Ken Borland

The grand batting of David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, and excellent bowling up front, gave South Africa control of the first ODI against India, before the home team produced the mother of all late charges to give the Proteas a big scare in Lucknow on Thursday.

Miller and Klaasen came together with South Africa struggling on 110 for four in the 23^rd over. But the skill and composure of the duo was exceptional as they stopped the rot and then cut loose, scoring 85 runs in the last 10 overs.

The in-form Miller struck a fiery 75 not out off 63 balls, with five fours and three sixes, while Klaasen was unbeaten on 74 off 65 deliveries, a fine supporting act that saw him hit six fours and a couple of sixes.

Their outstanding unbeaten partnership of 139 in 17.4 overs lifted South Africa to 249 for four in 40 overs, the match being reduced after the start of play had been delayed for an hour-and-45-minutes. They lost the toss and were sent in to bat on a tricky pitch offering seam and turn, and Quinton de Kock kept the top-order together with 48 off 54.

Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell then produced superb tight lines with the new ball, forcing both openers to play on.

Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj then turned the screw, conceding just 23 runs in his eight overs and getting the wicket of Ishan Kishan, caught at leg-slip for 20.

That left India 51 for four in the 18^th over and their required run-rate soon grew to more than 9.5 runs per over.

But Shreyas Iyer showed what a dangerous hitter he is, lashing 50 off 37 balls, and Sanju Samson and Shardul Thakur (33 off 31) added 93 in 11 overs.

The brilliant Rabada (8-2-36-2) and Lungi Ngidi (8-0-52-3) took key wickets at the death and Tabraiz Shamsi, who was badly out of sorts, had 29 runs to defend in the last over.

Samson set up an incredible finish as he scored 15 off the first three balls (including a wide), but Shamsi finally managed to get the ball on a fuller length and a slog-sweep failed to find the boundary, no run being taken, and India’s thrilling chase came to an end, the Proteas winning by nine runs.

Samson finished with a superb 86 not out off 63 balls, tempering his usually aggressive game at the start, but then scoring with astonishing freedom at the death.

With South Africa’s automatic World Cup qualification in doubt and with them not having played an ODI in India for an astonishing seven years, there are many questions surrounding the Proteas as they go into the first ODI against the hosts in Lucknow on Thursday.

But at least they will be going into the series with several in-form batsmen, with confidence high from the T20 series. David Miller, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram all looked in prime form by the end of that series, while Temba Bavuma returns to 50-over action having missed the series in England due to injury. He will welcome the less frenetic tempo and his form has been decent in this format, averaging 36.75 in his last 10 innings, including a brilliant 110 against India in Paarl in January.

Bavuma is also likely to bat at three given the return of Janneman Malan to continue his successful opening partnership with De Kock. Although his form has dropped a bit of late since his sensational debut in 2020, Malan still averages 52.70 at a strike-rate of 85 in his 20 ODIs.

Heinrich Klaasen is another who did not feature in the T20s but should play tomorrow given that there is no Tristan Stubbs in the squad.

Malan pointed to be there being more time and less pressure for the South African batsmen in the ODIs.

“As an opener, I’ve definitely experienced, a couple of times, not being in form or not having a lot of matches under your belt. There can be a lot of pressure when that happens in T20, because it is quick-moving and you have the pressure of the run-rate,” Malan said on Wednesday.

“You feel like you have to make a move, but ODIs are easier, you can take your time a bit to get in.

“We’re all just showing Temba some love because he’s in a bit of a patch at the moment. But that can change quickly and he has a chance now to find some form before the World Cup.

“We’re all pulling for him because he’s a good leader and very valuable in our space,” Malan said.

The last ODI series South Africa were scheduled to play in India was in March 2020. The first match was washed out without a ball being bowled in Dharamsala, and then the terrible Covid pandemic struck and the next two games were cancelled. Their previous ODI series in India was in October 2015, when they won the series 3-2. They scored 438 for four in the decider in Mumbai, De Kock, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers all scoring centuries, and they then bowled the hosts out for 224.

The Proteas’ record in ODIs in India is far from awful – they have won 13 and lost 15.

Rassie van der Dussen is known for being a phlegmatic, composed guy, but his mental strength shone as brightly as it ever has in the first ODI against England as not even heatwave conditions that saw other players and spectators require medical treatment could dissuade him as he cruised to a brilliant century that set up victory for the Proteas.

The stadium management in Chester-le-Street issued health warnings to their spectators as temperatures reached 36°C, but Van der Dussen kept his cool, taming the weather and the England attack as he used his three hours at the crease to compile a remarkable 134 off 117 balls.

His best score in Proteas colours led South Africa to their highest ever ODI total in England – 333/5 – and then when the bowlers produced a marvellous all-round display – both the pacemen and the spinners met expectations – victory was completed by 62 runs.

“It was pretty hot out there but not too bad, mid-30s. We’ve just had a tour of India where it was a lot worse,” Van der Dussen said with characteristic understatement after he had met the challenge.

“I just tried to read the situation and adapt. I feel like I have the game and the shot options to put the bowlers under pressure. It was a massive outfield and the wind was quite strong, so it took the six option out for 25 overs.

“We knew we had to play smart cricket, hit the pockets in the field and run hard, make sure we got runs off good balls. The pitch got tough towards the end with the old ball keeping a bit low.

“It was like playing in Bloemfontein in terms of field size and temperature. There was not a lot of bounce and you had to play straight and try and accumulate runs,” Van der Dussen said.

England’s bowlers and fielders looked like they needed medical care as Van der Dussen and Aiden Markram (77 off 61) cut loose in a third-wicket stand of 151 off just 123 balls.

Apart from their meeting against South Africa in the T20 World Cup last November, when the Proteas won by 10 runs but still missed out on the semifinals, the last time England played with much at stake against the Proteas was in 2019/20 when they visited Africa and won the Test series 3-1 and the T20s 3-0 before bailing out of the ODIs due to supposed Covid fears.

South Africa have done much to rehabilitate their image since then and Van der Dussen recognised the importance of the Proteas laying down a marker, while stressing that it was merely the first day of a long tour.

“Obviously it’s a massive result, but it’s only one match on a long tour. We had to prep well, the batting was really good and the bowlers executed brilliantly, and now we will see where we can improve.

“England are still a world-class team, with various matchwinners on their day. But you could see they’ve played a lot of cricket lately, we were a bit more up for it today,” Van der Dussen said.

Brace yourself Pommies! The Proteas began their tour of England with an emphatic all-round performance as they beat the world champions by 62 runs in the first ODI at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, a powerful batting display being backed by a dominant showing by the spinners and some skilful, impressive fast bowling.

South Africa had won the toss and elected to bat first in a heatwave that had the ground authorities put precautionary measures in place for spectators and extra drinks breaks allotted for the players.

A sensible start by Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock (19) saw the Proteas reach 35 in the first six-and-a-half overs, after which Rassie van der Dussen came in and produced one of his greatest innings.

The 33-year-old got going from the outset of his innings, but seemingly without extending himself too greatly as he cruised to his half-century off just 45 balls.

Malan went to a composed half-century himself, but then struggled a bit with his pacing in the middle overs, ending with 57 off 77 balls.

Aiden Markram backed himself and was attacking from the start, but struggled to get the right tempo to his innings as he perhaps went a bit too hard at the ball early on. But as soon as he went back to his natural classy game he flourished, smashing 77 off 61 balls as he and Van der Dussen added 151 for the third wicket off just 123 balls.

Van der Dussen went to the most unflustered of centuries, needing just 90 balls to do it, as he pushed himself hard in the sweltering heat, placing the ball brilliantly, and running hard because he only hit nine fours as he posted a career-best 134 off 117 balls.

Both he and Markram fell in the 46^th over bowled by Liam Livingstone, which left new batsmen in David Miller (24* off 14) and Heinrich Klaasen (12) to bat out the last four overs, and they got South Africa to 333/5 when 350 was probably on the cards.

The Proteas might have been a little concerned at the break, but their attack did superbly.

Although England openers Jason Roy (43) and Jonny Bairstow (63) added 102 for the first wicket, they were limited to just 47 in the powerplay as Lungi Ngidi and captain Keshav Maharaj were excellent up front.

South Africa suffered a blow when seamer Andile Phehlukwayo collided with Maharaj in the field and left the field for stitches after bowling just three overs. It meant Markram had to come into the attack but far from leaving the attack deficient, it only strengthened the Proteas’ hand. Markram (4-0-25-2) claimed the key wickets of Bairstow (63) and Ben Stokes (5) in his last ODI, both lbw as they missed sweeps.

Fellow spinners Maharaj (10-1-42-1) and Tabraiz Shamsi (9-0-53-2) then strangled the middle-order, but Joe Root kept England’s hopes alive with a sweetly-struck 86 off 76 balls.

But fast bowler Anrich Nortje (8.5-0-53-4) bowled Root and claimed two other wickets in the 45^th over to seal the impressive victory as England were bowled out for 271 in the 47^th over.