The JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi witnessed a packed house revel in three hours of pure Virat Kohli brilliance on Sunday. It was vintage Kohli — elegant wristy flicks, fearless charges at pacers, and straight drives straight out of the Sachin Tendulkar playbook. For those questioning his place in the ODI setup, Kohli offered a resounding response with a sublime 120-ball 135, reaffirming his immense value to India even with the next World Cup still two years away.
Kohli’s masterclass formed the spine of India’s narrow 17-run win over South Africa in the first ODI. Though the visitors threatened a remarkable comeback through Matthew Breetzke (72, 80b, 8×4, 1×6), Marco Jansen (70, 39b, 8×4, 3×6) and Corbin Bosch (67, 51b, 5×4, 4×6), the home side held its nerve in the final moments to seal victory.
Nostalgia peaked when Kohli and Rohit Sharma came together for a commanding 136-run second-wicket stand. Rohit, now active only in the ODI format like his longtime teammate, survived an early reprieve after a drop by Tony de Zorzi and made full use of it. He dismantled off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen with towering slog sweeps and surpassed Shahid Afridi for the most sixes in ODI history with a trademark pull off Marco Jansen. Both veterans defied their seniority with exceptional fitness — Rohit throwing himself around in the field and Kohli sprinting hard between the wickets even deep into his innings.
Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, both eager to cement their places, faltered. Jaiswal edged a sharp delivery from Nandre Burger, while Ruturaj fell to a stunning flying one-handed catch by Dewald Brevis at point. India’s momentum slowed when Washington Sundar (13, 19b, 1×6) arrived, and stand-in skipper K.L. Rahul (60, 56b, 2×4, 3×6), batting unusually at No. 6, could not deliver the explosive late push India needed.
Defending a 350-run target under dewy conditions was always going to be tough. But India’s new-ball pair Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh delivered a fiery opening burst. Rana blasted through Ryan Rickleton and Quinton de Kock with raw pace, while Arshdeep removed captain Aiden Markram to leave South Africa tottering at 11 for three.
Breetzke and Jansen revived hopes with a brisk 97-run sixth-wicket stand, and Jansen’s clean striking briefly tilted the chase in South Africa’s favour. Kuldeep Yadav’s double strike pulled India back, yet Bosch kept the contest alive, dragging the equation to 18 needed off the final over bowled by Prasidh Krishna.
The tension broke only when Bosch miscued a big shot into Rohit Sharma’s safe hands at cover, sealing India’s win and allowing Kohli — the undisputed star of the night — to breathe a well-earned sigh of relief.
