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We now conclude our coverage of the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup for the day. India will finish the league stage as table-toppers; the hosts will be next seen in action in a week's time - against the Netherlands at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The South African outfit will take a flight and head all the way to the west of the country to take on Afghanistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on the 10th. A clash between sub-continental rivals Sri Lanka and Bangladesh awaits us at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi tomorrow. Sri Lanka will hope to keep their semi-final hopes alive with a win. Join us right here on Sportskeeda for our coverage of the same, and of course, a whole lot more! This is Rajarshi, signing off on behalf of Shashwat. Good night, see you tomorrow!
8 thumping wins out of 8 for the hosts. The closest they've come to defeat in the World Cup thus far was against New Zealand - a 4-wicket win with two overs to spare. Of course, the thought of the team peaking too early is bound to pop up, but when the performances are as clinical as that over 8 league matches, very little remains to be wary of. Just the one league game remains for India before a semi-final encounter against the 4th placed team at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on the 15th of November - a contest against the Netherlands. South Africa had a major blip early on in their 2023 World Cup campaign against the Netherlands - they were looking to roar back in the tournament, but the events that unraveled over the course of the evening today are bound to have left a colossal dent over their morale. Perhaps that was the wake-up call they needed ahead of the semi-finals, and with a game against a spin-heavy Afghanistan outfit to follow at Ahmedabad, the Proteas will be able to test their potency against spin once again.
Rohit Sharma, India captain: If we look how we fared in the last three games, we played quite better, in terms of adapting to the situation. We were put under a little bit of pressure against England. We lost three wickets upfront, and then we got ourselves collected and got a decent score, and then the seamers did the job for us. The last game as well, we lost the wicket in the first over, and then we stitched a very good partnership and got to a good score again, and then again, the seamers came to the party. It wasn't an easy pitch today, you needed someone like Kohli to bat the situation. Not to forget Shreyas Iyer as well, creating that partnership for us and getting the runs on the board. We knew we had the runs on the board, it was time to keep the ball in the right areas, which we did. I would have still kept that faith even if it wasn't repaid. It's important to have the guys come in and have the freedom in the middle. It's quite important to make them understand what the team expects from them, also to understand that it's not going to happen every game. You've got to keep the trust on the guys, when it happens, it looks good. That's what happened with Shami, the first few games, he was not a part of the squad For him to come back the way he has in the last four games, shows the mindset and the quality of the player. Same with Shreyas Iyer as well, wasn't getting runs as per his expectations, but the last two games showed what kind of class he has. (On the approach on the first 10 overs) It wasn't something we discussed, me and Gill have been batting together for quite a while, we let the instincts take over and do the talking for us, and then, everything falls into place. (On Ravindra Jadeja) He's been really good, a big match-winner for us, playing in all three formats for many years now. He keeps doing the job done for us, but goes under the radar, but today was a classic case of what Jadeja is for us with the bat at the back-end, and then, to come out and take those wickets for us. Really important player, and he knows what's required for the team. (On how difficult it is to stay in the moment) That is something we've been talking quite constantly in our changing room, not to get ahead of ourselves. There's still a long way to go in the tournament, I know there's only one league game, but a couple of big games coming up as well. It's important that we stay in the moment, it's not like we want to change anything, we want to play the game well when we turn up for it.
Temba Bavuma, South Africa captain: We know it's a challenge. We know what the narrative is out there about us and chasing. We didn't do that any justice. We have our conversations as a batting group, we've got to look at the things that didn't go right. (First ten overs with the ball) That did make it a bit of a challenge. They got 90 in the first ten and only (lost) two wickets. Our biggest challenge was taking wickets and we couldn't really. They had a big partnership between Kohli and Iyer. We did come back nicely with the ball. (Possibility of playing the semifinal here) The learnings, I guess the conditions. The wicket played the way we expected it to play. We expected it to deteriorate but unfortunately we couldn't adapt our skills. Potentially we could be here again for the semifinals. It's up to us know to adapt as a bowling group.
Virat Kohli, Player of the Match: (What his thoughts were today morning) First things first, it was a big game. Probably playing the toughest team in the tournament. There was this motivation of wanting to do well for the team. Because it happened on my birthday, it becomes special, people made it more special. I did wake up that excitement that today is not just another game. People from the outside look at the game in a different way. When the openers start in that fashion, it feels it is a belter and everyone has to play that way. But the ball gets older, the pitch slows down. The message was clear - keep batting around me. On pitches like these, if you get out, maybe we could have gotten 320-325. Once we got more than 315, we knew we were in a comfortable position. I am enjoying myself, playing cricket all over again. That is more important for me. I am just happy that God has blessed me with that enjoyment again and that I can do what I have been able to do what I have been doing all these years. (On Sachin's message) For me, it is all too much to take in. To equal my hero's record is a huge honour for me. People like comparisons. I am never going to be as good as him. He is always going to be my hero. It is a very emotional moment for me. I know where I have come from and to get this appreciation, means a lot to me.
The festival of Diwali is set to take place on the 13th of November. But with the sequence of events in this year's World Cup, we are bound to see a massive, massive surge in sale of fireworks compared to the past few years. And guess what, only a quarter of them are set to be burnt on the 13th, the rest of them being kept for the 15th, and then, maybe, just maybe, for the 19th of November. The sheer invincibility and assurance on show from this set of Indian players will be playing a part in this entire thought process.
As of now, there just seems no getting past this Indian team. This is as close as an international cricket team has got to the Australian side of the 2003 and the 2007 Men's World Cups. Batting, bowling, fielding.... the men in blue have left very, very little for the Indian fans to complain. There were doubts over the competence of this Indian side in defending totals after the first five games or so, well, those have been diminished to say the least!
To think this South African side racked up totals of 428, 399 and 382 makes it all the more mind-boggling. We were all set for an exciting contest between bat and ball as Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma strode out to commence a run-chase of 327, little did we know about what was to follow. Quinton de Kock looked to settle in having driven a full delivery past mid-off off Siraj, but dragged the following delivery - one that decked back off a length, right onto his stumps.
Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma had a turbulent time in the middle negotiating the opening spells from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, but all the hard work came undone as soon as the bowlers were changed. Ravindra Jadeja spun one right past a tentative Bavuma to knock the set of fibre over, and then, Mohammed Shami, with his ever-so-straight release, put up an enthralling display of seam bowling for his 'home' crowd, accounting for both Aiden Markram and van der Dussen in the process.
At the other end, Jadeja had the Proteas batters right in a web. He kept turning and fizzing the white Kookaburra past the blades of the batters, and cut right through the South African middle and lower order like a hot knife through butter. Maharaj's delivery to dismiss Gill was bettered by the one Jadeja bowled to take care of the Proteas' left-arm spinner, as 'Sir' Jadeja waltzed his way to a five-wicket haul.
In the end, it was Kuldeep Yadav who wrapped things up, ensuring the crowd at the Eden Gardens got to catch their buses and metros much, much earlier than expected. The post-match presentations are now underway...
243 runs. This was supposed to be the biggest challenge for the Indian bowling attack. Talk about making an absolute mockery, India have absolutely outplayed South Africa at the Eden Gardens, 'Chak de India' plays in the background as a triumphant Indian team, led by Virat Kohli, heads back towards the pavilion for the post-match handshakes!
27.1 Kuldeep Yadav to Lungi Ngidi, THAT WILL BE THAT! Googly looped up on a length on middle and off. Ngidi has zero clue about it and plays for the ball that is spinning in. Plays down the wrong line, unsurprisingly, and the ball thunders into the stumps. A massive 243-run for India, and they have completely smashed South Africa, dubbed as one of their closest competitors!
Lungi Ngidi b Kuldeep Yadav 0 (3b, 0x4, 0x6)
It's only 8:30 in the evening, and South Africa have been reduced to their final pair. The end is near...
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R Sharma
A Markram
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
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Tabraiz Shamsi
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Ravindra Jadeja
