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KOLKATA: Virat Kohli marked his 35th birthday with his second century of the World Cup and Ravindra Jadeja claimed five wickets as India thumped South Africa by 243 runs in a contest featuring the top two teams in the tournament at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
South Africa’s chase of 327 began shakily as they lost half their side cheaply for 40 runs inside 14 overs as Jadeja (5-33) and Mohammed Shami (2-18) wreaked havoc before the Proteas fell to only their second defeat, dismissed for 83 in 27.1 overs.
Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, shattering the stumps of three batsmen, and Mohammed Siraj (1-11) and Kuldeep Yadav (2-7) all played their part to hand South Africa their heaviest World Cup defeat.
Kohli’s unbeaten 101 contained 10 fours and left him level with Indian great Sachin Tendulkar on 49 one-day international hundreds as he continued his superb form by taking his tally past 500 runs in the tournament.
“It was a big game. We were playing probably the toughest team in the tournament. They’ve played some amazing cricket so there was this motivation of wanting to do well for the team,” said man-of-the-match Kohli.
“Because it happened to be my birthday, it becomes a bit more special. People made it a bit more special for me. I had this sense that it’s going to be something more today rather than just one more game in the World Cup.
Both teams have qualified for the semi-finals and Sunday’s game was touted as a dress rehearsal for the title clash later this month and it was India who took control early and set up their eighth successive victory.
