De Villiers shades Rohit as India falters

Bhuvneshwar Kumar then had Duminy caught behind, but that had little to no effect as de Villiers farmed the strike and claimed 18 runs off Bhuvneshwar’s next over. Farhaan Behardien contributed as well, hitting five fours and a six, before de Villiers completed his century with a six off the final ball of the innings sent down by Yadav – the over went for 19 runs – to leave India chasing the highest total at the venue.

It meant India needed a steady, if not a flying start, at the very least. It got something of that through Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit, the two adding a fairly quick 42 for the opening wicket, Dhawan in particular looking in the mood. Having reached a 28-ball 23, he was adjudged leg before to Morne Morkel to end the opening salvo.

Rather surprisingly, it was Rahane who walked in at No. 3 in place of Virat Kohli, and while he settled in, Rohit carried on attacking. Rabada erred in his lines a couple of times, and was punished, JP Duminy was charged, and his enterprise kept the run-rate decent. Rohit brought up his half-century, off just 48 balls, in the process of hitting Morkel for consecutive fours, the two picking up a boundary every now to take the boost the total past 150.

It was then time to accelerate. Out of nowhere, Rohit played a slog sweep off Duminy to awaken the crowd out of their slumber, picking it from outside off and sending it to over deep square-leg. In the next over off Tahir, he played two consecutive inside-out shots for a four and a six, and at the time, India looked good to complete the chase.

There was a blip, though, as Rahane fell in soft fashion, guiding a harmless delivery straight to Miller at extra cover. In came Kohli, but all the focus was on Rohit who was on the verge of an eighth ODI century. He got to the mark in 98 balls, flicking Behardien through midwicket, and celebrated with a rapturous crowd and an applauding Kohli.

With the chase entering a crucial phase, Kohli was dismissed for 11, Dale Steyn claiming the wicket after good work from Morne Morkel at short fine-leg. Dhoni walked out, but struggled to get going. It was all down to Rohit. He was cramping a bit, but even with minimal footwork, he was deadly. Tahir, Morkel and Steyn were all heaved for sixes as India set about making the asking-rate reasonable.

However, then came that Tahir over, after which Dhoni and Binny attempted to make up the deficit with quick singles and doubles. Eventually, though, they were left with too much to do.

To view the full scorecard, please click here.