Last Update on: November 6th, 2023 at 07:49 am
Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja starred with the bat and ball respectively as India thrashed South Africa by a record margin of 243 runs on Sunday (November 5) to continue their winning run in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Batting first, India piled up a big total of 326 for 5 in the allotted 50 overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma gave India another flying start by scoring 40 off just 24 balls and sharing a quickfire stand of 62 runs with Shubman Gill who scored 23. After India lost both of their openers in quick time, Virat Kohli took charge of the innings.
On a tough where batters were finding it tough to time the ball, Virat Kohli relied on singles and doubles as well as occasional fours to keep the scoreboard running at a healthy rate. He and Shreyas Iyer (77) added 134 runs for the third wicket. Unlike Iyer, the former India captain went on to complete a century and equaled legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 49 ODI hundreds.
His knock came off 121 balls and was studded with 10 fours. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav (22) and Ravindra Jadeja (29) also played useful cameos towards the end to help the team post a 320-plus total. The score turned out to be more than enough in the end as India bowled out South Africa for a paltry total of 83 runs.
What promised to be an exhilarating contest turned out to be another one-sided affair as India registered another comfortable win. The star of the show with the ball was Ravindra Jadeja as he picked up 5 wickets for just 33 runs while Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav accounted for 2 wickets apiece.
Ravindra Jadeja on Virat Kohli’s century:
One of the major talking points from the match was Virat Kohli’s century. The former India captain scored a stunning ton on a tough pitch to equal Tendulkar’s record of most ODI tons. He is now just one century away from becoming the player with most tons in the history of the 50-over format. With India to play at least two more games in the World Cup, Virat Kohli will definitely be fancying his chances.
After the game ended, Ravindra Jadeja attended the post-match press-conference and asked about his teammate’s record-equaling century. In reply, the allrounder said: “49 ho ya 50, sab ek hi thaali mai gir raha hai..Chalne do, nazar mat lagao (Whether it’s 49 or 50, they all are falling on the same plate… Let it be, don’t jinx it).”
49 ho ya 50, sab ek hi thaali mai gir raha hai..Chalne do, nazar mat lagao"
– Ravindra Jadeja on Virat Kohli’s 49th century (IN PC)#RAVINDRAJADEJA #Viratkohli #CWC2023 #INDvSA— रोहित जुगलान Rohit Juglan (@rohitjuglan) November 5, 2023
When asked about Kohli scoring the century on his birthday, Jadeja said: “Well every day we wear the Indian jersey, it is like a birthday only, because not many get this chance. As for Virat, we are glad he is scoring runs, making his birthday even more special, and the more records he equals or breaks it is better for the team. The timing is also good as he is doing all this in the current World Cup.”
