Brilliant Kohli hits 52nd ODI century and India beats South Africa by 17 runs

By Canadian Press on November 30, 2025.

RANCHI, India (AP) — Batting great Virat Kohli smashed his 52nd ODI century and India went on to beat South Africa by 17 runs in their series opener on Sunday.

Kohli’s 135 off 120 balls powered India to 349-8 in 50 overs after the home team lost its 19th consecutive toss and South Africa opted to field first.

South Africa made an impressive recovery after losing three early wickets as Matthew Breetzke (72), Marco Jansen (70) and Corbin Bosch (67) struck aggressive half centuries before the Proteas were bowled out for 332 in 49.2 overs.

“I just wanted to play the ball and enjoy the game of cricket,” Kohli said. “I’ve never been a believer of a lot of prep, all my cricket has been mental. I work physically very hard, as long as my fitness levels are up and then you visualize batting and feeling well, it’s good.”

South Africa comeback

South Africa stumbled to 11-3 inside the powerplay before recovering. Fast bowler Harshit Rana (3-65) dismissed Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock for ducks in the second over of the innings and Arshdeep Singh (2-64) found the outside edge from captain Aiden Markram.

But South Africa batted aggressively with Tony de Zorzi (39) and Dewald Brevis (37) scoring better than a run-a-ball to keep their team in the hunt.

Jansen came in to bat in the 22nd and the bowlers found it difficult to hit the right lengths with the wet ball because of dew.

Jansen smashed eight fours and three sixes in his 39-ball knock as he raised his half century off 26 balls with Breetzke taking a backseat in a whirlwind stand of 97 runs. But wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (4-68) claimed both wickets when the batters went for big shots in the 34th over as South Africa slipped to 228-7.

Bosch’s 51-ball knock took the game deep in the company of tailenders and hit five fours and four sixes. He had reduced the target to 18 off the final over before he got caught in the covers as the last man out.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

The Associated Press