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Dhawan, Rahane heroics crush SA

Last Updated 22 February 2015, 20:47 IST

“Let’s give the benefit of the doubt and say South Africa had the support of 20,000 people,” said M S Dhoni, tongue in cheek, while talking about the massive backing India enjoyed at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

The Indian skipper was being too generous, because at least 80,000 of the nearly 87,000-strong crowd were rooting for an Indian win, which came in a surprisingly easy manner.

South Africa had expected a huge support for India, but they weren’t probably prepared for such an enervating atmosphere. They couldn't be faulted if they thought they were playing in Mumbai instead of Melbourne.

India relished the circumstances, which couldn’t have got any closer to the ones back home—soaring temperatures, a nice batting strip, even if it was two-paced at times, and the screaming fans.

If India maintained the winning streak against Pakistan in Adelaide, they ended their three-match losing run against South Africa in World Cups with a 130-run drubbing of the Proteas here.

It was another clinical performance from India, who excelled in every department of the game. Their batting lived up to its reputation, while the bowling unit combined to a nicety once again. The fielding, perhaps, made one of the biggest differences, with two crucial run-outs just when South Africa’s chase was taking some shape.      

Shikhar Dhawan, who had struggled all through the Tests against Australia and the subsequent tri-series, couldn’t have regained his touch at a better time. The southpaw followed up his knock of 73 against Pakistan with his seventh ODI hundred (137, 146b, 16x4, 2x6), which formed the basis for India’s 307/7 after opting to bat first.

Virat Kohli played a critical role (46) in a century-stand with Dhawan, while Ajinkya Rahane made the biggest impact with a 60-ball 79 (7x4, 3x6).

India could have done with a few more runs from a commanding 227 for two after 40 overs, but the bowlers made sure they wouldn’t rue the collapse in the last few overs.
India’s fielding was generally good, and the run-outs they effected hit South Africa the hardest.

AB de Villiers was repeatedly taking on the Indian fielders by being too cheeky between the wickets. While the South African skipper did manage to steal some runs, he couldn’t beat Mohit Sharma’s direct hit from the deep as he went for a second run. If that wasn’t bad enough, another key batsman, David Miller, took on Umesh Yadav and was caught millimetres short of the crease.

The Proteas could never really recover from these twin blows as India enhanced their chances of topping Group A.

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(Published 22 February 2015, 20:47 IST)

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