The scene was set at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for a high-voltage clash between heavyweights India and South Africa. The setting seemed visually biased, the four-tier stadium painted in blue, echoing the support India enjoyed even in foreign conditions. The chants of ‘Jeetega Bhai Jeetega, India Jeetega’ were deafening, even before the players stepped onto the field prior to the game.
The MCG turned into a cauldron of noise as the players slowly made their way onto the ground, to soak in the atmosphere. The stands were bustling with energy but amidst the cacophony, the drills were going on in full earnest and the pitch site exhibited a sense of romanticism, the captains trying to get a feel of it ahead of the important clash.
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In addition to the firepower amongst the ranks, history also seemed to suggest that a good game was on the cards. India had lost to South Africa in their previous three World Cup encounters in 1992,1999 and 2011 and were looking to buck the trend, while South Africa were looking to make it four out of four.
More importantly, a win in this game would gift the victorious team pole position in group ‘B’.
The journey prior to the game
The new look Tendulkar-less side, without most of the senior players from the victorious 2011 World Cup team, got their 2015 campaign off to a rollicking start with a comfortable 76-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan. Virat Kohli led the surge with a well-crafted 107 prior to a charged-up Mohammed Shami’s inspiring four-wicket haul that held a tight noose on Pakistan throughout.
Set a tough target of 300, Pakistan never looked comfortable during the chase, losing wickets at regular intervals. Shehzad and Sohail’s inability to convert their starts into big scores meant that skipper Misbah ul-Haq’s fighting half-century went in vain and India went on to maintain their undefeated streak against Pakistan, making it 6-0 with this win.
Meanwhile, South Africa faced Zimbabwe in their first game and were mindful of the strong message Zimbabwe sent out after they beat Sri Lanka in the warm-ups. Opting to bat first, the top order was back in the hut with the score on 63.
Reeling further at 87-4 with the loss of AB de Villiers, counter-attacking twin centuries from Miller and Duminy took SA to 339-4. Zimbabwe started decently but lost Raza in the sixth over. A 105-run partnership between Masakadza and Chibhabha seemed to be taking the game away from SA but it was not to be, as leggie Imran Tahir sent both the batsmen packing in an economical spell of spin bowling, which helped the Proteas win by 62 runs.
Moments before the first ball
After a slew of fun and drills, the coin was due to go in the air. AB de Villiers spun the coin, MS Dhoni chose heads. Exactly at the point when the match referee signaled that Dhoni had won the toss, the stadium erupted.
Cool, calm and composed as always, the Indian skipper decided that India were going to bat first. After a quick chat with the South African captain, the stage was set for some fireworks.
The national anthems were done and the South African team were huddled. Behind the boundary ropes, the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were trying to get a feel of the atmosphere.
The huddle was broken and Dale Steyn marked his run-up as Sharma took guard. It was game time.
A dream start for South Africa
Steyn swung the ball both ways in the opening over, which turned out to be a maiden. After an over from his new-ball partner Vernon Philander, Steyn was again at his mark and Dhawan took strike. Standing at the other end, Sharma was yet to get off the mark from the six balls he had faced off Steyn’s first over.
After a beautiful stroke through backward point off the third ball for a boundary, the fifth ball produced a wicket for South Africa, courtesy some stunning fielding by de Villiers. Charging towards a misfielded ball, de Villiers had one stump to aim at and he managed to knock it down, catching Sharma short of his crease, sparking wild celebrations on the ground.
The Mumbai Indians opener was out for a duck and walked off, shaking his head in utter disbelief. In walked Virat Kohli, to deafening cheers from the energetic crowd.
The Dhawan-Kohli partnership
Subsequently, the Delhi pair went about their job pretty well. The score read 36-1 at the end of ten overs, Steyn and Philander had done their job in style, often troubling the Indian pair with bounce and movement.
Tahir and Morkel then threw down the next six overs and managed to keep the runs at bay. At the end of 16 overs, the scorecard read 67-1 and both the batsmen were sighting the ball well despite not showing any signs of aggression. Kohli played second fiddle to Dhawan, while the southpaw went about his business in style.
Amidst all of this, de Villiers was sweating with injury concerns to Philander, who had walked off earlier after pulling his hamstring.
Just as Dhawan was looking to accelerate his innings, he cut a ball from Parnell to the right of Hashim Amla, who grassed a relatively tough, but important opportunity. At that crucial stage, Dhawan was on 53 and he made the most of the opportunity.
The next seven overs yielded 53 runs. Half chances for run-outs against both Dhawan and Kohli went India’s way and the duo continued accumulating runs.
Tahir’s breakthrough and the slog overs
Eventually, Tahir was brought back into the attack and the spinner struck in the second over of his spell, removing Kohli as he looked to accelerate, and triggered a celebratory run that Usain Bolt would have been proud of.
By the time he was gone, Kohli had done well to lay the platform for a big finish. Ajinkya Rahane walked out to the middle, surprisingly ahead of Suresh Raina, but the move paid rich dividends. Firm and aggressive at the same time, Rahane went about his job in fine fashion, keeping the scoreboard ticking.
After a well-crafted 137, Dhawan was sent back in the 44th over and immediately in the next over, Morkel sent Raina back to the pavilion. Aided by wickets at regular intervals, South Africa managed to halt the Indian charge, allowing just 80 runs off the last 10 overs.
South Africa’s chase
Looking at the batting order South Africa boasted, 308 seemed a gettable total. Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami were asked to shoulder responsibility with the new ball, while South Africa’s opening pair were looking to find some form after a poor game against Zimbabwe.
Right from ball one, the pace duo held a tight leash on the openers. Subtle movement coupled with pace troubled the openers enough to induce a mistake. Quinton de Kock drove a ball from Shami straight into mid-off’s hands and seven overs later, lack of boundaries hurried Amla’s downfall.
By the end of the 10th over, the openers were back in the hut. The experienced Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers went about their business, scoring off bad balls and keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Mohit Sharma’s brilliance ends an important alliance
Just as the pair looked settled, Mohit Sharma’s brilliance at deep cover spelled the end of de Villiers. Attempting an almost impossible second run, even by his standards, de Villiers fell short to a direct hit and suddenly the scoreboard read 108-3 after 22.5 overs.
The threat from previous match centurions Miller and Duminy was still looming large, though. However, a disciplined show from the spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja prevented the batsmen from settling at the crease. Ashwin, in particular, was in sublime form, picking up three wickets for just 41 runs in his 10 overs.
After the fall of de Villiers, none of the other batsmen could keep up with the run-rate. The boundaries dried up and the rate skyrocketed with each dot ball.
History was re-written
It was a mere formality thereafter, and by the end of the game, India had finally outclassed South Africa in a World Cup game for the first time in their history. The batting department gelled well to put up 307 and the bowlers complemented each other well to restrict South Africa to 177 and help India emerge victorious by a mammoth 130-run margin.
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