IND vs SA, 1st ODI: Hosts lose by 9 runs, trail 0-1 in three-match series
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), October 6: South Africa defeated India by 9 runs in a 40-over rain-truncated match played at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. With this defeat, host India witnessed the first ODI loss on home soil in 2022.
Now, Shikhar Dhawan-led India is trailing the Proteas 0-1 in the three-match ODI series.
Team India got off to the worst possible start in chasing a massive 250-run mark in 40 overs, as opener Shubman Gill was cleaned up for 3 by pacer Kagiso Rabada. Wayne Parnell sent skipper Shikhar Dhawan packing for 4 as India lost their second wicket for 8. Protea bowlers played a tight line and did not let Indian hitters score easily, limiting the hosts to just 18 runs in eight overs of powerplay.
Spinners entered the fray, with Tabraiz Shamsi dismissing debutant Ruturaj Gaikwad 19, who was stumped by keeper Quinton de Kock. In the 18th over, the hosts clawed their way to 50 runs.
Keshav Maharaj also sent Ishan Kishan packing, leaving his side at 51/4.
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With India losing wickets and the required rate steadily increasing, they sorely needed a partnership, which Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson provided. The Iyer-Samson partnership smashed boundaries to score 50 runs and push the team's total past 100 in 22.3 overs.
Shreyas Iyer scored his half-century in 33 balls. Lungi Ngidi grabbed the prized scalp of Iyer for 50 to break the 67-run partnership as India lost half their side for 118.
Shardul Thakur joined Samson and the duo batted brilliantly to push India's total above 150 runs in 31.1 overs.
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The partnership of Samson and Thakur for fifty off 43 balls kept India in the contest. Samson went on to score his half-century off 49 balls, helping India surpass 200 runs in 36.5 overs.
The 83-run stand was broken when Shardul Thakur was bowled for 33 off 31 balls by Lungi Ngidi as India lost their sixth wicket for 211. Kuldeep Yadav went out in the following ball, dealing the hosts a double blow.
Rabada sent Avesh Khan packing in the next over for 3. With 29 runs needed from the final over. Samson tried hard and scored 20 runs in Shamsi's over, but it was too little, too late for India, who could only manage 240/8 in 40 overs, falling 9 runs short of their target.
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-PTC News
