Dhoni tries to pull but is beaten by the bounce from McLaren and hit on the right hand. He walks around shaking the hand and grins. Cracks the penultimate ball of the over - it was short and wide - through the offside for four. Then sneaks a single off his legs to keep the strike. 0019 IST India is 206/8 after 39 overs (Dhoni 60, Mohit 0) Dhoni is turning down singles to preserve the tail. Backs it up by pulling Steyn through midwicket. Mohit is able to leave the one ball he has to face. 0015 IST India is 201/8 after 38 overs (Dhoni 55, Mohit 0) Dhoni gets to 50 with SIX over long-off. Stepped out and thumped a half-volley. That is also the 2000th six in ODI history. He then bings up India’s 200 with an outside edge past the keeper. What a difference a country makes.

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0006 IST Steyn is back at last. Starts off by beating the bat. WICKET! Kumar c Kallis b Steyn 0 (4b 0x4 0x6) Finally Steyn gets the reward he deserves. Bhuvi nicks one and Kallis takes a sharp catch to his right at second slip. Batsman played far away from his body. That delivery was bowled at 142 kph. India 190/8 after 36.2 overs.

003 IST India is 190/7 after 36 overs (Dhoni 44, Bhuvi 0) India take the batting PowerPlay. Dhoni takes on Morkel, pulling him over square leg. Ball lands just inside the rope, so India still without a six in this innings. 2355 IST WICKET! Ashwin c †de Kock b McLaren 19 (19b 4x4 0x6) Mclaren has another but Ashwin has reason to feel aggrieved. Big appeal as the ball seamed in between pad and bat. There was a sound, but replays show that came from the ball hitting the top of the pad. The umpire doesn’t get to see the replays though and he raised his finger. India now 183/7 after 35 overs and staring defeat in the face.

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2353 IST India is 181/6 after 34 overs (Dhoni 37, Ashwin 19) Morkel returns and hits Dhoni on the grill of his helmet. Also gets Ashwin to fish outside his offstump. Just one run from the over. 2348 IST India is 180/6 after 33 overs (Dhoni 36, Ashwin 19) Ashwin absolutely hammers Tsotsobe to the midwicket boundary. Short and outside off and Ashwin pulled it with disdain. Then, to prove he can play on both sides of the wicket, he cuts the bowler over point for another boundary. 2344 IST India is 172/6 after 32 overs (Dhoni 36, Ashwin 11) Ashwin sends the midwicket fielder scurrying off in pursuit of the ball. The ball wins. He can be such a sweet timer of the ball, can Ashwin. 2339 IST India is 164/6 after 31 overs (Dhoni 35, Ashwin 5) Ashwin is the new batsman and he gets off the mark with a nudge to fine leg for four. Tsostobe has been all over the place in this match and has figures of 0 for 44 from his 8 overs. 2328 IST WICKET! Jadeja b Kallis 29 (30b 6x4 0x6) SR: 96.66 Kallis produces the perfect inswinger to the left-hander. Jadeja leaves a big gap between bat and pad and the ball crashes into offstump. India 158/6 after 29.5 overs. 2328 IST India is 154/5 after 29 overs (Dhoni 33, Jadeja 28) A single from Dhoni brings up India’s 150. Jadeja ends the over by charging Tsotsobe and cross-batting him to the long-on boundary. The score is actually around where South Africa were at the same stage. The difference is South Africa had not lost a wicket yet. 2322 IST India is 149/5 after 28 overs (Dhoni 32, Jadeja 24) Time for some Kallis. He is the one South African player who failed with the bat. An appeal for a run-out against Dhoni results in nothing more than an overthrow. Jadeja rubs salt in the wound by cutting Kallis to the cover boundary. Wouldn’t have been on the strike if not for the overthrow. 2317 IST India is 140/5 after 27 overs (Dhoni 29, Jadeja 19) Dhoni and Jadeja getting stuck in. First Dhoni smashes Tsotsobe across the line to midwicket, then Jadeja thumps a full delivery down the ground.

2312 IST India is 130/5 after 26 overs (Dhoni 24, Jadeja 14) Out of nowhere Jadeja drives a Parnell half-volly past a diving extra-cover fielder to the boundary. Then reverts to type by flashing leaden-footed at one outside off. Parnell decides to be a gracious host with a couple of shocking wides either side of the wicket. Just horrible deliveries. Jadeja ends the over by driving Parnell down the ground. 2307 IST India is 118/5 after 25 overs (Dhoni 23, Jadeja 6) Three from Tsotsobe’s over but plenty for the Indian think-tank to mull over from this game. They need more pace in the bowling department. They aren’t going to score 300-plus against this attack on these pitches. The batting cannot carry the bowling outside of India. 2304 IST India is 115/5 after 24 overs (Dhoni 21, Jadeja 5) Jadeja edges one past slip to the third man boundary. The rest of the time he struggles to get bat on ball. The only question remaining in this match is how much South Africa are going to win by.2254 IST WICKET! Raina run out 14 (20b 2x4 0x6) Steyn’s bullet arm does for Raina. Flings the throw from fine leg right over the stumps and even the dive can’t save Raina as he tries to get home for the second run. India now 107/5 after 22.3 overs. 2251 IST India is 93/4 after 22 overs (Raina 13, Dhoni 20) South Africa seem to be a bit carried away with the short ball. Raina pulls Parnell to the square leg boundary to bring up India’s 100. India’s second fifty has taken 58 balls. The first took 79.2247 IST India is 96/4 after 21 overs (Raina 8, Dhoni 19) Dropped! Dhoni mistimes a slash off the returning Tsotobe and David Miller misjudges the catch in the covers. Gets his hands in the wrong position as the ball dies on him.

2242 IST India is 91/4 after 20 overs (Raina 6, Dhoni 16) Dhoni gives Morkel the charge and gets enough bat on it to take the ball to the midwicket boundary. The South African bowlers need to bowl full to Dhoni, not short. Meanwhile Raina picks up his first boundary with a clip to square leg. Nine from the over, which is about what India need. 2238 IST India is 82/4 after 19 overs (Raina 2, Dhoni 11) De Villiers still has two slips in place. Dhoni steps out and hoists McLaren over extra-cover for a one-bounce four. He isn’t going to go down without a fight. A misfield at on the fine leg boundary gives Dhoni another four runs. 2233 IST India is 71/4 after 18 overs (Raina 2, Dhoni 3) De Villiers is quick to bring back Morkel against Raina. Morkel loves bowling to left-handers too. Just two from the over and no damage to India’s batsmen. 2228 IST India is 69/4 after 17 overs (Raina 1, Dhoni 2) Raina is suspect against the short ball. Dhoni is not the best against fast bowling with the ball moving. The required rate is 8.78 Things are not looking good for the visitors. 2222 IST WICKET! Sharma run out 18 (43b 2x4 0x6) India falling apart here. There will be no record-breaking chase tonight as Rohit is run-out. He was called for a quick single by Raina that wasn’t there and the direct hit from David Miller finds Rohit a yard short. India now 65/4 after 15.4 overs. 2214 IST WICKET! Yuvraj Singh b McLaren 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) Yuvraj lasts two balls. He is hit in the ribs first ball, so is stuck on the crease when one darts back into him and hits the top of middle stump. His career looks over. India slump to 60/3 chasing 359 after 15 overs.2213 IST WICKET! Kohli c Kallis b McLaren 31 (35b 5x4 0x6) Bounce and seam movement from McLaren does for Kohli, who can only edge one to slip where Kallis doesn’t drop many.

2209 IST India is 59/1 after 14 overs (Rohit 12, Kohli 31) Having weathered an early storm, Rohit and Kohli are starting to find their sea legs on this pitch with the second string bowlers on now in the shape of Parnell and McLaren. Despite his early struggles, Kohli is scoring at a run-a-ball.2201 IST India is 43/1 after 12 overs (Rohit 9, Kohli 20) Morkel continuing with the short stuff. A bouncer whistles past Kohli’s helmet . Welcome to South Africa! Two runs from the over. 2157 IST India is 41/1 after 11 overs (Rohit 8, Kohli 19) Ryan McLaren comes on. Rohit has 4 from 30 balls when he decides to charge the bowler. A thick outside edge flies over first slip and to the boundary for four desperate runs. Five off the over. 2152 IST India is 36/1 after 10 overs (Rohit 4, Kohli 19) Some good fortune for Kohli. Tries to slog Morkel over long-on but it loops over mid-on instead. Hit high on the bat. Tsotsobe was the fielder. He capitalises by smashing Morkel through extra-cover for four. One thing about Kohli, he is not going to back down. Required run-rate is already over 8 an over.2148 IST India is 30/1 after 9 overs (Rohit 4, Kohli 12) Steyn pitching the ball further up hunting for the edge and Kohli takes a full stride forward and smashes one out of the screws to the cover boundary. Follows that up with a punch down the ground for another four. Whatever you think of Kohli’s attitude, you have to admire his guts and his talent. Steyn does get the edge but it flies to third man for a single. No reward for some high class fast bowling. 2144 IST India is 20/1 after 8 overs (Rohit 3, Kohli 4) Dropped! A Morkel bouncer takes Kohli’s gloves on the way through and De Kock grasses the chance. He was preparing to throw the ball into the air before the ball was in his gloves and spills it. Will Kohli make South Africa pay for that? Right now he is the one in pain as a Morkel bouncer crashes into his ribs.

2139 IST India is 17/1 after 7 overs (Rohit 2, Kohli 2) Virat Kohli’s turn to face Steyn. Takes him just two balls to make contact. Then Steyn produces an absolute peach that leaves Kohli no option but to play at it, then leaves him late as the bat hits nothing but air. All happened at 146 kph too. Kohli has a little chuckle to himself. He knows that was too good even for him. Keeps his composure to get off the mark with a couple to midwicket. 2134 IST WICKET! Dhawan c †de Kock b Morkel 12 (13b 3x4 0x6) Morne Morkel gets a wicket with his first ball. It was short and Dhawan goes for the hook but the ball got big on him and De Kock does well to run back towards third man and take the catch. India 14/1 chasing 359. 2129 IST India is 14/0 after 5 overs (Rohit 2, Dhawan 12) Steyn keeps bowling outswingers and keeps beating Rohit. The Indian batsman is yet to put bat to ball after 14 deliveries. Make that 15. The 16th one is the charm though and the crowd cheers Rohit’s solid defensive push to point. He finally gets off the mark with a leading edge that flies between point and mid-off for a couple. Steyn is disgusted. 2124 IST India is 12/0 after 4 overs (Rohit 0, Dhawan 12) Tsotsobe pitches it up too far and Dhawan smashes it through extra-cover with the high left elbow, then holds the pose. Tsotsobe resorts to the short ball but it swings wide and Dhawan carves him up and over point. Back-to-back boundaries as Dhawan sticks to his word about playing his shots in South Africa. 2121 IST India is 4/0 after 3 overs (Rohit 0, Dhawan 4) Steyn bowling outswinger after outswinger. Rohit resisting the temptation to drive and lets everything pass harmlessly outside off. Another maiden.2117 IST India is 4/0 after 2 overs (Rohit 0, Dhawan 4) Tsotsobe is the man tasked with making best use of the other new ball. He can be a mixed bag. Let’s see which Tsotsobe turns up today. Dhawan gets India up and running with a crunching drive down the ground. The rest of the over is full of probing outswing away from the left-hander. This is not going to be like chasing in India.2113 IST India is 0/0 after 1 over (Rohit 0, Dhawan 0) Steyn beats Rohit with a beautiful outswinger second ball. The battle has begun. He repeats the dose with the fourth ball. Draws Rohit forward before the ball leaps away from the bat. AB puts in a third slip. Beats him a third time. Rohit nods at the bowler and smiles. Last ball of the over is left well alone. Maiden to start. 2110 IST Welcome back folks. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are out in the middle. Dale Steyn has the new nut. Should be interesting times. 2026 IST South Africa 358/3 after 50 overs (de Kock 135, de Villiers 77, Amla 65) JP Duminy remains unbeaten on 59 from 29 balls as South Africa plunder 84 from the last five overs of the innings, and 135 from the last 10. India have another big chase ahead of them if they are to get their tour off to a winning start. The bowling figures make for brutal reading. Only Ashwin went for less than 6 an over, and Shami and Kohli were the only ones to take wickets. India need to figure their bowling out if are to have any chance of defending their World Cup crown in 2015.

Join us again in about 35 minutes for the chase2023 IST South Africa 352/4 after 49.3 overs (Duminy 58) AB brings up the 100-partnership by crouching low, moving to the offside and pulling Shami off one knee over fine leg. That was an incredible shot. Also brings up the 350 for South Africa WICKET! AB de Villiers b Mohammed Shami 77 (47b 6x4 4x6) De Villiers tries one improvisation too much. Moves across to try and slog-sweep the fast bowler, but it is a full fast delivery that sends off stump flying. 2020 IST South Africa 345/3 after 49 overs (de Villiers 71, Duminy 57) Nothing going India’s way. Mohit actually fools JP with a slower ball, but the batsman gets a thin inside edge and picks up two runs past a diving Dhoni behind the stumps. Aside from that, Indian bowlers keep bowling length, or low full tosses, and keep getting hammered. 87 have come from the last 5 overs, 23 from the last one. Some solace for India, who do love a big chase.2015 IST South Africa 322/3 after 48 overs (de Villiers 55, Duminy 50) Shami is getting the treatment too. Ties the slower bouncer and JP slams him over square leg for yet another SIX! JP brings up his 50 from just 25 balls. Has hit five sixes.2011 IST South Africa 310/3 after 47 overs (de Villiers 37, Duminy 10) Bhuvi provides AB with a low full toss outside off and that is duly despatched over long-off. It is carnage at the Wanderers at the moment. The 50 partnership has come up off 27 balls, as does AB’s 50, from 38 balls. SA dealing in sixes now as AB and JP help themselves to a six each. 20 comes off poor Bhuvi’s 9th over. He now has figures of 0 for 68. This is the sixth time in nine games that India have conceded over 300 runs.2006 IST South Africa 290/3 after 46 overs (de Villiers 53, Duminy 40) Sham is back. He has three overs left. Can he dam the flood of runs? No is the immediate answer as JP slogs him for a straight SIX! Shami tries the yorker but doesn’t get it full enough and JP effortlessly lofts him over square leg for another SIX! 32 runs have come from the last two overs. 2001 IST South Africa 274/3 after 45 overs (de Villiers 37, Duminy 20) Mohit comes back and AB greets him by charging down the track and hammering him over point. That might count as aggravated assault. Duminy goes one better – charging and driving Mohit over long-off for SIX! It was a length delivery that did nothing. Duminy rubs it by picking Mohit’s pocket and glancing him over short fine leg for four. 16 from the over. 51 from the last 5 overs.1956 IST South Africa 258/3 after 44 overs (de Villiers 32, Duminy 9) Kohli continues. No wicket this time. Seven runs from the over.1951 IST South Africa 251/3 after 43 overs (de Villiers 31, Duminy 3) JP is the new batsman. Meanwhile the 250 comes up with 7 overs to go. South Africa still sitting pretty. 1948 IST South Africa 247/3 after 41.5 overs (de Villiers 30) Virat Kohli comes on to bowl the 42nd over. Anybody else think Dhoni is desperate? Kohli pitches it up a bit too far. De Kock slams him high and handsome over long-on. This is batting practice now. WICKET! Q de Kock c & b Kohli 135 (121b 18x4 3x6) Dhoni’s gamble has paid off. That should teach me to question him. De Kock chips a simple return catch back to Kohli. 1945 IST South Africa 240/2 after 41 overs (de Kock 129, de Villiers 29) De Villiers toys with Jadeja. Slams him past long-on, then sweeps to fine leg. De Kock rubs it in my lofting RJ over long-off for a third boundary. 17 from the over as South Africa continue on their merry way towards 300. 1942 IST South Africa 223/2 after 40 overs (de Kock 123, de Villiers 18) No joy for Ashwin, who is going for over six an over. de Kock plays a lovely cover drive as South Africa are cruising. The 50-partnership comes up from 7 overs, so just better than a run-a-ball. 1939 IST South Africa 215/2 after 39 overs (de Kock 118, de Villiers 16) De Kock shows he can be delicate too with a lovely late cut off Jadeja. Runs flowing freely for South Africa now. 1936 IST South Africa 207/2 after 38 overs (de Kock 112, de Villiers 14) Six singles mean six easy runs off Ashwin. South Africa just need to play smart cricket. No need for anything fancy now. 1932 IST South Africa 201/2 after 37 overs (de Kock 109, de Villiers 11) De Kock slogs Jadeja over midwicket for SIX to bring up South Africa’s 200. What are India going to do in the death overs, when they have typically struggled? This could get ugly fast. 1928 IST South Africa 193/2 after 36 overs (de Kock 102, de Villiers 10) Ashwin is back now that the PowerPlay is done. Five from the over. A score of 300 very much on the cards for South Africa here. FYI, the average first innings score in Johannesburg in a day/night game is 222.1925 IST South Africa 188/2 after 35 overs (de Kock 101, de Villiers 6) Shami making live difficult for de Villiers too. Not sure why South Africa’s captain doesn’t just play him out quietly. He is India’ s only threat. No need to go after him too, as de Villiers does when he charges him and has an almighty airy swish. He proves my point when he stands stock still and drives a Shami half-volley to the long-off boundary. [caption id=“attachment_1269301” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Quinton de Kock has had his way with the Indian bowlers. AP[/caption] 1920 IST South Africa 182/2 after 34 overs (de Kock 100, de Villiers 1) Mohit oversteps. De Kock slams the free hit over long-on for a huge SIX. A single then takes him to 99. A second single gives him his second ODI hundred.WICKET! Kallis c Jadeja b Mohammed Shami 10 (14b 2x4 0x6) Having beaten Kallis twice with pace, bounce and movement, Shami forces him to try something different. Kallis manages to give himself room and carve the bowler over point once. When he tried to repeat the feat over cover, he failed to clear the fielder. South Africa 172/2 after 32.5 overs****1906 IST South Africa 168/1 after 32 overs (de Kock 92, Kallis 6) Mohit returns. Kallis stands tall and upper cuts him over point. Too short, too wide. Aside from Shami, India’s bowling attack has been rather toothless. 1902 IST South Africa 163/1 after 31 overs (de Kock 92, Kallis 1) Jacques Kallis is the new batsman. Will be interesting to see if he can score quickly from the start. He’s not exactly known for that. He averages a healthy 65.87 against India from 36 matches but his strike-rate is 72.3. That sort of sums up Kallis. Efficient and productive but not going to make you get up in the middle of the night to see what he is up to. Meanwhile de Kock is into the nervous nineties with a pair of boundaries. WICKET! Amla b Mohammed Shami 65 (88b 5x4 1x6) The batting PowerPlay strikes again. Three deliveries into first over of the PowerPlay, Amla is late on a defensive strokes to a Shami delivery that came in a touch off the seam and bounced more than he expected. The ball is introduced to teh stumps by the inside edge. South Africa now 152/1 after 29.3 overs. 1851 IST South Africa 150/0 after 29 overs (Amla 64, de Kock 82) A single to Amla brings up South Africa’s 150. This is all blurring together now. Hard to tell one over from the next. 1849 IST South Africa 145/0 after 28 overs (Amla 61, de Kock 80) Dhoni turns to Raina. A potentially good over ends with de Kock driving through the covers. Seven from it. One of these batsmen is going to have to get themselves out at this rate. 1845 IST South Africa 138/0 after 27 overs (Amla 59, de Kock 75) Amla thumps Jadeja over extra-cover with the spin. India looking increasingly toothless. The batting might be glittering but the bowling is not looking as shiny. 1843 IST South Africa 131/0 after 26 overs (Amla 53, de Kock 74) De Kock sweeps Ashwin to fine leg for four. Then lofts him over short fine leg for another four. That was a semi-Dilscoop. South Africa starting to accelerate again. 1838 IST South Africa 120/0 after 25 overs (Amla 51, de Kock 65) Amla gets to his fifty now. Taken him 73 balls. Slow by his standards but a solid knock nonetheless. 1835 IST South Africa 115/0 after 24 overs (Amla 48, de Kock 63) Ashwin gives Amla room outside off. Four runs is the result. Perhaps South Africa should have played in pink against Pakistan too? India looking short of ideas here as the spinners race through their overs. 1833 IST South Africa 109/0 after 23 overs (Amla 43, de Kock 62) De Kock goes inside out to drive Jadeja through the covers. This outfield is quick. Didn’t look like it had enough on it but beat the fielder with room to spare. 1830 IST South Africa 103/0 after 22 overs (Amla 42, de Kock 57) De Kock hoicks Ashwin over midwicket to bring up the 100 for South Africa. Barring a couple of deliveries, the Indian attack has not looked like taking a wicket. Cause for concern for Dhoni.1828 IST South Africa 99/0 after 21 overs (Amla 42, de Kock 53) Dhoni finally brings on Jadeja. Amla immediately gives him the charge and tries to dispatch him through the offside., Gets only a single for all that effort. Just two from the over. 1825 IST South Africa 97/0 after 20 overs (Amla 41, de Kock 52) Bhuvi comes back on as Dhoni looks for the breakthrough. Bounce again from just short of the length as Amla flashes at a wide one. But still no joy for the visitors. 1822 IST South Africa 94/0 after 19 overs (Amla 39, de Kock 51) Quinton de Kock takes a single to get to his 50 from 54 deliveries. He and Amla have given South Africa a very good start. The home sides struggled with the bat against Pakistan in their previous series, so this will give them some confidence. India probably can’t expect a West Indies-style collapse either. 1819 IST South Africa 90/0 after 18 overs (Amla 37, de Kock 49) Amla and de Kock have discovered they can knock Shami around for singles. Pick up five of them from the over.1815 IST South Africa 85/0 after 17 overs (Amla 35, de Kock 46) Ashwin produces a quieter second over. Just three from it.1812 IST South Africa 82/0 after 16 overs (Amla 34, de Kock 44) Shami continues after the break. Amla and de Kock still not comfortable against him but all they have to do is survive against him. 1805 IST South Africa 78/0 after 15 overs (Amla 31, de Kock 43) Ashwin comes on. Dhoni gives him a slip. De Kock late cuts him past that slip to the third man boundary. Ashwin pulls his length back; de Kock cuts him past point. And that’s drinks. 1802 IST South Africa 69/0 after 14 overs (Amla 30, de Kock 35) Shami making Amla hop around. These are ominous signs for India’s batsmen. If Shami can do this to Amla, imagine what Steyn and Morkel can do to the likes of Raina and Yuvraj. 1757 IST South Africa 65/0 after 13 overs (Amla 28, de Kock 34) Dhoni rotating his fast bowlers. Bhuvi’s first four went for 26 runs. He is back for another go-around. Gives away three runs. 1751 IST South Africa 62/0 after 12 overs (Amla 25, de Kock 33) Shami posing some problems with his pace. An inside edge is a whisker away from hitting the stumps. Some anxious expressions pass between the openers and Amla has a chat with his younger colleague.1747 IST South Africa 55/0 after 11 overs (Amla 25, de Kock 28) Mohit into his sixth over. Gets Amla to fish outside his offstump. Doesn’t catch anything though but again the ball takes off from just short of a length. India have not bowled that length enough, though the bowlers might also lack the pace to do that consistently, Shami excepted. 1741 IST South Africa 53/0 after 10 overs (Amla 24, de Kock 27) Shami takes Bhuvi’s place. Starts with a maiden. Here is the record between the sides in ODIs in South Africa:  1737 IST South Africa 53/0 after 9 overs (Amla 24, de Kock 27) I seem to have upset Amla. An almight crack comes off the bat as he slashes Mohit past point. After watching Amla have some fun, De Kock decides to lean into an offdrive and send the ball racing past mid-off for four. That shot brings up South Africa’s 50 as well. 1732 IST South Africa 42/0 after 8 overs (Amla 19, de Kock 22) Amla is struggling to get the ball away. Timing just not there. He might be getting a tad frustrated. Eases that frustration with a forcing shot off the back foot through the covers. Then a short-arm pull sends the ball flying over the square leg boundary. Did I say he was struggling? That was the opposite of struggling. That was sublime. Bhuvi also bowled a wide in that over, the first extra of the match. 1727 IST South Africa 31/0 after 7 overs (Amla 9, de Kock 22) An all action over. De Kock decides to pull and does it with aplomb. The ball disappears to the square leg fence. Mohit responds with an effort ball that bounces over de Kock’s hapless attempt at a square cut. The good and the bad in those two deliveries. Then De Kock gets lucky when a lofted square cut falls just short of Bhuvi on the point boundary as he dives forward to take the catch. The very next ball an outside edge from Amla bounces an inch short of Rohit Sharma’s outstretched arms in the covers. 1723 IST South Africa 25/0 after 6 overs (Amla 8, de Kock 17) Out of nowhere Bhuvi gets one to seam and bounce away from Amla. Just back of a length that pitched and it bounced more than Amla expected. Bhuvi seems to be finding his range. 1718 IST South Africa 24/0 after 5 overs (Amla 8, de Kock 16) Amla would have run himself out if Dhawan had hit from mid-on. Replays show him yards out of his ground as the ball whizzes past the stumps. But Dhawan didn’t hit so it doesn’t matter. 1714 IST South Africa 22/0 after 4 overs (Amla 7, de Kock 15) De Kock takes a wild swipe at a wide one from Bhuvi and misses everything. Makes contact with the last ball of the over though – another half volley – and it races across the green turf to the extra-cover boundary. 1710 IST South Africa 18/0 after 3 overs (Amla 7, de Kock 11) Mohit’s turn to offer some width and Amla’s turn to say thanks. Crashes the bowler between point and cover off the back foot. So far the pitch providing a nice, even pace for the batsmen. 1705 IST South Africa 12/0 after 2 overs (Amla 1, de Kock 11) Bhuvi Kumar starts off in less disciplined fashion. A half-volley on legstump is clipped to the midwicket fence by de Kock. Some swing on offer for Bhuvi, who is trying to get the ball to move from leg to off against the left-hander. Tries to hard and the ball gets away from him and de Kock says thank you as he cuts him to the point boundary. 1701 IST Mohit Sharma starts India off. Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock are the openers. South Africa 2/0 after 1 over (Amla 1, de Kock 1) A single to each of the openers as Mohit doesn’t give either batsmen any room. 1654 IST The South African team is in pink today to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. Meanwhile, this is on Twitter:1646 IST****1640 IST Here are the playing XIs: South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock†, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers*, JP Duminy, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe. India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni*†, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma. South Africa going with a pace-heavy line-up, which is not surprising. Will be interesting to see if they turn to any of their part time spinners. 1630 IST India have won the toss and will bowl first against South Africa in the first ODI of their three-match series. India is playing an unchanged team from their last game in Kanpur. Dhoni said he took the rain into account when making his decision. Yes, rain is expected at some point during the game. Preview: Gaining in confidence with every series, India’s in-form young batsmen are set to be put through their sternest test this season when the team takes on the mighty South Africa in a three-match ODI series starting today. It is an ODI contest with context but that has got nothing to do with the political intrigue that led to this tour being shortened. Nor is it just another three-match series between the number one and number five ranked sides. [caption id=“attachment_1268861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Virat Kohli in South Africa. AFP[/caption] This affair has a certain context, all of it pertaining to what happens within the boundary ropes. For Team India, it will be an exercise to reaffirm faith in their young batsmen. This is the same bunch that has been busy lighting up cricket grounds with some breathtaking stroke-play. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, each have scored more than thousand runs in ODIs played this calendar year, each of them averaging over fifty. (PTI) Click here to read the full preview.