India bag stunning 26-run victory over South Africa in Champions Trophy – Cricket news Favourites India bagged their first win in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy by defeating South Africa in the opener by 26 runs at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Thursday, June 6. Before the match, India were dubbed as a team marred by controversies due to the IPL spot fixing scandal, however, when Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men marched in the ground they left all that behind and gave South Africa a run for their money. After being asked to bat first, India took the wind out of South Africa by piling a massive score of 331 runs on the board. Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got off to a brilliant start as they neutralised the South Africa bowling attack. This batting pair was phenomenal in helping India gain an upper hand right from the get go. The duo smacked 127 runs together, before this devastating partnership was finally broken by Ryan McLaren, who dismissed Sharma after the batsman had scored 65 runs off 81 deliveries. Virat Kohli was in next and he also formed a potent partnership alongside Dhawan to continue India’s batting onslaught. With Dhawan taking charge, this partnership looked phenomenal as the two led their side towards 210 runs, before Lonwabo Tsotsobe bagged the wicket of Kohli, who found his way off the field after scoring 31 runs off 41 deliveries. Jean-Paul Duminy then grabbed the much awaited wicket of Dhawan, who faltered after smashing a 114-run knock. At the time of this wicket, India were on 227 runs. Dinesh Karthik, Dhoni and Suresh Raina were all unimpressive as they fell on 14, 27 and 9 runs, leaving their side stranded on 291. Ravindra Jadeja’s 47, right at the end was crucial in helping India finish the innings with a huge total on their side. South Africa then had a disappointing start to their run chase as they lost their first wicket with only 13 on the board, followed by the loss of their second wicket with 31 runs on the scorecard when Umesh Yadav picked up Hashim Amla for 22. The third-wicket stand between Robin Peterson and AB de Villiers intimidated the India bowlers as the two batsmen steadily began to bring their side closer to the asking target. However, with 155 on the board, this partnership folded on the dismissal of Peterson, who fell after scoring 68 runs. However, South Africa lost Duminy (14) and de Villiers (70) in the space of 2 runs which gave India an opportunity to come back in the match. A 30-run knock by Faf du Plessis and McLaren’s 71 were still not good enough as South Africa were bowled-out for 305. Dhawan was named as the Player of the Match for his match winning performance.
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