WC: Kohli's 49th ton and Shreyas' 77 help India to 326/5 against South Africa

India's captain Virat Kohli scored his 49th ODI century, an unbeaten 101, which helped India set a huge target of 326/5 in the ICC ODI World Cup against South Africa at the Eden Gardens. After the toss, captain Rohit Sharma decided to bat first and with an opening partnership of 62 runs, Kohli reached his 49th ODI century, matching the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's record. Kohli's innings were instrumental in helping India to post a challenging total on a tricky surface.

Rohit Sharma had led the charge with the bat as he gave his side a sensational start. He along with Shubman Gill played some fantastic shots upfront and made full use of the fielding restrictions. The South African bowlers were carted around as the Indian openers scored above ten runs per over and brought up 50 runs of the partnership in no time. Experienced Kagiso Rabada was brought into the attack and he struck in his very first over by dismissing the Indian skipper. Who fell after scoring 40 off 24 balls as the 62-run opening stand came to an end in the sixth over. 

Birthday boy Virat Kohli walked into bat at three and helped India finish the powerplay on 91 for one, which is also the second-most runs South Africa have conceded in the first ten overs in the tournament. Keshav Maharaj cleaned up the well-set Gill on 23 with a ripper of delivery in the 11th over. Shreyas Iyer joined Kohli at the crease and started building a partnership. The Proteas bowled beautifully in the middle phase. The boundaries dried up and kept a check on the scoring rate. After scoring 91 in the first powerplay, the hosts managed to score only 33 runs in the next ten overs. The pair of Kohli and Iyer stitched a 50-run stand but took close to 15 overs to bring it up.

Iyer started cutting loose and played some good shots to raise the tempo and bring up his fifty off 64 balls. As soon as both brought up their respective milestones, they started cutting loose and the runs started flowing for the hosts. Both Kohli and Iyer hit regular boundaries before the latter miscued one and fell after scoring 77 off 87 balls. KL Rahul joined Kohli but struggled to get going and fell on eight while trying to clear the fence.

During the match, Suryakumar Yadav scored 22 runs before getting caught by Quinton de Kock. Kohli scored a century off 119 balls, matching Sachin Tendulkar's ODI record. He slowed down after the powerplay but persevered to reach his century and remain unbeaten on 101. Ravindra Jadeja scored 29 not out off 15 balls, taking India's total to 326 in 50 overs. Keshav Maharaj was the standout bowler for South Africa, conceding only 30 runs and picking up a wicket in his ten overs.