Kohli hits ton, Rohit makes fifty as India defeat South Africa by 17 runs in 1st ODI

Virat Kohli gave a timely reminder of his relevance to Indian cricket with a brilliant century against South Africa in the 1st ODI at Ranchi on Sunday. Powered by the superstar's ton, India defeated the Proteas by 17 runs to take a lead in the series. 

The superstar consumed 17 balls in his 90s to reach triple digits by slicing one to the boundary through backward point. He had crossed his fifty by lifting Corbin Bosch over long-on for a six. But the wait for the ton was worth it, as it was his first since February this year, and the 52nd of his illustrious ODI career.

After punching the air, Kohli got back to business, hammering Prenelan Subrayen for 4, 6, 6, 4 in the next over, and then smashing Ottneil Baartman for two boundaries. "A diamond is forever," said Harsha Bhogle. Kohli made 135 off 120, hitting 11 boundaries and seven sixes. 

Another OG, Rohit Sharma, had been in fine form before he was given out leg before to Marco Jansen for 57. The former skipper had forged a 136-run partnership with Kohli for the second wicket after Yashasvi Jaiswal (18) was removed by Nandre Burger after Markram won the toss.

Helped by the performances, India made 349/8 in their 50 overs.

Chasing a huge total, Harshit Rana struck twice early to reduce the visitors to 11/3 inside four overs. However, Matthew Breetzke fought back, anchoring the innings with a gritty 72 off 80 balls to bring the Proteas back into the contest. Marco Jansen added momentum with a brisk 70 off 39 deliveries, while Corbin Bosch contributed 67, but their efforts were not enough to take the team past the target.

Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 4 for 68. Harshit Rana claimed three wickets, and Arshdeep Singh chipped in with two as the visitors were bowled out for 332 in 49.2 overs, handing India a comfortable win

Brief scores: India 349/8 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 135, KL Rahul 60, Rohit Sharma 57, Ravindra Jadeja 32, Baartman 2/60, Burger 2/65, Bosch 2/66, Jansen 2/76) vs South Africa  332 in 49.2 overs (Matthew Breetzke 72, Marco Jansen 70, Corbin Bosch 67, Kuldeep Yadav 4/68, Harshit Rana 3/65, Arshdeep Singh 2/64)