South Africa vs India 1st ODI highlights - South Africa thrash India by 141 runs, take 1-0 lead

India brace themselves against a hostile South African pace attack at Johannesburg. Follow live updates here: (Scorecard/Match commentary/Innings Report)

01.09 (IST): AB de Villiers on the series: Its a great win and its an important series. The aim will be keep the momentum and finish it off at Durban in the second ODI.

01.08 (IST): AB de Villiers on Dale Steyn: Steyn is a bit of a freak with any kind of a ball in his hand. Give him a bowling ball and he'll swing that too.

01.07 (IST): AB de Villiers on his side's batting in the final few overs: We earned the right to show a bit of flair in the end and scored quickly.

 

01.06 (IST): AB deVilliers on his partnership with JP Duminy: It was great pleasure to share a good partnership with him. JP came in towards the end and timed the ball so well. He came in and made it very very easy for us.

01.06 (IST): AB de Villiers: Off the field we can be friends but on the field we are not going to back down for any team in the world. We respect India for being No 1 in the world but there is no way we are going to stand back for anyone. Lots of credit to Quinton, at that age to score that ton. Helped the rest score runs around him.

01.05 (IST): Dhoni on Indian bowling: More than the death bowling, I was disappointed with the new ball bowling. We were not able to find the right length. Shami bowled well. But over all, two spinners and Shami bowled well but the rest gave away few too many. Imp that we start well with new ball.

 

00.59 (IST): Dhoni: Not a good game for us. The bowling department let us down today. We didn't bowl well in the first 10 overs. It was definitely not a pitch where you concede 350-plus runs.

00.49 (IST): Dale Steyn's fielding effort in Suresh Raina's run out was simply outstanding, reckons Symcox. "If the throw was even off by an inch here and there, Raina would have been in. It was inch-perfect."

 

00.42 (IST): Former South African spinner Pat Symcox says he expected Indian batsmen to come aggressively against the South African bowlers. "A forgettable day for Indian batting" is how he would like to sum up the game for the visitors.

 

00.36 (IST): South Africa have drawn first blood to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series with a comprehensive 141-run victory over India. After youngster Quinton de Kock's stroke-filled ton coupled with AB de Villiers-JP Duminy onslaught helped South Africa post a massive total. In alien conditions, the Indian batsmen were never in the hunt with a slow start followed by the fall of wickets at regular intervals. The South African bowlers complemented their batters well to keep the Indians on their toes and always behind on the asking rate. Three wickets each for Dale Steyn and Ryan McLaren and one a piece for Jacques Kallis and Morne Morkel did the trick for the hosts.

00.34 (IST): It's all over! South Africa win by 141 runs to take 1-0 lead in three-match series.

00.30 (IST): MS Dhoni is gone! The Indian skipper has played the ball onto his stumps. He goes for 65 and India are now nine down.

 

00.26 (IST): After four dot deliveries and a wide ball, Dhoni gets a boundary and a single to end the 40th over with India at 211/8. India now need 147 runs to win from 60 balls.

00.18 (IST): FACTOID: The six that helped Dhoni to his half-century was the 2000th six for India in ODIs.

00.17 (IST): 200 comes up for India. A very small milestone considering the gigantic total they are chasing. India 201/8 in 37.4 overs.

00.14 (IST): Fifty for Dhoni! Even as wickets tumbled at one end, MS Dhoni kept his head down and continued to score runs. He reached his 51st half-century with a straight six over long-off. He then reacted late to a short delivery but was lucky that a top edge took the ball to the third man boundary.

00.09 (IST): Steyn comes back and starts with a ball at 142.9 kmph. He accounts for Bhuvneshwar Kumar wicket off the next ball. An outside edge carries to Kallis at second slip. India 190/8 in 36.2 overs.

 

00.04 (IST): Dhoni has still not given up. He pulls Morkel over mid-wicket for a couple of runs and then hooks the next ball that clocked at 145.8 kmph for a four behind square. India 190/7 in 36 overs. India need 169 runs from 84 balls.

00.00 (IST): McLaren returns and strikes! Ashwin, who is clearly not happy, has been adjudged caught behind and will have to take the long walk back to the pavilion. India 183/7 in 34.4 overs.

 

23.59 (IST): Elsewhere in Australia, two strong Test teams played far more engaging cricket.

23.55 (IST): Morne Morkel comes back into the attack. He bowls a good bouncer to Dhoni and beats Ashwin's bat a couple of deliveries later. Exceptional over, just one run from it.  India 181/6 in 33 overs. India need 178 runs to win from 96 balls.

23.46 (IST): Ashwin is making special efforts to prove that he can definitely bat in ODIs as well. Tsotsobe bowls a short delivery and Ashwin plays a pull shot that one would see come from a top-order batsman's willow. His head was in position, and the bat came through in perfect motion to complete the shot. He then, goes back on his back foot and waits till the end and plays the ball over the point fielder to get another boundary. India 180/6 in 33 overs. India need 179 runs from 17 overs.

23.43 (IST): Tsotsobe bowls one down the leg side and Ashwin pokes at it to guide it to the fine leg fence. He then plays the ball in the air on the leg side for a couple of runs. India 164/6 in 31 overs. India need 195 runs to win in 19 overs.

 

23.41 (IST): With Ravichandran Ashwin for company, MS Dhoni has to pile on 201 runs for India in  20 overs. The Indian skipper would want to approach it like he would approach at Twenty20 game but the lack of wickets at his disposal might hamper that effort.

23.35 (IST): Just after bringing up the 50-run partnership between Jadeja and Dhoni, South Africa strike as Jacques Kallis comes around the wicket and breaches Jadeja's defence to reduce India to 158/6 in 29.5 overs.

 

23.30 (IST): A little something to cheer about in the Indian camp as MS Dhoni surpassed Mohammad Azharuddin's tally of most-runs as India's captain. Azhar has 5,239 runs to his name as captain. For more approaching milestones in this series, read here.

23.25 (IST): Some quick running between the wickets and a back foot punch through the off-side by Ravindra Jadeja. His eyes light up on seeing a short delivery from Kallis and capitalises on it by getting a boundary. India 149/5 in 28 overs. India need 210 runs to win from 22 overs.

 

23.17 (IST): Dhoni pulls Tsotsobe for a bour off the first ball and the few seem to have a few 'friendly' exchanges in the next ball. What followed was not a very friendly shot, as Jadeja lifts the ball on the on-side to guide it to the long-on fence.

 

23.13 (IST): Ravindra Jadeja hits one through covers to the fence off Wayne Parnell's bowling and finishes the over with one through mid-wicket. India 130/5 in 26 overs. India need 229 to win 24 overs.

 

23.04 (IST): Ravindra Jadeja joins his skipper with his side in dire straits. Jadeja, over the last 12-15 months, has established himself as an important spin option. Now will be a good time for him to justify the title of a bowling all-rounder. His first boundary comes off an outside edge but he won't mind. India will take all kinds of boundaries at the moment. A third slip would have perhaps got a hand on that one. Wayne Parnell does better in the next ball as he squares up Jadeja to beat his bat on two successive occasions. A good over from Parnell, just six runs off it. India 115/5 in 24 overs. 244 runs to win from 26 overs.

23.00 (IST): RUN OUT! Never challenge a fast bowler's arm, they say. Not even if you are quick between the wickets. Raina made the cardinal sin and paid for it as an inch-perfect throw from Dale Steyn in the deep finds Raina short of his ground by a couple of inches. India 108/5 in 22.3 overs

 

22.58 (IST): Tsotsobe starts with a short delivery that is drifting towards the leg side. Raina tries to pull and fails to connect and the ball sails over De Kock to reach the boundary.

22.55 (IST): Raina is starting to look comfortable here. Barring the few short deliveries that have been directed at him, he has been at ease and has even scored a couple of boundaries. With Dhoni looking a lot more settled, one can expect Raina to play second fiddle. Even that will be a big ask in a chase like this. India 102/4 in 22 overs. 257 runs to win from 28 overs.

22.51 (IST): A sharp chances goes by! Dhoni whacks a ball bowled outside the off-stump to the right of the diving David Miller. Miller reaches it but fails to hold on to it. India 96/4 in 21 overs.

22.45 (IST): Morkel into his sixth over. Dhoni lets the first ball go but jumps out of his crease to hit one through mid-wicket. AB de Villiers chased it from mid-on and put in a big dive but couldn't get to it.  The asking rate has now shot past nine runs an over. Raina helps ease that to an extent by guiding a ball to the boundary behind square to end the over. India 91/4 in 20 overs.

22.40 (IST): MS Dhoni comes down the track and lifts one over the in-field for a one-bounce four through deep cover. Much-needed for India. After that big hit, Dhoni flicks a ball behind square to the backward square-leg boundary. The fielder covered ground, only to mess it up in the last moment. McLaren wasn't happy with that effort. India 82/4 in 19 overs.

 

22.39 (IST): FACTOID: Yuvraj Singh has been dismissed for a duck on four occasions this year.

22.35 (IST): Morkel starts with a teasing deliveries outside the off-stump to Raina, who chases and misses it. Whether or not India get close to the South African total, Raina will be keen on getting some runs under his belt. India 71/4 in 18 overs.

22.30 (IST): Suresh Raina will be kept on his toes. The South African bowlers have unleashed bouncers and short deliveries at will so far and will only increase the frequency with Raina in the middle.

22.27 (IST): MS Dhoni walks out in the midst of a batting order collapse and almost immediately he let the a delivery roll onto the stumps. India 66/4 in 16 overs.

22.22 (IST): India in deep trouble! An exceptional fielding effort and direct throw from David Miller finds Rohit Sharma short of his crease after a quick single was called for between him and Suresh Raina. India 65/4 in 15.3 overs.

22.19 (IST): McLaren on fire here! He cleans up Yuvraj Singh for a duck. The left-hander was welcomed with a nasty short ball and the following one pitched at good length and moved into the batsman. Yuvraj, who was looking to flick the ball, played all around it to let it go through and dislodge the bails. India 60/3 in 15 overs.

 

22.16 (IST): Kohli is gone! Just when India's no 3 was starting to look good, a bit of movement led to an outside edge that carried straight to Jacques Kallis at first slip. India 60/2 in 14.4 overs.

 

22.13 (IST): A few yards slower can make a big difference? After facing Steyn and Morkel, Kohli and Rohit are warming up to the slower likes of McLaren and Wayne Parnell. Kohli punched a delivery behind square to the fence in Parnell's first over. India 59/1 in 14 overs.

 

22.11 (IST): Huge appeal for caught behind? McLaren was certain he had his man. The ball went through Kohli's bat and pad. Umpire did not see any bat in that one. India 52/1 in 13 overs.

 

22.10 (IST): There is an air of confidence and better authority with every shot coming from Kohli's bat. He pulls a short ball from McLaren to the square leg boundary to bring up India's 50.

22.03 (IST): Morkel continues to bowl short. Credit to De Kock behind the stumps who has not let the ball go past for byes.

22.01 (IST): It's Rohit's turn for a wild swing now. The outside edge flies over the slip cordon to travel to the third man fence. India 41/1 in 11 overs.

21.59 (IST): Ryan McLaren is introduced into the attack.

 

21.56 (IST): Kohli breaks the shackles and tries to hit one over the top but can only clear the in-field to get a couple of runs. The next ball, however, he gets behind it and hits it to the deep extra cover fence. India 36/1 in 10 overs.

21.54 (IST): Kohli swings and misses again as Morkel continues to use his height and get the ball to rise up sharply off the wicket.

21.53 (IST): Good over for India. Kohli takes a single to keep strike. India 30/1 in 9 overs.

 

21.50 (IST): Oh what a beautiful cover drive! Amid all the brutal fast bowling that has kept the Indian batsmen on their toes, Kohli gets hold of a full delivery from Steyn and plays the inch-perfect cover drive. He follows it up with a four down the ground. India need more of that coupled with loads of patience to counter the South African pacers.

 

21.45 (IST): Dropped! Just after taking a good catch to get rid of Dhawan, Quinton de Kock misses a sitter. Replays suggests he began to celebrate even before he took it and ended up making a hash of the attempt, bringing back memories of former Indian stumper MSK Prasad and his antics behind the stumps. Morne began his celebration before stopping short to realise what had just happened. Kohli survives to die another day. India 20/1 in 8 overs.

21.43 (IST): What was Kohli thinking there? He steps down the track and swings his bat wildly to miss it. Even he would not want to see a replay of that ball. He ends the over with far more composure as he guides a ball on the leg side to take a single. India 17/1 in 7 overs.

21.40 (IST): Virat Kohli, who is the leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2013, will have to put on a special show if India has to even get close to the South African total. At the moment however, its the Dale Steyn show that is on.

21.38 (IST): Morkel, who clearly has a spring in his step after that first wicket, unleashes a barrage of short deliveries at Rohit who patiently lets each one of them go. He starts with a maiden-wicket. India 14/1 in 6 overs.

21.38 (IST): The last time India toured South Africa in 2010, Rohit Sharma scored 49 runs in five ODIs. He would surely want to improve that abysmal record. But at the moment, it seems a long way to go.

21.35 (IST): Morne Morkel strikes first ball! Dhawan's party comes to an early end! The tall pacer starts off with a short delivery and Dhawan chooses to go after it. The extra bounce leads to a top-edge and Quinton de Kock takes a good diving catch behind the stumps. India 14/1 in 5.1 overs.

21.31 (IST): What a test for Rohit here! Steyn is bang on target with deliveries whizzing past the Mumbaikar's outside edge, squaring him up on a couple of occasions. Steyn, now, has a few words for Rohit. The crowd cheers loudly as Rohit gets bat on ball after having faced 15 balls. His first runs come off a leading edge as the ball flies between the two close-in fielders on the off-side. The eventful over ends with a run out chance at the non-striker's end. India 14/0 in 5 overs.

 

21.28 (IST): Tsotsobe has a couple of poor deliveries gift wrapped for Dhawan who duly dispatches them to the fence. Dhawan's confident approach could help settle a few nerves for Rohit Sharma who has had to face 12 hostile balls from Dale Steyn and is yet to get off the mark. India 12/0 in 4 overs.

 

21.24 (IST): Steyn continues. This will be a great test of Rohit Sharma's temperament. Steyn, who would have done his home work, will look to enduce an outside edge from the Rohit's willow. India 4/0 in 3 overs.

 

21.21 (IST): Tsotsobe follows up with an over-pitched delivery which Dhawan leans into and drives through mid-off for a four.

21.20 (IST): This is good stuff from Tsotsobe. He gets the first ball to shape away from the left-hander and the next one moves back into him. Dhawan was already leaving the delivery and was lucky that it missed the top of the stumps.

 

21.17 (IST): Lonwabo Tsotsobe starts the proceedings from the other end. He bowls to left-handed Shikhar Dhawan.

 

21.16 (IST): Dale Steyn is running in. He had recently described the Indian batting order as a run away train. At the moment, he is looking like one. He gets the ball to slant away from Rohit who tries to play and misses on three occasions. A maiden over for Steyn to start with.

 

21.15 (IST): Shikhar Dhawan walks out at the back of his fastest ODI ton (against the West Indies in the third and final ODI) and Dale Steyn comes in after his career-best ODI figures of 6/39 against Pakistan in the 2nd ODI of the three-match series. There is nothing else that can define the contest between Indian batting and South African bowling better.

21.14 (IST): Birthday boy Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma walk out to the middle in what is going to be India's baptism by fire.

21.00 (IST): The Indians would want to tell themselves that it is up to their best strength to eke out a favourable result here. They need to put their poor bowling performances behind their backs and get ahead with the task at hand.

 

20.39 (IST): Batting of the highest possible quality takes South Africa to a mammoth total of 358/4 in 50 overs, the fourth highest total at the Wanderers. The experienced Hashim Amla and rookie Quinton de Kock started solidly to slowly build a good partnership. Following Amla's departure, De Kock took centre-stage and went after the Indian bowling with a lot of ease and brought up his second ODI ton and his highest score in the 50-over format of the game. Once he departed, the responsibility fell on the able shoulders of AB de Villiers and JP Duminy who sent the Indian bowling attack on a leather hunt. De Villiers slammed 77 off 47 balls while Duminy finished unbeaten on 59 from just 29 deliveries. India's death over woes have failed to go away and they are now staring at a herculean task of chasing 359 against the most potent pace attack. But, history suggests that this ground has witnessed one of the best run chases in ODI history. Only time will tell if the Indian batsmen can add to that list. For the moment, however, the ball is placed safely in South Africa's court.

 

20.35 (IST): India have now been set a target in excess of 350 for the third time in only previous nine ODIs.

 

20.30 (IST): South Africa finish at 358/4 in 50 overs, reviving memories of Australia's 359 against India in the World Cup 2003 in the same venue.

20.29 (IST): MILLER TIME! David Miller walks out and gets an outside edge first ball that travels to the third man boundary. 

 

20.26 (IST): Unbelievable batting from De Villiers. He walks across and goes down on one knee only to change his shot in the last minute to hit the ball for a six behind square. Much to Dhoni's respite, De Villiers tries one shot too many and his off-stump is sent cartwheeling, giving Shami his third wicket. He goes for 77 off just 47 balls.

 

20.25 (IST): Nothing going India's way here. While Duminy and De Villiers are not hitting the ball to all corners of the field, inside edges are missing the stumps by a whisker to frustrate the Indian bowlers even more. That is soon followed by more devastating blows from the South African skipper. The man has a shot in his arsenal for every possible delivery you bowl at him. 4,3,4,6,4, is how Mohit's final over reads. He finishes with figures of none for 82 in his 10 overs. South Africa 345/3 in 49 overs.

 

20.20 (IST): The last time these two teams played an ODI, India batted first and scored 331. Today, they may have to chase a little more than that.

20.16 (IST): This South African pair is not just scoring boundaries but doing it with great brutality. Shami tries a short-pitched off-cutter but Duminy dispatches it for a six. A couple of balls later, he reaches his 18th ODI half-century, fourth against India. It has come off just 25 balls. What a cameo this has been!

 

20.14 (IST): Duminy ends Bhuvneshwar's misery with the third six of the over. South Africa 310/3 in 47 overs.

 

20.13 (IST): Turn away if you are an Indian cricket fan for De Villiers is in murderous mood. He whacks a couple of sixes off Bhuvneshwar to bring up his half-century off 38 balls, his ninth ton against India.

20.09 (IST): Duminy, however, gets behind a length delivery and slams it down the ground for a four and then gets a six over deep mid-wicket. South Africa 290/3 in 46 overs.

 

20.07 (IST): Shami starts well in the circumstances with a full delivery outside the off-stump. The batsmen managed a couple of runs. The next ball was also well bowled, angled into De Villiers and forcing him to check his shot at the last moment. Great stuff from the Bengal pacer, he bowls a short delivery to Duminy which the batsman fails to connect.

20.02 (IST): AB de Villiers comes down the track and slams a short delivery from Mohit to the boundary in front of square. Duminy goes one step ahead of his skipper to come down the track and get a six over long off. He then cheekily guides a full delivery outside the off-stump to the fine leg boudnary. India's death over woes are well and truly coming alive. South Africa 274/3 in 45 overs.

20.00 (IST): Virat Kohli continues and gives away seven runs in his over. Stats suggests the medium-pacer has a knack of getting rid of openers. De Kock was third opener he has dismissed in ODIs, the previous two being Alastair Cook at Cardiff in 2011 and Craig Kieswetter at Mohali in the same year.

19.56 (IST): Ashwin has Duminy in a bit of trouble but its not enough to provide India another breakthrough. South Africa 251/3 in 43 overs.

19.54 (IST): De Villiers now has JP Duminy for company, who can also whack a few into the stands. Given India's history of leaking runs in the death overs, this may not end too well for Dhoni. He recently said in press conference that his side has been working hard on bowling well in the ending overs. Today could be a great test for that.

 

19.52 (IST): Oh what a soft dismissal! After hitting such a gorgeous six on the leg side, he tamely hits the ball straight back to Virat Kohli to depart for a stupendous knock of 135 off 121 balls.

19.50 (IST): Virat Kohli comes into the attack. He keeps De Villiers down but can't stop De Kock from launching a full delivery into the stands on the leg side.

19.47 (IST): AB de Villiers gets two consecutive boundaries off the first two deliveries in the 41st over. How long before he goes into his frenzy mode? For the moment, even De Kock is in the mood for boundaries. He gets 18th of his innings by chipping a ball to the long on boundary. South Africa 240/2 in 41 overs.

 

19.45 (IST): What a sight, this. De Kock steps down the wicket to play an inside out shot over the in-field to get another boundary to his name.

19.42 (IST): A single takes De Kock to 113, his highest score in ODIs, beating his previous best of 112. He then elegantly cuts a delivery outside the off-stump to the third man fence. The youngster has shown great maturity today. South Africa 214/2 in 38 overs.

 

19.39 (IST): Ashwin continues to bowl shot, something that was seen during the home series against Australia where here was highly ineffective. It will be tough as the wickets in South Africa will hardly have anything for him in it. 200 comes up for South Africa. 204/2 in 37 overs.

 

19.32 (IST): Ashwin returns and unleashes his 'stop-and-deliver' at De Kock.A single gives AB de Villiers the strike who whacks a poor, short delivery over the infield on the leg side for a couple of runs. South Africa 193/2 in 36 overs.

19.29 (IST): Shami has carried forward his purple patch into the Rainbow nation and has been the pick of the Indian bowlers today. He has tested the South African batsmen and was duly rewarded, picking up both the wickets so far. South Africa 188/2 in 35 overs.

 

19.24 (IST): Century for De Kock! His second in ODIs and first against India. This splendid, stroke-filled innings from the young left-hander will go a long way to prove his worth and mettle at the highest level of the game. The South African dressing room is on its feet. De Kock's knock has come off 101 balls and included 15 fours and a six. With this ton, he becomes the youngest South African to score a century on home and away turf.

19.21 (IST): Mohit bowls the first no-ball of the game and bowls a slower one to De Kock in the free-hit delivery which the South paw picks and plummets into the stands to move to 98.

 

19.19 (IST): Captain AB de Villiers walks out to join De Kock.

 

19.15 (IST): What a contest, this! A 23-year-old Shami tests the veteran Kallis by bowling tight line and length and the veteran responds by moving away from the wicket to make room and get a boundary over cover point. Shami however, has the last laugh as an uppish drive from Kallis goes straight to Ravindra Jadeja at covers. South Africa 172/2 in 32.5 overs.

 

19.13 (IST): Shami continues and bamboozles Kallis with a peach-of-a-delivery that whizzes past his outside edge. Kallis has a wry smile to offer. Shami repeats performance in the second ball. Now, Dhoni has a smile.

 

19.11 (IST): Betting length from Mohit as he bowls one full and angled into his pads. De Kock too plays out a couple of deliveries. South Africa 168/1 in 32 overs.

 

19.08 (IST): Kallis tries the cut shot again and this time to perfection as the ball sails to the backward point boundary. The crowd loved that shot.

 

19.05 (IST): There comes that powerful cut from Kallis, leaning backwards and putting all his might behind the shot. He will only get a single from it. Meanwhile, De Kock capitalises on some shoddy bowling from Bhuvneshwar to get a couple of boundaries. South Africa 163/0 in 31 overs.

 

19.02 (IST): The wicket brings big-man Jacques Kallis out to bat. The oldest player in today's match joins the youngest as South Africa reach 152/1 in 30 overs.

 

18.54 (IST): PLAYED ON! A breakthrough finally for India, much against the run of play. In the first over of the batting powerplay, Amla's plays the ball onto his stumps to depart for a well-made 65 off 88 deliveries. Amla was in two minds and ended up with a half-hearted back-foot defensive shot and an inside edge dislodged the bails.

 

18.51 (IST): FACTOID: In the last five years, India have conceded 100-plus runs to the opening pair on 17 occasions.

 

18.50 (IST): MS Dhoni throws the ball to Suresh Raina.

 

18.47 (IST): Amla is slowly shifting gears here. He has looked to take on Ravichandran Ashwin from the start. The lack of turn allows Amla to take a bit of risk by pre-meditating his shots. He hits one over covers. De Kock too jumps down the track to unsettle Jadeja. These are two confident batsmen operating in the middle. South Africa 138/0 in 27 overs.

 

18.44 (IST): The highest first-wicket partnership of 193 runs at the Wanderers is jointly held by India's Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar and West Indies' Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. With both Amla and De Kock looking immensely comfortable, that record could be broken today.

 

18.44 (IST): ODI fifty number 23 for Hashim Amla, fifth against India. His knock have come off 73 deliveries.

 

18.36 (IST): FACTOID: This is the first time since November 2009, that a South African opening pair has added a partnership in excess of 100 runs. It was previously done by Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith when they put on 107 runs against England in Cape Town.

 

18.33 (IST): 100 comes up for South Africa as de Kock pulls a ball to the mid-wicket boundary. What a start by the hosts on a wicket that was supposed to assist the bowlers early on. South Africa 103/0 in 21 overs.

 

18.32 (IST): India may not have had the perfect start at the Wanderers today but here's a video where former legend Sunil Gavaskar tips MS Dhoni's side to emerge victorious in the ODI series.

18.31 (IST): The man with the golden arm, Ravindra Jadeja is here.

 

18.30 (IST): Meanwhile, if you're wondering why the South Africans are all dressed in pink, you can read about it here

 

18.29 (IST): Oh, what was Amla trying there? He uncharacteristically walks across the wicket, only to swing and miss at a delivery from Bhuvneshwar. Dhoni can afford a smile.

 

18.24 (IST): That's a half-century for Quinton de Kock. A great way to consolidate his spot in the line-up in the absence of Graeme Smith. The last time he managed to go past 50, he made it count and got his first ODI century. Can he repeat that today?

 

18.18 (IST): Ashwin continues and comes around the wicket against Amla. His leg stump line allows Amla to dab the ball behind square and take a single. This is very smart batting from Amla and De Kock. They've maintained a decent run rate of five runs an over and haven't tried anything too ambitious. 85/0 in 17 overs.

 

18.14 (IST): Despite experts calling for teams to bowl first on this wicket, the South African batting so far, has been in the 'pink' of its health. De Kock and Amla have been solid against the Indian bowling that has clearly lacked the final sting. They've managed to push both the batsmen on the back foot on a couple of occasions but haven't quite managed to force either to commit a mistake and perish in the process.

 

18.08 (IST): Ravichandran Ashwin into the attack. He needs five scalps to bag 100 ODI wickets. De Kock gets two successive fours to move into the 40s. South Africa 78/0 in 15 overs.

 

18.04 (IST): Extra pace for Shami? He surprises Amla with a quick, short delivery as the latter was stuck to the crease and the ball struck him on the pads. Shami follows it up with a short delivery which Amla is happy to duck.

18.00 (IST): Bhuvneshwar goes around the wicket to De Kock. He continues to bowl a disciplined line. Just three runs from his over. South Africa 65/0 in 13 overs.

 

17.59 (IST): Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes back to replace Mohit Sharma

 

17.57 (IST): Looking at Amla's urge to cut every delivery that falls in his radar outside the off-stump, Dhoni has a fielder in the deep on the off-side.

 

17.55 (IST): Shami has been the quickest of the three Indian bowlers so far. He has bowled at speedsin excess of 140 kmph.

 

17.53 (IST): Frustration for Shami. He bowls a length delivery that is too close to de Kock's body for the latter to attempt a cut.  De Kock goes for it anyway and an inside edge misses the stumps and travels to the fine leg boundary.

 

17.52 (IST): This is a solid start by the South African openers. There was a brief period when India came close to getting their first and much-needed breakthrough but Amla and De Kock have survived it. They're both into the 20s and are slowly building a good partnership. Dhoni will soon have his thinking cap on to try to mix and match his bowlers in a bid to get the first strike. For the hosts, its crucial these two men carry on. South Africa 55/0 in 11 overs.

 

17.46 (IST): Mohit Sharma continues. He is into his sixth over. Expect skipper Dhoni to bowl him out right away.

 

17.45 (IST): The last time South Africa fielded six fast bowlers in their line-up was against West Indies in 2008 at the same venue. They had Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn, Andre Nel, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel and Jacques Kallis.

 

17.43 (IST): Mohammed Shami comes into the attack and straight away beats the bat of the left-handed de Kock. A hint of away movement for Shami.

 

17.41 (IST): De Kock drives a full delivery to the boundary to bring up the fifty for South Africa. South Africa 53/0 in 9 overs.

17.38 (IST): Amla is getting into rhythm here. Poor line and length from the Indian bowlers is helping his cause. A poor delivery outside off, invites Amla to cut the ball through point. Good come back from Mohit, who gets the ball to jack back into the right hander.

 

17.37 (IST): Still no sign of Mohammed Shami as Mohit continues.

17.36 (IST): The current contest belongs to Amla at the moment as he smashes an half-volley through covers and follows it up with a glorious flick shot for a six over deep mid-wicket. South Africa 42/0 in 8 overs.

 

17.34 (IST): Another powerful cut from Amla goes straight to the fielder and Bhuvneshwar follows it up with a delivery that strangles Amla at the crease. Amla vs Bhuvneshwar is brewing into an interesting contest.

 

17.32 (IST): The eventful over ends with a single. South Africa 31/0 in 7 overs.

 

17.31 (IST): And again! This time its Hashim Amla. A leading edge from his willow ALMOST carries to Rohit Sharma at covers. MS Dhoni will be happy with that.

 

17.29 (IST): First real chance for India? De Kock, who has been the more aggressive batsman of the two, tried to guide a short delivery over the third man fielder but doesn't put enough on it. In the end, the ball falls inches short of the fielder who does well to take the ball on one bounce.

 

17.28 (IST): First sight of a short delivery and it has been dispatched to the square leg boundary. There was hardly any pace on the ball from Mohit . De Kock comfortably gets behind the ball and pulls it for four.

 

17.26 (IST): Hardly any movement at the Wanderers. Bhuvneshwar and Mohit are relying on bowling wicket-to-wicket at the moment. Just one run from Bhuvneshwar's third over. South Africa 25/0 in six overs.

17.24 (IST): Mohit follows suit and bowls a five good deliveries before giving room outside the off-stump. Luckily for him, the ball takes the outside edge of de Kock's bat and goes to the third man fielder for a single. 24/0 in 5 overs.

 

17.19 (IST): A poor, over-pitched delivery in the end spoiled what was turning out to be a good, tidy over. De Kock leaned onto the ball and hit it through cover for a four. South Africa 22/0 in 4 overs.

17.15 (IST): A good comeback from Mohit after an early boundary in the over. South Africa 18/0 in 3 overs.

 

17.10 (IST): Mohit continues and offers width to Amla who cuts the ball through the off-side to the boundary. Easy pickings for the South African opener.

 

17.09 (IST): Yuvraj Singh almost 'slide tackles' the birthday boy Shikhar Dhawan in the outfield. They manage to keep the runs down to two. South Africa 8/0 in 2 overs.

 

17.08 (IST): South Africa have as many as six fast bowlers in their line-up today. Most of them currently sitting in the dressing room and hoping for rain to stay away.

 

17.06 (IST): Poor start for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He gets that bit of early shape away from the left hander but strays in his line and is flicked through mid-wicket for a boundary off the first ball.

 

17.05 (IST): Quinton de Kock gets off the mark and gets his 400th ODI run. He guides one to the fine leg fielder. South Africa 2/0 in 1 over.

 

17.02 (IST): First runs come off a flick from Amla's bat. Mohit bowled one on his pads and Amla calmly flicked it for a single.

17.01 (IST): Mohit Sharma to start the proceedings. Hashim Amla has the strike.

 

16.56 (IST): The toss is done, the national anthems have been recited and the players are out in the centre. After a prolonged tug-of-war between the two boards (BCCI and CSA) the real deal between bat and ball is finally going to get underway. Play on, indeed.

16.53 (IST): South African line-up: Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

 

16.49 (IST): After being appointed as the Indian skipper, MS Dhoni has 194 dismissals behind the stumps in One-Day Internationals (ODI) and is six away from becoming the only captain-cum-wicketkeeper to force 200 ODI dismissals.

 

16.47 (IST): JP Duminy feels his team needs to build partnerships to beat India. He also feels batsmen need to get big hundreds, something that had been missing for a while now.

 

16.44 (IST): India field the same side that played against West Indies at Nagpur in the final game: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh,  Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma

 

16.42 (IST): South Africa are without their opener Graeme Smith, who had missed the third and final ODI against the recently-concluded series against Pakistan due to the death of his grand mother.

 

16.40 (IST): The contest against South Africa is more mental than technique, reckons Virat Kohli

 

16.38 (IST): Dhoni said that he expects rain to come down in the later part of the day. Hence, he elected to field. 

 

16.36 (IST): FACTOID: Way back in 1990 on this day, India's most celebrated and recently retired cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, scored his first of his 96 ODI half-centuries.

 

16.35 (IST): The last two times India and South Africa have played each other, it has been in a major ICC Tournament. In the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, Shikhar Dhawan got his first ODI ton while in the ICC World Cup 2011, Sachin Tendulkar scored his 99th international century.

 

16:30 (IST) TOSS: MS Dhoni wins the toss and elects to bowl against South Africa at Johannesburg.

16:20 (IST): Former South African bowler and captain Shaun Pollock says if either Dhoni or AB win the toss, they should bowl first. Dew will come into play later on. Pollock should know what he's saying as he has the most ODI wickets at the Wanderers - 29.

16:05 (IST): MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Jacques Kallis are a few players who can break records in the three-match series. Here is a list of upcoming milestones.

15:55 (IST): After a long absence from the game, Jacques Kallis returned to the Proteas team in the series against Pakistan. Kallis is crucial to their plans for the 2015 World Cup and we measure the value of a captain the Rainbow Nation never had.

Steyn Attack!

Dale Steyn will lead the formidable South African pace attack in the upcoming three-match One-Day International (ODI) and two-Test home series against India. However, the world's most-feared speedster refuses to buy the argument that Indian batsmen are susceptible to short-pitched bowling. In a recent newspaper column, Steyn believes that the current crop of youngsters are formidable competitors. He also went on to describe Indian batsmen as a runaway train.

15:25 (IST): After the recent ODI series defeat to Pakistan AB de Villiers admits that his South African side are under pressure. However he is confident that the batsmen can take advantage of a 'weak' Indian bowling attack. He also added, in jest, that the Proteas haven't scored 300 in an ODI for a long time because the have not played the Men in Blue for quite some time. (Related: India deserve to be No.1: AB)

15:15 (IST): The South African players will wear all-pink kits instead of their traditional green jerseys in the first ODI of the three-match series against India, which begins in Johannesburg on Thursday. Cricket South Africa (CSA) has set aside December 5 as 'Pink Day', in support of breast cancer awareness.

15:00 (IST): "One of the biggest challenges is to get used to the pace and bounce. If you are just new to the international circuit, then it becomes more of a challenge," said Dhoni, in a largely enlightening pre-match press conference. The Indian batsmen concerns against short-pitched bowling remain and is likely to be amplified with Dale Steyn charging in...

Preview

India's young and relatively inexperienced batting line-up will undergo their toughest test yet as they kick-start their three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against South Africa in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Despite being a shortened tour, neither hosts nor visitors are expected to take this series lightly and a lot of battles will be interesting to watch. For India, it will be an exercise to re-affirm faith in their young batters. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have all been tremendous in 2013, scoring over 1,000 runs in the calendar year and averaging over fifty.

The hosts will be keen to exploit the lack of form in the Indian middle-order. Given that the wickets in South Africa will afford more bounce and are likely to cater to hosts' traditional strength of fast bowling, the Indians will face a test unlike any other in the last 11 months.

The hosts will be eager to unleash Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Jacques Kallis at the first available opportunity.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma,Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane.

South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

14:45 (IST): The series mentioned below was a five-match one and it went down to the wire. The hosts ultimately claimed it 3-2 with pacer Morne Morkel named the Player of the Series. (Read: Flashback to the last India vs South Africa ODI series)

14:40 (IST): The last ODI India played in South Africa was on January 23 2011, almost three years ago. India's starting XI in that match: Parthiv Patel, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel. Just five of those players remain in the Indian squad on their current tour as an exciting, youthful side build towards the 2015 World Cup.

14:30 (IST): Good afternoon, good evening, good morning -- wherever in the world your are -- to our live coverage of the first ODI between India and South Africa. Will India shine on fast and bouncy tracks? Will South Africa sparkle in pink? Can the visitors continue their amazing run of six successive competition victories? Can the hosts bounce back from from a 2-1 ODI series defeat to Pakistan? There are many questions and we will soon find out the answers as India's three-ODI, two-Test tour of South Africa begins.