The Indians raised their game and increased the intensity when it was required; they outplayed South Africa by eight wickets with a clinical display that helped them to storm into the semis
Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan
India skipper Virat Kohli is overjoyed as South African batsman Faf du Plessis’ stumps are shattered by Hardik Pandya during the Champions Trophy at The Oval in London yesterday. Pic/Bipin Patel
The Indians raised their game and increased the intensity when it was required the most. In a must-win situation, they outplayed South Africa by eight wickets with a clinical display that helped them to storm into the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy yesterday. It was a near-perfect game for them as the bowlers as well as the fielders made amends for their lacklustre performance against Sri Lanka here on Thursday.
The inclusion of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin without doubt gave the bowling attack a much-needed boost. With the pace bowlers too keeping it tight, they were able to create immense pressure on the South African batsmen and that led to three run outs, including crucial ones of skipper AB de Villiers and David Miller, to smart fielding. After those twin strikes, the South African innings went into a spin and they lost their last eight wickets for just 51 runs to collapse for mere 191.
Getting those runs on the benign Oval pitch was never going to be difficult, nor were India in the mood to mess it up despite losing Rohit Sharma early. In-form Shikhar Dhawan and captain Virat Kohli struck half-centuries to pave the way for India's win. After Dhawan departed, Yuvraj Singh got the opportunity to make an appearance in his 300th ODI game. He kept his skipper company as they two took India across the line, with Yuvi finishing the game with a trademark six with 12 overs to spare.
Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan
The top spot in Group B will be decided only after today's Pakistan-Sri Lanka game at Cardiff on Monday, but with a healthy net run-rate (NRR), India are all set to finish number one and travel to Birmingham for a semi-final against Bangladesh on Thursday. It will be a repeat of the 2015 World Cup quarter-final at Melbourne, which India won before losing to Australia in the semis.
It was not rosy for India all the way. After opting to bowl first, they could not strike early as Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla gave South Africa a solid start of 76. Despite Amla's departure, the Proteas continued to consolidate and at 140 for two they seemed set for a big score. But the run out of AB de Villiers to a fine throw by Hardik Pandya, turned the match on its head. What followed was utter disaster for SA as they lost their last eight wickets in quick succession, including the run outs of Miller to a Jasprit Bumrah throw. The bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bumrah, Ashwin and Jadeja tightened the noose with incisive bowling. With hardly any pressure over the asking rate, Kohli and Dhawan batted sensibly to ensure that SA bowlers did not get any chance of striking back. It was then left to Yuvraj to finish the match in style hoisting JP Duminy for a six.
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