India vs South Africa, 1st ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

There's life in the old dog yet. Kohli looked as good as ever with the bat, timing it beautifully from the moment he walked in. Not only did he enjoy the good batting conditions against the new ball, but he also turned it on after getting to his hundred when the pitch had slowed down and the ball had gotten older. His knock gave India a formidable score on the board and despite a spirited effort from South Africa's lower middle-order, the hosts managed to hang on for a 1-0 lead. That's it from this one. We'll be back for the second ODI in Raipur on Wednesday. Until then, it's goodbye!

Five different players went past 30 from No.4 or lower in the South Africa innings, the joint-most in ODIs, alongside as many for Australia vs West Indies at the Adelaide Oval in 2005 and for West Indies vs Pakistan in Christchurch at the 2015 WC.

332 is South Africa’s highest total without an individual hundred in an ODI run-chase, surpassing 328/5 against England in Southampton in 2017 - a game they lost by two runs.

South Africa is the first team to breach the 300-run mark after losing their first three wickets for under 15 in an ODI run-chase. The previous highest on that front was Pakistan’s 297 all-out (from 6/3) against England at Headingley in 2019.

681 is the highest match-aggregate in ODIs between India and South Africa, as is the sixes count of 28. The decider of the 2015 series at the Wankhede featured 662 runs and 25 sixes - the previous best for both those counts.

This was just the third time that South Africa went past 200 after being three down for less than 15 in an ODI, after 212/5 (from 7/3) vs Zimbabwe in Centurion in 1997 and 215 all-out (from 10/3) vs Ireland in Abu Dhabi in 2024.

300-plus totals after being 3 down for under 15 in ODIs
368/5 from 10/3 - AUS vs SL, Sydney, 2006
346/7 from 14/3 - ENG vs SA, Kimberley, 2023
332 from 11/3 - SA vs IND, Ranchi, 2025

Multiple 50-plus scores from No.7 or lower for SA in ODIs
Dale Benkenstein (69) & Lance Klusener (54*) vs WI, Cape Town, 1999
Shaun Pollock (52) & Lance Klusener (52*) vs ZIM, Chelmsford, 1999 WC
Mark Boucher (55*) & Lance Klusener (52* vs AUS, Johannesburg, 2000
Justin Kemp (100*) & Andrew Hall (56*) vs IND, Cape Town, 2006
Marco Jansen (70) & Corbin Bosch (67) vs IND, Ranchi, 2025

Virat Kohli | Player of the Match: Well, today was really nice to kind of get into the game like that. The pitch played quite decently in the first 20-25 overs before it started to slow down. So, I just felt like, you know, let me just go out there and just hit the ball. Not think too much about any of the other stuff. It's just me and the ball coming at me and just enjoy the game of cricket, which was the very reason I started playing this game. So, it was just about staying in the space of enjoyment and, of course, when you get a start and you get into the situation, then you know what you've done over so many years and the experience kicks in and then you understand the situation and able to build an innings. (how was your preparation?) You know, I've never been a big believer of a lot of preparation, if that makes sense. All my cricket has been mental. As long as I feel mentally I can play the game, I work physically very hard every day of my life. It's got nothing to do with cricket anymore. It's the way I live. So, as long as my fitness levels are up and my mental enjoyment and sharpness is there, when you can visualize the game and you see yourself running as hard, reacting fast on the ball, then you know it's fine. I mean, one of the days when the game opens up and you get a start, you'll be able to score some runs. (the hunger is still there!) Well, as you know, I've said it many times before, if I'm arriving somewhere, I'll arrive 120%. (You arrived early in Ranchi, didn't you?) Yeah, I wanted to get hold of the conditions a little bit. Bat a couple of sessions in the daylight and then one session in the evening and then my prep work was done. I took a day off before the game. I'm 37, so I also need to look after the recovery. But the thing is that, you know, I visualize the game a lot in my mind. And as long as, when I think about the game, when I visualize it, if I see myself being as intense, as sharp, you know, taking the fielders on, taking the bowlers on, then I know I'm in a good space and I kind of can relax and just play out there. (if he is going to play just one form of the game in the future too?) Yes, that's how it's always going to be. I'm just playing one form of the game. (how do you deliver performances like today?) Well, if you, you know, I've played 300-odd ODI games and so much cricket over the last 15-16 years. As I said, if you're in touch with the game and you know that when you're hitting balls at practice, your reflexes are there, your physical ability is there to bat long. If you can bat an hour and a half, two hours in the nets without taking a break, you're kind of meeting all those markers. Yes, I understand if there's a dip in form, you look for games and you try to get that form back. But as long as you're hitting the ball well and you're playing good cricket, I think at this stage with the experience that I have, for me, it's about being physically fit, mentally ready and excited to play the games that I'm playing. And more or less, everything else should take care of itself.

KL Rahul | India captain: (if he had butterflies in his stomach at some point?) I'd be lying if I said none at all. I think throughout the 50 overs I was obviously playing ODI cricket after a while and getting to captain the country again, it's obviously, there's a bit of expectation from myself and obviously from everyone else that's given me the responsibility. So yeah, a little bit of butterflies but I think we kept picking wickets at the right time and we were very clear and very thorough with our plans and it was good to see that the bowlers stuck to that. There was a sense of calm as well throughout but obviously they pushed us and they kept coming hard so it was exciting. (on batting at 6) I mean, got to do the job for the team and that's the role that's been given for the last 2 or 3 ODI series and I'm trying to do my best and find fun in doing different responsibilities and challenging myself, challenging my game. I think it's good for personal development as well so I keep thinking about the game and how I can get better. (on Rohit and Kohli) Obviously it's always fun to watch them play like that, play with that freedom and that's what they've done throughout their careers and put oppositions under pressure. Make them look silly at times and just show the world why they are who they are and the numbers that they've been able to get and the number of games that they've won for the country. For me, obviously, I've seen this for a long time and it's just a lot more fun to see them around in the dressing room and I've played all my cricket with them so it's a lot of fun to chat with them and to have them back. To see them play like that is just, obviously, for me, for everyone else in the stadium, it's just a joy. (on Harshit and Kuldeep) obviously, I mean, Harshit's done really well. We all knew he had the potential and we knew the minute he came into that dressing room that he's special. That is what Team India has been looking for. Someone who is tall, someone who can bowl fast, someone who hits the deck, someone who can give a little bit of runs as well at the back end. So, he's still someone who's developing but we see great potential and it's amazing to see what he's been able to do. He bowled brilliantly in Australia as well and to take the new ball here and get us those crucial wickets is what we expect out of him and it was really pleasing to see that. Obviously, Kuldeep again has been around for a long time. He keeps doing this job for the team. He's key for us in the middle overs to pick up wickets. So, yeah, it's amazing to see how they went about bowling.

Aiden Markram | South Africa captain: Yeah, really proud. It's great to sit in the changeroom and watch guys do their thing. Never losing that belief that we can pull something, a rabbit out of the hat. The boys in the sheds, they were quitely hopeful as the innings progressed. Really good to watch and really proud of that effort from us. I mean, more than, well, the top order failed probably more than anything else. We knew it would swing and then have a bit of a zip off the wicket up front chasing, but it still felt like chasing was the best way to win the game. It's on the three of us to come up with a solution in the next game. If we can calm the storm and get the team off to a steady start, then we saw what that middle-order can do. (on where the game was lost) Well, there's small bits and pieces, but the glaringly obvious one, is obviously the top order. Getting through that swinging ball and then little moments in the field. 50 overs is such a long time and you look back and there's a couple of moments here and there, maybe an over that only goes for 12 instead of 18. We don't think much of it out in the middle, but then it comes down to the wire, like I said, you think back and reflect on those moments. But overall, just really proud of the efforts from the boys. They got really close and showed a lot of character tonight. (on Jansen and Bosch's batting) It's great. Any team would like to bat as deep as possible and that's exactly what they do for us. They've both been batting really well in their recent past and showed it again this evening. It's pretty clear how we as a team want to take the game on. Match that with a bit of smarts here and there. I think the team from a batting point of view is in a good position.

Kuldeep Yadav: (turning point of the game?) Obviously, I mean, when I came after the first spell, and obviously I had a chat with KL, and we were just looking to attack, and obviously it was tough to bowl, but yeah, the mindset was very clear. If they get one wicket here and there, probably we'll be back in the game. So that was the plan at that time. (what is your plan on what delivery to bowl when?) I was mixing up the scramble leg and probably a few balls with the seam up, but trying to bowl with a quicker one, and obviously, just trying to hit back to the back side of the length, because it was easy, if you pitch it up, it was easy to connect the ball. So, yeah, scramble, scramble-seam, scramble-legspin and a Chinaman. (how challenging to bowl with one ball after 34 overs?) I mean, of course, it is very challenging, but yeah, of course, because after 34 overs, both the sides were used to the same ball, and it was really getting wet, but yeah, just applying too much dust on the ball, and probably keep talking to the umpires to change the ball, so that was the plan, but obviously, yeah, I mean, as a wristspinner, if you get one wicket here and there, you are back in the game, and so, yeah, probably, you have seen a couple of great knocks from Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch. (how did you go on this pitch?) I was trying to mix it up with pace, I bowled few balls slower through the air, make the batsman guessing, but yeah, I mean, you can't just rely on those stock deliveries for a longer period of time, you know, you have to mix it up with variations, and keep the batsman guessing, and yeah, I mean, simple was that, you know, just to bowl wicket to wicket, and mix it up with the variations, so that was my plan, personally, and I thought it was very good. (on the Jansen wicket-taking delivery) Not really, because he was hitting everywhere, and whenever you bowled a good ball, he was going for the big ones as well, sometimes you have to, you get lucky with those deliveries, and obviously, that wicket changed the course of the game, and it actually put us back in the game.

21:52 Local Time, 16:22 GMT, 21:52 IST: South Africa made a good match of it despite their early struggles in the chase. They were 11/3 as Harshit Rana bowled beautifully with the new ball, and then slipped to 130/5. But a blinder of a knock from Marco Jansen along with a steady half-century from Matthew Breetzke brought them right back. Their partnership of 97 came off just 69 balls with Jansen doing most of the heavy lifting before Kuldeep's double-strike gave India some breathing space. But the visitors kept coming hard with Corbin Bosch taking over the mantle. The dew didn't make it easy for the Indian bowlers either. However, they did enough to hold on in the end.

Prasidh to Corbin Bosch, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

So it's come down to the final over. There's an over-rate penalty for India who need to have an extra fielder in the circle.