Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the World Cup 2019 match between India and South Africa at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton.
Hardik Pandya takes India over the line with a cracking boundary. This is a resounding six-wicket win for Team India. It rode on Rohit Sharma's unbeaten hundred and Yuzvendra Chahal's four-for to get is World Cup campaign off to a winning start. South Africa, meanwhile, has plenty to ponder. Credit to Jasprit Bumrah too. How good was he? His spell upfront set the tone for the day. Spare a thought for Kagiso Rabada. He too was exceptional with the ball but found little support from his team-mates.
That would be all from our side. Night!
GONE! Morris is back into the attack and snaps up MS straightaway. Caught and behind but India on the brink of win here. Hardik Pandya is in next. Pandya greets Morris with a fierce square cut for four. Follows it up with a pull shot now. India needs 5 runs in 18 balls.
Tahir back into the attack. Rohit brings up the team 200 with a brace. And carts one away to deep square leg for four. 10 from it. Rabada to bowl out. It's been a brilliant display of hostile pace bowling from the youngster; unfortunately he has been let down by the fielders. Five off the last over. Rabada: 10-1-39-2
DROPPED! Oh Dear! Rabada gets Rohit to mistime a pull but Miller has dropped a sitter. Next ball, Rohit rubs salt in the wound: helps one over the keeper's head for four. IND 198/3 after 44 overs .
Phehlukwayo and Shamsi bowling in tandem. Dhoni ups the ante: gets a boundary off Shamsi before taking a quick double. Rohit, now, piles further misery by sweeping one away for four more. Two to end the over. 14 from it. India needs 35 runs in 42 balls.
Shamsi is back into the attack. India needs 57 runs in 60 balls. Rohit Sharma brings up his 100 with a single! He was dropped on 1. DROPPED! Dhoni has been dropped in the slips now. South Africa have been quite sloppy in the field today. IND 176/3 after 41 overs .
Morris is back into the attack. M.S. ends the over with a boundary to backward square leg. India needs 64 runs in 72 balls. Phehlukwayo continues. Four off the over. Rohit three shy of a hundred. Morris's ninth over goes for three. He's still on 97, is Rohit. IND 171/3 after 40 overs.
Dhoni is taking his time, he can afford to with a set Rohit at the other end. Meanwhile, Du Plessis has two leggies operating in tandem but that doesn't seem to be bothering India. Phehlukwayo back into the attack. Rohit Sharma smashes a back of a length ball over mid-off for four. Moves to 94. Four off the over. IND 158/3 after 37 overs.
Tahir continues. Dhoni gets off the mark with a single. Four runs off it. India needs 85 runs to win. Shamsi is back into the attack. Two off the over. Tahir continues. Five runs off the over. IND 150/3 after 35 overs.
He's set all right, is Rohit. Gets his ninth boundary with a hit to sweeper cover. 10 runs from that Tahir over and India now needs just 91 to win. Rabada continues. He strikes, does Rabada! Gets KL Rahul out and the partnership has been broken. M.S. Dhoni has joined Rohit. Wicket maiden that. IND 139/3 after 32 overs.
Rabada is back into the attack. Just two off it in the end. Tahir, from the other end, has been taken for seven with Rohit punishing a short and wide ball. He shiftshis focus to Rabada now... short, pacy but a short ball and Rohit's pulled that four too. Six from the over. IND 129/2 after 30 overs.
Shamsi drags one down leg side and Sharma has hammered that to fine leg for four to bring up the 50-run stand. Beautiful stroke from Rohit again: waits for it and cuts it past deep backward point for a second boundary. 11 off the 27th. IND 113/2 after 27. India needs 115 runs to win.
Shamsi continues. Rohit gives him the charge and a one handed slog gets him two. Three off the over. Morris to continue. Errs in line... on the pads and Rahul helps it to fine leg for four. 100 up for India . Seven off the over. IND 102/2 after 26 overs.
Rohit moves to 49 with his first six of the match. Shamsi's shorter ball has been dispatched over deep mid-wicket. He gets to his 50 with a single . Nine from the over. Morris to continue. Four dots and an edge that falls just short of first slip. Rohit survives, again. A single to end the over. IND 92/2 after 24 overs.
The duo's more than happy to knock the ones and twos. Four from Shamsi's over. Morris returns into the attack. He starts with a ripper. The ball straightens ever so slightly after pitching and beats Rahul's edge. He returns with a maiden.
Leggie Tabraiz Shamsi has been brought into the attack. Rahul's taken a single. Rohit backs it up with a two to backward-point. Three from it. SHOT! KL Rahul shows his class with a straight drive off Phehlukwayo. SHOT! Rohit now: cuts it past backward point for four. IND 78/2 after 20 overs.
Tahir drags one down and Rohit has pulled it away for four. Four singles off the remaining. Eight from it. DRINKS ! Phehlukwayo to continue. Three from it. IND 65/2 after 18 overs.
Kohli brings up the team 50 with a single off Tahir. Three from it. SHOT! Virat's pulled Phehlukwayo for his first four of the match. GONE! De Kock, you beauty! What a blinder behind the stumps to get rid of Kohli. This is a big blow. KL Rahul at 4. Boundary and a wicket.
Tahir continues. Five singles to end the over. Phehlukwayo, from the other end, goes for two in his first balls. One off the next three. Just three off it. IND 47/1 after 14 overs.
Tahir back into the attack at the start of the second Powerplay. Only two coming from it. Phehlukwayo introduced into the attack. He strikes Rohit on the pads and pleades, pleads for a lbw! Not given. South Africa review and it's umpire's call! Rohit survives . Three from it. IND 39/1 after 12 overs .
Morris into his fourth over. Almost a second consecutive maiden to Kohli but for the last ball brace. Now three coming off Rabada's over. IND 34/1 after 10 overs.
A maiden from Morris. India will be happy to weather this early storm. With the required rate under five, Kohli and Rohit will be happy to see out a few overs. Rabada to continue. Three slips for Rohit. SIX! Short and Rohit's helped it over fine leg for a maximum. Now through third-man for four: an outside edge but India will take it. Short and wide, Rohit has cut that for four. 15 from it. IND 29/1 after 8 overs.
Morris to continue. Rohit gets a brace. Five dots follow. GONE! The pressure tells on Dhawan at the other end, and Rabada has been rewarded for a brilliant spell: gets him out caught behind. Virat Kohli in at 3. Ho, ho ho! Rabada welcomes Kohli with a bouncer. Kohli opens his account with a swift single. IND 14/1 after 6 overs .
Rabada continues. So just a one over for Tahir. Rabada v Rohit: Rabada clearly has upper hand at the moment. The late away movement troubling the right-hander. A single atlast. IND 11/0 after 4 overs. Rabada's yorker has broken the bottom of Dhawan's bat.
Morris into the attack. Dhawan's off the blocks in a flash. Just a one. Jaffa! Nothing Rohit could have done about it. Beats him all ends up. And again. Twice in two overs now, the ball has lobbed up off Rohit's bat and landed just safe! One run. Dhawan now pulls one to deep square leg for his first boundary. Three overs gone.
Dhawan's off the mark in the World Cup thanks to a misfield. Rohit ambles to a single as well. Single to end the over. Three coming from it. Rabada to share the new ball. Oh, there's the pacy delivery and the bounce takes Dhawan by surprise. Du Plessis has dropped Rohit! Rabada almost had the breakthrough. Excellent start. One off it. IND 4/0 after 2 overs.
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan begin India's run chase. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir to start proceedings.
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Chahal and Bumrah shared six wickets between them to restrict South Africa to 227/9. Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada revived the innings with a 66-run partnership but India, with its batting firepower, will feel it can chase down 228.
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Bhuvi to bowl the 50th. Gets a wicket off his second ball, and Morris departs for a well made 42. Tahir is in next. Bhuvi gets his second of the match as Tahir falls for a two-ball duck.
Bhuvi to bowl
the penultimate ove r. Sorry folks, got a little carried away there!
Nine from the over. Bhuvi: 9-0-41-0. Bumrah to bowl the 49th.
wrap up the innings . Starts with a dot. Follows it up with just a single. Dot. Single. Rabada with a crucial four runs, this time to long-off. Six from it.
Bumrah 10-1-35-2.
Bhuvi back into the attack. Eight from the over. Bumrah continues. Morris continues to wage a lone battle: scythes one to long-off for four. 50- partnership up between Morris and Rabada. Nine runs from it. SA 209/7 after 47 overs.
Morris has made up his mind: enough of ones and twos. And it's Chahal again who bears the brunt - another maximum. Bumrah returns for his third spell. Only two off that over. Bumrah so far: 8-1-20-2. SA 192/7 after 45 overs.
SIX! Morris has hammered this over deep backward square leg for six. Chahal at the receiving end. Nine runs coming off that over. Hardik Pandya back into the attack. SHOT! Rabada ends the over with a pull shot for four. SA 182/7 after 43 overs.
SA 161/7 after 40 overs . Chahal and Kuldeep bowling in tandem. Phehlukwayo goes big, hammers Kuldeep over long-on for the first six of the match. 17 off the last two overs. Chahal picks up another one, and Phehlukwayo has been stumped trying to up the ante. South Africa four down . Kagiso Rabada comes to the crease.
Chahal is back for another crack. A wicket straightaway for the leggie: caught and bowled and David Miller has to take the long walk back to the dressing room. South Africa six down. Chris Morris at the crease. Four runs and a wicket from it. Kuldeep returns too, goes for just two. SA 140/6 after 37 overs.
Bhuvi back into the attack. Three off the over. Kedar, at the other end, concedes a boundary: Phehlukwayo with the hit. Good comeback from Kedar though, follows it up with three dots. Bhuvi into his seventh. Only two. South Africa just going through the motions. SA 134/5 after 35 overs.
Bumrah into his seventh over. Bouncer. Yorker. Top-drawer stuff from Bumrah. Five dots. Excellent from the right-arm seamer; a maiden . Kedar continues. Just one in the over. SA 124/5 after 32 overs. DRINKS!
Kedar Jadhav comes into the attack. Five from it. Bumrah back into the attack. Miller gets one away in the gap between mid-wicket and long-on. Six from it in the end. Kedar continues. Five coming off it. SA 123/5 after 30 overs.
Andile Phehlukwayo comes to the crease. Chahal continues. Six from it in the end. Kuldeep goes for five in his sixth over. By the way, South Africa have limped past 100. Chahal continues his miserly spell: only two off his over. SA 105/5 after 26 overs.
JP Duminy in next. Kuldeep back into the attack. Five off his over. India on the prowl here: slip and leg-slip for Chahal at the other end. Three from the over. Now Kuldeep joins the act: gets Duminy out lbw. The batsman reviews but replays show three reds. SA 89/5 after 23 overs.
There's the wicket! Dussen has been cleaned up by Chahal: he tries to go for the reverse sweep and is undone by the turn there. South Africa three down. Miller in next. And another one: this is du Plessis; the slider castles the Protean skipper. SA 80/4 after 20 overs.
Kuldeep continues. Nine from the over. DRINKS ! SA 65/2 after 16 overs. Pandya continues. Six off the over. South Africa have recovered well here. Chahal has been introduced into the attack. Starts by conceding three. 50-run partnership is up. A good start: only four off it. SA 75/2 after 18 overs.
Kuldeep goes for five in his second: dussen gets one away off the last ball. Hardik continues. Du Plessis collects six off the first three including a boundary. Meanwhile, the Proteas have brought up their 50. Eight off the over.
Kuldeep Yadav has been introduced into the attack. Tidy start from the chinaman: three off it. Hardik to continue. Two slips in effect at the moment. OUCH! Du Plessis has been hit on the hand; uneven bounce the culprit there. Three from it. SA 43/2 after 13 overs.
Bumrah's bowled his fifth for just two runs. Du Plessis and van der Dussen are in the middle of a testing spell. Hardik Pandya into the attack. Three from it. SA 37/2 after 11 overs.
Five dots from Bhuvi, but Du Plessis gets a boundary to mid-wicket off the last ball. Bumrah, from the other end, continues his impressive spell. Just one from his over. Bumrah so far: 4-0-11-2. Bhuvi into his fifth over. Just one off it. Nine overs gone, SA 32/2.
STREAKY! But de Kock gets a four. Bhuvi continues. Seven coming off it. Bumrah back for his third. GONE! Bumrah, you beauty! Gets rid of de Kock and South Africa have lost their second wicket. van der Dussen in next. Four runs from the over. SA 26/2 fater 6 overs.
Bhuvi to continue. Amla gets this one away to deep backward point for four. Six from the over. Bumrah continues. He's cranking it up, is Bumrah and angling it away from De Kock. GONE! But it's Amla who succumbs: gets an edge to slip off an attempted cut. South Africa one down. Du Plessis in at 3. JEEZ! Bumrah goes full and the inside edge off Du Plessis runs away for four. Five off the over.
Amla gets off the mark with a single. And de Kock opens his account as well: with a single. Just two from it in the end: a very good start from Bhuvi. Bumrah to share the new ball. Starts off with a dot. And two more. This is a terrific start from Boomrah! Angling it away. WHOA! De Kock would've been a goner had Dhoni effected a direct hit there. Two runs. SA 4/0 after 2 overs.
Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla to open for South Africa. Bhuvi with the new ball.
The teams are striding to the middle for the national anthems. First up, India. Next up South Africa. We are through with the formalities. It's game on in Southampton!
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TOSS UPDATE: South Africa has won the toss and elected to bat.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Lokesh Rahul, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis(c), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jean-Paul Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi
Kohli: "The crowd support will be massive for us. Lots of people who live here and lots who are travelling here. For us its about keeping composure, remembering why we got the results in the last two years and continuing the same way. Bhuvi, Bumrah, Kuldeep and Chahal are all playing. When these guys and Hardik are playing along with Jadhav, we are always a strong bowling attack. I'm very excited, after so much cricket in the last two years. Couldn't be more grateful and happy."
Faf du Plessis: "We are having a bat. Mostly because of the makeup of the side against two spinners, that's the best option. Amla is back for this game. Morris is still playing, and we're bringing in an extra spinner."
PITCH REPORT | Shaun Pollock: "A good grass covering, but white grass and not a tinge of green. A few grassy patches and some bare patches. It could be a two-paced surface. The ball might stop and misbehave a little bit. Quite a cool surface."
KCV from Hampshire Bowl: "Players are limbering up, fans are trooping in, game on ..A bit of cloud cover too."
Oh meanwhile, I am told Uber's on surge pricing in Southampton. No prizes for guessing why!
Bharat Army out there in full force.
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It’s been a week since the ICC World Cup commenced with the game involving England and South Africa at the Oval. The last few days witnessed a medley of lop-sided clashes and nerve-shredding upsets but India, cricket’s commercial heart, was yet to stride onto the turf.
After the Indian Premier League concluded on May 12, Virat Kohli’s men rested a bit, jetted to holiday destinations and a few of them lit up their Instagram accounts. Once they assembled back in the United Kingdom, two warm-ups were played. The mixed bag featured a defeat against New Zealand and a triumph over Bangladesh.
Team India preview: Primed for World Cup success
Finally, India will turn up at the World Cup when it takes on South Africa at the Hampshire Bowl here on Wednesday. Interestingly when Kohli addressed the media on Tuesday afternoon, a conch being blown could be briefly heard. Obviously, a fan had sounded out the battle call and the expectations are bound to quadruple.
India holds the aces against a rival that is coping with its present predicament of having suffered two losses. The result against England was on expected lines, but the defeat to Bangladesh was a hope-snuffing one. South Africa has to play remarkably well in the remaining fixtures, to stay in contention for a knock-out berth. The absence of the injured duo of Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi will further hurt the Proteas while Kohli’s men step in with added confidence.
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Ranked second in the ODI rankings, India is in the top-matrix but it has some worries. In the two practice games, the opening alliance of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan yielded a mere three and five. A lot rides on the kind of starts that Rohit and Dhawan can bequeath and the two have it in them to strike big. Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri would be hoping that the warm-ups were a blip from an otherwise solid opening pair.
K.L. Rahul has seemingly cemented himself at the number four spot after a 108 against Bangladesh in the practice joust. But he has to do more. With Kohli and perhaps M.S. Dhoni, flanking him on either side at slots three and five, Rahul has to be both the glue and the spicy sauce. The all-rounders’ quotient is sure to have Hardik Pandya while others like Vijay Shankar and Ravindra Jadeja may get a look-in based on the conditions.
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Speedster Jasprit Bumrah’s role will be huge and India would like to believe that its seamers and wrist spinners are better than what South Africa could fling. For the Proteas, veteran Hashim Amla, declared fit for the clash, and Faf du Plessis have to excel while Kagiso Rabada helms an attack that is relatively anaemic despite the presence of a wily Imran Tahir.
In England, eyes are equally cast on the pitch and the skies. The surface here recently ushered in the host’s 373 for three and Pakistan’s 361 for seven. Yet, with clouds being constant sentinels, the speed merchants can gain additional venom. The forecast hints at mild drizzle and both Kohli and his counterpart du Plessis will gaze at the weather-gauge when they pick their resources.
The match will be streamed live on Hotstar.
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