
India romped past South Africa in match 37 of the ODI World Cup at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday (Nov 5). Opting to bat first, Rohit Sharma's quickfire 40, Shreyas Iyer's 77, birthday boy Virat Kohli's 101* and Ravindra Jadeja's 15-ball 24 not out took India to 327 for 5. In reply, the Proteas -- who are the only team apart from India with a confirmed semifinal ticket -- got bundled out for a paltry 83 in 26.1 overs.
With the ball, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami started the onslaught before Jadeja ended with 5 for 33. After yet another clinical win for India, who have now made it eight wins in a row in the ongoing tournament, Shami hilariously trolled the South African side. The Temba Bavuma-led Proteas have been on a run-scoring spree in the mega event -- with three scores in excess of 400 -- but fell flat versus the Indian team.
Talking to Star Sports after India's 243-run win, Shamispoke toformer cricketer-turned-commentator Mohammed Kaif and said, "Har baar 400 paar karne waalon ka haal dekko (look at the condition of the team that scored 400-plus in every match)."
At the post-match presentation, in Kolkata, Rohit said, "If you look at how we have played in the last three games, we have adapted better. We were put under pressure against England. But we got a decent score and then the seamers did the job. We lost a wicket in the first over. Then got runs and then the seamers did well. We needed Kohli to go out there and play the situation. We then knew we had to keep it in the right areas and let the pitch do the rest."
He added, "Not to get too ahead of ourselves has been the talk in the dressing room. Couple of big games coming up. We don't want to change anything."
India have one more league game left -- versus the Netherlands on Sunday (Nov 12) in Bengaluru -- before the knockouts commence.