India, who had to wait for long to play their first game, outplayed South Africa by six wickets to begin their World Cup campaign on an emphatic note on Wednesday.
The game also marked the World Cup debut of Indian bowlers such as Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.
Also making his World Cup debut, Yuzvendra Chahal produced a spectacular show by dismissing four South African players, including their captain Faf du Plessis.
“Obviously it is a great feeling because I’m playing the first match and it’s a world cup, so I was very happy for my performance today,” said Chahal during an interaction with media.
When asked which was the most important wicket that he took, Chahal replied saying it was the captain, du Plessis’ dismissal.
“Obviously, it is Faf’s (du Plessis) wicket. Because I planned that. Because the ball was drifting there and I was like, there I have to pitch and I bowled there. Faf’s is the main batsman, he was scoring runs, so after that wicket, I was like okay now we are on top.”Yuzvendra Chahal
Meanwhile, captain Virat Kohli lauded Rohit Sharma's match-wining hundred against South Africa in challenging conditions besides raving about his star pacer Jasprit Bumrah.
"I think in my opinion this is by far his best ODI innings because of the kind of pressure the first game brings from a World Cup point of view. A lot of times batsmen tend to hit their way out of the situation. But he (Rohit) was very composed,” Kohli said during the post-match press conference.
“In my opinion, of all the brilliant innings I have seen him play, I think this, for me, was the top of the pile because of the way he compiled his inning.”Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma’s Century Guides India to Win
In Wednesday's game, Rohit scored an unbeaten 122 runs and guided India past the finish line against an injury-depleted South Africa at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
Also lauding the spinners, Kohli said both Yadav and Chahal were outstanding and controlled the game very well.
I think Kuldeep bowled really well, he controlled the game and Chahal was outstanding. The way he (Chahal) mixed his pace, the ball wasn’t turning so much, but even with a little bit of turn and help from the pitch, he was able to bring out of the wicket and that was truly brilliant to see.”Virat Kohli
(With inputs from Associated Press)
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