Johannesburg, December 18: India dominated South Africa with a comprehensive eight-wicket win in the opening match of the ODI series at the Wanderers. Bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan played important roles while B Sai Sudarshan shone with an unbeaten half-century on his international debut.
India’s bowlers took full advantage of the favorable conditions in their first ODI after their defeat in the World Cup final. Arshdeep Singh took an impressive 5-37 in ten overs and registered his first five-wicket haul in this format. Avesh Khan supported him by taking 4 wickets for 27 runs in eight overs. South Africa were all out for just 116 runs in 27.3 overs, their lowest score in this format.
In reply, debutant B Sai Sudarshan displayed his prowess by scoring an unbeaten 55 off 41 balls, while Shreyas Iyer contributed 52 runs. India easily chased down the target with 200 balls to spare and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Scalping a 5⃣-wicket haul, Arshdeep Singh was on a roll with the ball & bagged the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia won the first #SAvIND ODI. 👏 👏
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Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/tHxu0nUwwH pic.twitter.com/tkmDbXOVtg
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 17, 2023
Arshdeep Singh’s impressive performance included dismissing key batsmen like Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen. Avesh Khan took important wickets while South Africa struggled to build partnerships. Sudarshan’s brilliant first innings along with Iyer’s fluent shots took India to victory without much difficulty.
The second match of the series is scheduled to take place at Gkebaraha on Tuesday, with South Africa facing the challenge of regrouping after a comprehensive defeat in the series opener.
