It was a big game. Probably playing the toughest team in the tournament so far, there was motivation for doing well. People made it a bit more special on my birthday. I had a sense of it being something more. When the openers start in that fashion, you'd think it was a belter. Conditions change with the old ball. Message from the management was for me to bat deep, I was happy from that perspective. We knew we were above par when around 315. I enjoy playing cricket again which is more important now and that I'm able to contribute for the team all over again. Tendulkar's message is quite special. It's all too much to take in for now. It's a huge honour to equal my hero's record. He's perfection with the bat. It's an emotional moment. I know the days I come from, I know the days I have watched him on TV. To receive appreciation from him means a lot to me.
Kuldeep brings the last blow to South Africa to boost India to a huge 243-run win. South Africa suffered their biggest-ever ODI defeat as they bowled out on 83 runs while chasing 326 runs.
Ravindra Jadeja removed Kagiso Rabada to push India closer to a big win. South Africa - 79/9.
Kuldeep Yadav gets Marco Jansen to pick his maiden wicket of the game. Ravindra Jadeja takes an easy catch at mid off. India two wickets away from a big win.
Most wickets for India in World Cup 2023
India are walking in the park like it's nobody's business! Jadeja dismisses David Miller and Keshav Maharaj in a row to get his fourth wicket as South Africa are falling like nine pins.
A controversial LBW decision saw Heinrich Klaasen get out on what was probably missing the stumps or was an umpire's call while Rassie van der Dussen was LBW plumb as India continue to chip at wickets. Both Jadeja and Shami picked one each to make it two wickets each.
South Africa continue to perform poorly while chasing as they lost their third wicket with in-form Aiden Markram falling cheaply now as South Africa are now 35/3.
First over and a wicket for Ravindra Jadeja as he bowls a beauty to dismiss Temba Bavuma, whose treacherous run continues.
Quinton de Kock was the big wicket for India having scored four centuries in the tournament so far and all his failures have come in the second innings.
The ball turned and gripped tonight in Kolkata and Kohli said that they were hoping to get 280-300 and 326 is an above-par total.
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer powered India to a huge score of 326 runs on the board on a slow Eden Gardens surface. While Kohli smashed a century, Iyer scored 77 as efforts from Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja helped India push towards what Kohli suggested is an above-par score.
Virat Kohli smashed his 49th ODI century as he equalled Sachin Tendulkar's world record of most centuries in ODIs on his birthday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Suryakumar Yadav looked good for his 22 but played a silly shot going for a reverse sweep against Tabraiz Shamsi but was early on the shot and India lost half their side.
Marco Jansen was expensive against the Indian team on Sunday in Kolkata but gave his side a big breakthrough with the wicket of KL Rahul, who fell cheaply once again.
Shreyas Iyer has been dismissed by Lungi Ngidi for 77 as South Africa have gotten a third wicket out of nowhere. The 134-run partnership came to an end as Virat Kohli is the key now for India.
India now are in a commanding position to get to 340-350 as both Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer have now smashed fifties and are looking good for their respective tons.
Shreyas Iyer reaches his fifty now as he and Virat have stitched a 100-run partnership as the Indian team is in commanding position now.
Virat Kohli smashed his 71st ODI half-century as he rescued the innings after India lost both the openers immediately following the powerplay. The crowd is right behind him and there is a century for the taking for Kohli as even though the pitch is a touch slow, if the batter gets his eyes in, he can go really big.
Losing Shubman Gill immediately after the powerplay wasn't ideal but Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer played the spinners well. Both Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi bowled well and put pressure on the Indian pair but both kept ticking the scorecard and eventually got the result.
Shubman Gill was deceived by Keshav Maharaj in his very first over as even though the turn wasn't drastic, the batsman played the wrong line and had to pay the price.
Every single, every run, every boundary will be cheered for Virat Kohli today since he is the birthday boy and a couple of them in the final over of the powerplay were sumptuous.
Rabada is bowling well in the middle. He has beaten Kohli's outside edged several times. Kohli was close to chop one into his stumps but the ball bounced well before the stumps. A beautiful cover drive from Kohli was also seen in the over. Inda 72/1 after 8.
And Rohit is gone!! Kagiso Rabada gets the Indian captain for 40. A fuller ball and Rohit plays this to mid-off, where Bavuma takes a good catch which was coming at his face too fast. The Birthday boy Kohli is here.
A wonderful flick shot by Rohit Sharma and its 50 up for India
A fuller ball from Jansen and Rohit throws the kitchen sink at it. He slices this to the third man at deep but Tabraiz Shamsi is a little short - hard one for him. Rohit survives.
Marco Jansen is struggling with his footing, his line and lengths having given away eight wides (including a 5WD) in his very first over with Shubman Gill scoring a couple of boundaries in the second over.
Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma opted to bat first saying that the pitch looked good and rather than anything else, they wanted to challenge themselves against a good team. For South Africa too, it will be a challenge given that they have chased twice only in the tournament, lost once and won by just one wicket in the other game.
South Africa to maximise their advantage and India to deny that advantage to the Proteas - will want to bat first and with the surface not offering much bounce, it may be a 270-300 game rather than a 320-370 match, which makes it a potential thriller.
Ravi Shastri and Irfan Pathan said that the pitch No. 5 being used for the India-South Africa is a better surface than the last game which saw Pakistan chase down 204 runs easily against Bangladesh. One side has a few spots and the wicket looked a touch slow with not a lot of bounce and hence could get slower as the match progresses.
The team winning on Sunday is likely to finish at the top of the table and will likely face New Zealand or Pakistan in the semi-final (1 vs 4) and both teams will be motivated to put things right against a strong opposition.
South Africa have probably been the best side in the tournament so far while batting first having posted a 300-plus total every single time and 350-plus on four out of those matches. It will be interesting to see if they bat again, how will Indian bowlers cope and fare against such a powerful unit.
India take on South Africa in the top-of-the-table clash in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, November 5. Welcome to our live coverage of what could be a humdinger against two equally dangerous and powerful sides as they fight for the top spot.
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