Virat Kohli inspired high-flying India to a memorable win against South Africa in the crucial World Cup 2023 game on Sunday, November 5. The legendary batter registered his 49th ODI hundred to equal Sachin Tendulkar's monumental record to celebrate his 35th birthday.
An unbeaten hundred from Kohli and a sensational five-wicket haul from Ravindra Jadeja boosted India to their biggest win against South Africa in ODIs. It was a dominant performance from the batters but it was not an easy surface to bat at Eden Gardens.
Virat Kohli took 121 balls and struggled to display aggressive cricket in the closing stages. Shreyas Iyer was also off to a slow start as Keshav Maharaj dominated the middle over by conceding just 30 runs in his greedy ten-over spell. Rohit also highlighted difficult playing conditions while batting and lauded Kohli's unbeaten knock under pressure.
"If we look at how we played in the last three games, we played better in terms of adapting to the situation," Rohit Sharma said after the match. "We were put under pressure against England. In the last game as well, we lost a wicket in the first over but got to a good score and seamers came to the party. Today was not an easy pitch, you needed someone like Kohli, who batted to the situation."
Rohit also praised Jadeja's all-round performance who scored 29* off 15 and then took five wickets for 33. Shami also continued with two more wickets and now leads India's bowling chart in the tournament with 16 wickets in four innings.
"Jadeja has been really good. Big matchwinner. He keeps doing the job, goes under the radar but today is a classic case of what he does - score late runs and take wickets. Not to get ahead of ourselves is something we are constantly talking about. When we turn up, we want to play to our potential," Rohit added.
