India sent a strong signal to all top contenders of the 2015 World Cup by registering a crushing victory against mighty South Africa at the MCG today. It was India’s second successive win in the tournament. They had beaten Pakistan in the first match. India finally broke the World Cup jinx against South Africa by winning the first match in the fourth encounter between both teams.
Earlier, India posted 307/7 in 50 overs, thanks to Dhawan (137), Rahane (79) and Kohli (46). Wayne Parnell took two wickets.
Chasing a victory target of 308, South Africa were 108/2 at one stage and looked great. But, Indian bowlers bounced back to bowl them out for 177 in 40.2 overs and won the match by 130 runs. Hashim Amla (22), Faf du Plessis (55), AB de Villiers (30), David Miller (22) were the top scorers. For India, Ashwin took three wickets, while Shami and Mohit Sharma took two wickets each.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to congratulate Team India on this clinical performance. “Great performance. Well played. Congrats Team India. You make us proud yet again,” he tweeted.