IND vs SA 2022: 3 moments from 1st ODI that created a buzz among fans

Sanju Samson's incredible unbeaten 86 wasn't enough as Team India lost the first ODI of their three-match series against South Africa in Lucknow on Thursday (October 6).

The visitors put up a strong total of 249/4 in a game reduced to 40 overs a side, thanks to a brilliant unbroken 139-run stand between Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller. Klaasen ended on 74 off 65 balls, while Miller scored 75 off 63 deliveries.

In reply, India got off to a horrible start, losing four wickets for just 51 runs with a run rate of less than three per over. Shreyas Iyer's blazing half-century (50 off 37) then gave the hosts some much-needed momentum and Sanju Samson took the game as deep as he could with a 63-ball 86.

Shardul Thakur also made a valuable contribution, scoring 33 runs off 31 balls to go with his two-wicket haul from the first innings. However, India's lack of batting depth came back to haunt them as they fell short by nine runs.

Let's take a look at three moments from the first ODI that created a lot of buzz among fans.

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#3 Ball-boy catches better than Indian fielders

Avesh Khan's last over summed up the poor standard of fielding that the Men in Blue have maintained over the past few months. Mohammed Siraj and Ravi Bishnoi dropped regulation catches off consecutive deliveries, leaving the bowler understandably unhappy.

In the same over, David Miller smashed Avesh for a six and the ball was caught beyond the boundary by a ball-boy. He caught it so well that it immediately grabbed the attention of fans.

They slammed the fielders and asked them to learn something from the young boy, who showed great catching technique.

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#2 Umpire dances his way out of trouble

Shardul Thakur played a fantastic hand of 33 in the second innings and his 93-run stand with Sanju Samson gave the hosts a genuine chance of winning the game. The all-rounder didn't hold back in attacking Tabraiz Shamsi, and one of his mistimed slogs almost hit square leg umpire Anil Chaudhary.

In the 28th over, Shamsi bowled a delivery that Thakur tried to get under and slog on the leg side. He could only get enough bat to hit it to the vacant square leg region. Although there were no fielders there, it was hit almost straight at umpire Chaudhary.

The umpire tried to duck first, only to find that the ball was at a lower height. It eventually passed between his legs and raced to the boundary. It was a hilarious moment for the fans as for them it was almost as if Chaudhary performed a few dance steps to avoid the ball.

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#1 Kuldeep Yadav throws it back to his dismissal of Babar Azam

One of the standout moments from the match saw Kuldeep Yadav clean up Aiden Markram for a duck with an absolute peach of a delivery. The left-arm wrist-spinner is at his best when he gets the ball to drift and that is exactly what happened in Markram's case.

The batter played a premeditated forward-defence, but Kuldeep got the drift and turn he needed while bowling a stump-attacking line. The ball was fuller than the previous ones Markram had negotiated and it got enough turn to find the gap between bat and pad to rattle the stumps.

Fans immediately recalled a similar delivery from Kuldeep that helped him dismiss Pakistan's Babar Azam during the 2019 ODI World Cup.