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India win first one-dayer against SA

An Indian victory at last…and in style. But it was not without its share of controversy and firsts.

For the first time in the history of the game did a team score 300 runs against South Africa. For the first time India scored 300 runs to win a game on Indian soil. More of this later, but for now the moment remains to be savoured.

This is India's first international victory in almost three months and the first thing that comes to mind is the statement that Sourav Ganguly made in his interview with rediff.com.

"I think it's one win. We somehow have to manage one win. We have to play exceptionally well to win. Luck is also an important factor."

It was a victory unlike many others that India has had through brilliant individual performances. Every individual did his bit, but the team played together as a unit. Finally!

Sourav came through with a maiden victory in his first one-dayer as captain of India.

Winning the toss on a featherbed of a wicket, skipper Hansie Cronje immediately decided to bat. And the wicket didn't deceive the spectators. A total of 600 runs were scored in almost 100 overs for the loss of 10 wickets. Interesting statistic this, but Kochi has always known to produce high-scoring games. The last time India played here Jadeja scored a hundred and India scored in excess of 300 runs against the visiting Aussies.

Kirsten and Gibbs gave South Africa just the kind of start their skipper could have asked of them. They were involved in a record-breaking 235-run partnership for the first wicket, which laid the foundation for a 300-plus total.

India was without the experienced Srinath, and Agarkar and Kumaran opened the bowling. Right from the word go, the South African duo seemed to be looking for the fence and both complemented each other well. But this was a partnership with a difference. Neither batsman played anchor. They both looked to attack the bowling and score. Agarkar's first three overs were pretty expensive. Gibbs, in particular, was extremely severe on Agarkar, lifting him for two sixes in the same over. Kumaran on the other hand bowled a decent line and length but was expensive as well.

They raced away to 40 runs of 5 overs and Sourav Ganguly, realizing the pressures of captaincy, had to fall back on the experience of Kumble. But there was no stopping the Proteas, who decided to take on the bowlers and score maximum in the first 15 overs, even then.

Joshi though was successful to some extent as he had Gibbs in a lot of doubt early on. With Gibbs on 37, Joshi tossed one up and Gibbs, beaten by the flight and slow pace, was stranded out of the crease, only for Sameer Dighe to make a complete mess of the stumping.

The batsmen had decided to sweep the spinners completely out of the attack and were relatively successful in doing the same. After only ten overs, South Africa had scored 82 runs without losing a wicket. They further added another 23 runs in the next 5 overs and set up a perfect launching pad at 105/0.

The introduction of Sachin Tendulkar in the 15th over restored sanity into the proceedings as the run-rate climbed down from an obscene 8 runs per over.

Dighe yet again missed a stumping chance off the bowling of Sachin, when the ball hit Gibbs on the toe and deflected towards him. The Bombay wicketkeeper failed to latch on to the chance. He just seemed to be having iron gloves.

In between the 15th and the 25th, over only 37 runs came with Joshi and Sachin bowling an immaculate line and length to peg the South African openers back. But in the sapping Kochi humidity, Gibbs was beginning to take his chances, exhausted as he was with the running he was involved in. With a pathetic display of fielding from Indians, barring Azhar, the Proteas got away on several occasions. Even Robin Singh, the class fielder that he is, dropped a sitter in the outfield off Gibbs.

At the half way stage, South Africa were 142 for no loss, and in the next 10 overs added 64 runs to be well placed at 206 for no loss. The openers eventually reached their individual hundreds before Gibbs finally holed out to Joshi at the deep wicket fence, Agarkar taking a fine catch.

Kirsten followed him in the space of three overs trying to clear the square. Jadeja took a good catch at backward point off the bowling of Rahul Dravid, who bowled a pretty decent spell.

That dismissal got the ever-dangerous Klusener on strike. Rahul struck again in the same over and took a simple return catch to see the back of Klusener, gone for a duck.

Kallis and Cronje took the total to 301, which was a good thirty runs short of what they should have finally scored.

Thanks to some sensible and tight bowling from Dravid, Sachin and Kumaran towards the end, only 62 runs came off the last ten overs. India's most successful bowlers were Joshi -- though his figures didn't do justice to his bowling -- Sachin and Rahul Dravid. The combined bowling figures of these three bowlers was much better than the combined bowling efforts of Agarkar, Kumaran, Kumble and Robin Singh. Their 21 overs went for 156 runs, while the remaining 29 overs of the trio cost only 139 runs.

Ganguly and Sachin replied in blazing fashion, with the skipper in cracking form. He started the proceedings with a four and was particularly severe on Pollock hitting him for three boundaries in one over and following it by hitting Kallis for two boundaries in another.

Sourav's offside play was a treat to watch as he kept dissecting the field and finding the fence with amazing regularity. He tried to play one down to leg and edged it to Boucher, Pollock's varying pace doing the trick and India lost its first wicket at 45 in the seventh over.

Dravid and Sachin soon followed in quick succession. Rahul was dismissed trying to force the pace and holing out to Henry Williams at mid-off.

Sachin flicked Hayward, who was getting considerable reverse swing, with a roll of the wrists only to find Williams at backward point taking a clean catch.

Joshi, who was sent in at the fall of Dravid's wicket, played his part with some lusty blows and scored a quick 13 off 14 balls. His dismissal though was very controversial. Azhar played the ball into the covers and Derek Crookes threw the ball at the non-striker's end to Williams, who collected the ball and dislodged the bail with his arm before the ball touched the stumps. For his part, Joshi was guilty of not grounding the bat.

That got the ever-reliable pair of the experienced Azhar and one-day specialist Jadeja to the crease. Azhar and Jadeja played the waiting game and kept rotating the strike. Azhar looked really cool and was dominant in the partnership. Jadeja was struggling to get into any kind of form. He kept biding his time and gave patient support to Azhar, who was blazing away.

The fall of Azhar in the 32nd over seemed to push India into the corner with another 122 runs required for victory. Azhar tried to flick Kallis and was caught at short mid-wicket by Pollock for 42 in 51 balls.

That brought the ever-reliable Robin Singh to the crease and the way the duo handled the chase after that was commendable. Their 92-run partnership finally laid the foundation for a final assault at the imposing total which at one stage looked unreachable.

Jadeja's lusty hitting towards the latter part of his innings reduced the difference between the balls and the runs. When Jadeja was finally out for a well-made 92, trying to guide the ball through the point area, meeting it on the full and finding Crookes taking a straight forward catch at point, the task still looked difficult what with the famous reputation of the Indian lower order.

Dighe came in at the fall of that wicket and departed in four overs consuming 9 balls for a mere 5 runs. Kumble and Robin Singh then pushed the team towards victory and when 8 were needed of the last over, the real drama began.

Pollock started the over and then a controversial no-ball was called by the umpire when replays showed that Pollock had some part of his foot behind the line. That one decision thouroughly disturbed Pollock's frame of mind and when Kumble edged the next ball to the third man boundary, it seemed India had won the game. Kallis had in fact brought off a great save, saving a run as the batsmen had crossed over for three runs.

After a lot of confusion and chaos the match referee Raman Subba Row ruled that the last three balls be played and the final run needed to be scored again.

The players did eventually return to the field and Robin scored the single to give India a deserving victory.

This was the first instance and it seems like this could be just what the team is looking for, an exceptional team effort.

Sure, the five-match series is still wide open.

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