ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Defending champions India thrash South Africa by eight wickets to enter semi-finals
This resounding win will most-likely guarantee India the top position in Group B. Which means they will face Bangladesh in the semi-finals.
It was a virtual quarter-final. The defending champions were going head-to-head with the World No.1 side. At the end of the day, it's safe to say that only one team turned up for the contest. Team India made light work of South Africa in their ICC Champions Trophy 2017 match at the Kennington Oval on Sunday.
Electing to field first after winning the toss, Virat Kohli's men brought their A game on from the get-go. Barring a decent first-wicket partnership between Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock, the Proteas didn't put up a fight at all with the bat.
The Men in Blue, on the other hand, came well prepared for the must-win clash. Kohli's captaincy was top-class, and so was the performance of the bowling unit. Poor shot-selection, disciplined bowling, and hara-kiri while running between the wickets saw South Africa being shot-out for a meagre 191.
Team India were ruthless with the bat in hand too. Well-compiled half-centuries by Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli ensured a comfortable eight-wicket win, with the skipper batting through till the end.
The resounding victory most-likely guaranteed India the top position in Group B. Which means they will face Bangladesh in the semi-finals.
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This resounding victory will most-likely guarantee India the top-position in Group B.
It was a complete team effort that helped the defending champions dominate the World No.1 side.
Jasprit Bumrah, for his brilliance with the ball, has been rightly declared the Man of the Match.
INDIA WIN!
Yuvraj Singh finishes it off with a six.
Lovely shot by Kohli, rapid flick of the wrists and the ball races away to the boundary.
Treating Tahir with disdain there.
IND - 173/2 after 35 overs.
India will surely have an eye on their Net Run Rate as they chase down this total by South Africa.
A big win will ensure a semi-final against Bangladesh. Considering England's form at the moment, that wouldn't be a bad proposition for the Men in Blue.
IND - 162/2 from 33 overs.
OUT!
Dhawan perishes after a well-compiled 78.
Tried to go up-and-over against Tahir, but got a leading edge that was taken well by Faf du Plessis at long-off.
Yuvraj Singh walks in.
IND - 151/2 from 30.1 overs.
50 for Kohli!
The captain has stood up when his team needed him.
These runs will hold him in good stead with the tournament entering its business end.
IND - 131/1 from 27 overs.
100 run partnership between Dhawan and Kohli comes up with another boundary off the bat of the left-hander.
IND - 125/1 after 26 overs.
50 for Dhawan!
What an asset he's turning out to be for the defending champions at the top of the order.
Virat Kohli has taken full flight at the Kennington Oval in London.
Two boundaries in that over off Morne Morkel.
First one a trademark flick through mid-wicket, followed by a sumptuous cover-drive.
The simplicity with which the man goes about scoring runs is absolutely fascinating.
IND cruising at 110/1 from 23 overs.
A ferocious cut for four by Dhawan to end the over.
IND - 90/1 after 20 overs.
Tahir drops it short, Dhawan pounces on it and pulls it hard for a four.
Another half-tracker, another four. This time past point.
The left-hander's good form in the Champions Trophy continues.
IND - 85/1 from 19 overs.
IND - 76/1 after 18 overs.
India got off slowly, but the captain's presence has made sure the strike is rotating.
As long as they have wickets in hand, this should be a comfortable chase.
Time for drinks.
IND - 75/1 from 17 overs.
Kohli slowly coming to his own after a cautious start. The foot movement is much better now. The drives are flowing in.
But suddenly Kohli nicks one. Hashim Amla can't hold on to a difficult catch in the first slip. Proteas need to grasp these chances if they have to defend 191.
After 16 over, India 70/1/. Kohli-25 Dhawan-31
IND - 47/1 after 12 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan strokes two wonderful off-drives against Morkel for four.
India needed this after an impressive spell of fast-bowling by the two South African new ball bowlers.
Nevertheless, this has been a cautious start with the bat by the defending champions.
IND 37/1 after 10 overs.
Have to question Rohit's shot-selection there.
The team aren't chasing a huge total, he had hit a few big shots already, what was the need to try and manufacture such a stroke?
Meanwhile, captain Virat Kohli walks in and gets off the mark straight away.
IND - 24/1 from 6 overs.
OUT!
Rohit suffers a brain fade.
Goes for a wild slog against Morkel. Manages to only find a thick outside edge that's gleefully accepted by Quinton de Kock behind the stumps.
SIX!
What a shot from Dhawan!
Morkel bowls on the left-hander's leg stump, Dhawan plays a delightful pick-up flick for a maximum.
IND - 18/0 after 3 overs.
Just a gentle push by Rohit, the ball races past Rabada for a four.
Sheer class from the right-hander.
SIX!
After the boundary, Rabada pitches it short and Rohit pulls it handsomely for a maximum.
Playing into the Mumbaikar's strength there.
Ten runs off the last two balls of the third over. India are 12 for no loss.
Shikhar Dhawan survives a major scare!
Drops and runs, but David Miller is quick to get to the ball running in from covers. His throw misses the stumps by a whisker, with Dhawan nowhere in the picture.
India made no mistakes in the field and earned 3 run-outs, South Africa will have to make the most of each chance too.
IND - 2/0 after 2 overs.
Kagiso Rabada starts with a maiden.
Rohit Sharma comfortable leaving balls outside his off-stump.
Morne Morkel to share the new ball.
It's hard to tell what has caused this score-line.
Was India too good in the field, or were the Proteas simply too poor?
Whatever the case, India will be extremely happy with their performance.
191 is way below par in such batting-friendly conditions.
Join us after the break to catch Team India's reply with the bat!
South Africa are all-out!
Yet another run-out to end proceedings for the Proteas with the bat.
This time Kohli and Dhoni combine to send back Tahir.
India will need 192 in 50 overs to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
SA - 190/9 from 44 overs.
Imran Tahir survives the hat-trick ball with an audacious cut-shot.
OUT!
Kohli gets himself at slip, Morne Morkel edges it straight to him.
Bhuvi is on a hat-trick!
SA one wicket away from being all-out.
OUT!
Bhuvi gets his first wicket of the day.
Rabada gets caught-behind by a diving Dhoni.
Kohli's bowling changes have been on point today.
SA - 184/8 from 42.2 overs.
Kagiso Rabada pulls one for four.
Much-needed runs for the Proteas.
SA - 182/7 after 41 overs.
This has been a good game for Bumrah.
He had gone wicket-less in the first two matches.
Has picked two wickets today.
OUT!
Andile Phehlukwayo misses a full-toss by Bumrah and gets trapped in front.
The umpire gave it not, but a review by Kohli overturned the decision.
SA - 178/7 from 40.1 overs.
OUT!
Morris fails to deliver the goods.
Bumrah pitches one short, the ball hurries on, Morris goes for a hard pull but finds a top-edge, Bhuvi takes a simple catch at square-leg.
Things going from bad to worse for the Proteas.
SA - 167/6 from 36.4 overs.
SA - 165/5 after 36 overs.
JP Duminy and Chris Morris are at the crease at the moment.
SA will hope the duo can carry on for at least the next 10 overs.
Morris has impressed many with his big hitting in the IPL.
Will he fire today?
SA - 162/5 from 35 overs.
The right -hander survived two run-outs but fails to make the most of it.
This is turning out to be quite a disappointing performance by the Proteas.
SA - 157/5 from 33.3 overs.
OUT!
Faf du Plessis gets clean-bowled by Hardik Pandya!
SA - 156/4 after 33 overs.
SA - 152/4 after 32 overs.
JP Duminy survives a scare.
The umpire gave him out LBW off Jadeja, but the DRS review suggested that there was a slight inside-edge.
SA - 148/4 after 31 overs.
OUT!
Another one bites the dust!
Comedy of errors by the Protreas batsmen.
Both Miller and du Plessis ended up at the same end after a horrendous mix-up.
In the end, Miller has to walk back to the pavilion.
SA struggling at 145/4 from 30 overs.
ABD OUT!
Brilliant work by Dhoni and Hardik to run-out the Proteas captain.
This is a crucial partnership for the Proteas.
A lot will depend on how these two go about in these middle overs.
They're looking good as of now, rotating the strike well.
SA - 139/2 from 28 overs.
Jadeja is pumped up today!
Just one run conceded in his 6th over.