Kohli stars as India beat South Africa in first ODI

Star batsman Virat Kohli hit a record-breaking 52nd one-day century to set up India’s 17-run victory over spirited South Africa in the first match on Sunday.

Kohli’s 135 came off 120 balls and he shared a second-wicket partnership of 136 with compatriot Rohit Sharma to set India on course for 349-8 in the eastern city of Ranchi.

Number eight Corbin Bosh made a valiant 67 off 51 balls as South Africa battled almost to the end. Going into the 50th over, the visitors needed 18 for victory with one wicket to spare. Bose fell on the second ball and South Africa were 332 all out.

Matthew Breetzke, who made 72, and Marco Jansen, who made 70, put on 97 for the sixth wicket to revive the chase after South Africa slipped to 11-3 and then 77-4.

Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav stood out with figures of 4-68 in the high-scoring match.

His double strike to remove Jansen and Breetzke in the space of three balls was the turning point for India who took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

The 37-year-old Kohli remained the hero with his 83rd ton in the three international formats after bringing up his hundred with a boundary off Jansen and raising his bat to a raucous home crowd.

“If you’ve played 300 games or so of cricket, you know when you’re hitting balls in practice, you know the reflexes are there and the physicality is there to hit hard,” man of the match Kohli said.

“As long as you hit the ball well and play good cricket, it’s about fitness, mental readiness and excitement.”

Kohli mania

An Indian fan breached security and ran onto the pitch to touch Kohli’s feet before he was dragged away.

Kohli has the most ODI hundreds, second only to Indian great Sachin Tendulkar with 49.

The Indian cricket star tops the list of hundreds in a single format with Tendulkar’s tally in Tests being 51.

Kohli and 38-year-old Rohit, who made 57, play the 50-over format only after retiring from T20 and Test cricket.

Their presence boosted India, led by KL Rahul in the absence of the injured Shubman Gill, after a 2-0 Test whitewash against South Africa.

Rohit lost his playing colleague Yashasvi Jaiswal early for 18, but Kohli came on to a huge roar from a 38,000 capacity crowd.

The pair steadied the innings and then took on the bowlers before Rohit was trapped lbw by Jansen.

Rohit hit three sixes in his 51-ball knock. This took him to 352 sixes in this format, surpassing Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi’s record of 351.

Kohli switched gears immediately after reaching his first hundred since February. He hit off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen for two fours and two sixes in a 39th over of 21 runs.

He eventually fell to Nandre Burger, who was caught by Ryan Rickelton after hitting 11 fours and seven sixes.

Rahul continued the onslaught with 60 off 56 balls, while Ravindra Jadeja made 32 off 20.

In the end, Bosch’s first ODI half-century made it a close contest and there is a lot to look forward to ahead of the next match on Wednesday in Raipur.

“It’s great to sit in the dressing room and watch the lads go about their business,” said stand-in-skipper Aiden Markram. “Never lose faith that we can pull a rabbit out of a hat.”