Melbourne, Feb 22: Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan struck a blistering century to steer defending champions India to finally break the World Cup jinx against South Africa by trouncing AB de Villiers’ men by 130 runs in their group stage tie in front of a jam-packed crowd at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, India bounced back from a shaky start as they lost big-hitting batsman Rohit Sharma for a duck after he was run-out in the third over.
Dhawan, who has been named as the Man-of-the-Match, anchored two century partnerships with Virat Kohli (46) and Ajinkya Rahane (79) before he was caught out for 137 runs by Wayne Parnell’s delivery.
Subsequently, Rahane’s brisk half-ton anchored India to set an imposing target of 308 despite losing a major chunk of wickets towards the end.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni could only manage to add 18 runs to the team total.
Chasing an imposing target, South Africa buckled under the pressure as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals before being bowled out for 177 in the 41st over.
A disciplined bowling performance, coupled with top-notch fielding have almost ensured India of a quarter-final berth.
South Africa lost both openers Quinton de Kock (7) and Hashim Amla (22) within the first 10 overs before Faf du Plessis (55) and De Villiers (30) showed glimpses of resilience as the duo posted a 68-run third wicket partnership before their dismissal.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowler for India as he captured wickets of JP Duminy, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel for 41runs.
Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma scalped two crucial wickets each to keep India on top of Pool B table.
