Shikhar Dhawan, South Africa Vs India 2018, Johannesburg
Shikhar Dhawan brought up his 13th ODI hundred. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

Riding on Shikhar Dhawan’s 13th ODI century, India scored 289 for seven in the 50 allotted overs, in the fourth One-Day International against South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday (February 10).

The Indian openers once again failed to give the team a solid start after Virat Kohli decided to bat first. Just like the last three games, Rohit Sharma failed to get going again.

The right-handed batsman Rohit fell to Kagiso Rabada for just five which saw Kohli joining Shikhar Dhawan in the middle.

The duo once again stitched together a big partnership to lay the foundation for a big total.  The Delhi teammates got into their grooves quickly to steady the ship. By the time the tenth over ended, India were comfortably placed at 53 for 1.

Dhawan then went on to complete his fifty off 53 balls. Kohli soon scored his fifty too, reaching the landmark off in 56 balls.

With wickets hard to come by, the Proteas resorted to bowling a tight line and the move eventually paid off. Virat Kohli perished against the run of play while looking to play a big shot off Chris Morris. The India skipper miscued a shot straight to David Miller at cover after scoring 75.

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Dhawan, on the other, did not lose his patience and went on to become the first India to score a century in his 100th ODI. The game then interrupted for a while due to lightning.

After the forced break, the hosts made a good start with Morne Morkel dismissing Shikhar Dhawan for 109.

And even before India could recover from that setback, Lungi Ngidi accounted for Ajinkya Rahane to reduce India for 210 for 4 from 206 for 2. At the end of the 40th over, India were 230 for 4.

India’s hopes of finishing the innings strongly was soon ended when Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya failed to fire. But luckily MS Dhoni remained till the end, scoring 42 to help India post a challenging total.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the innings:

https://twitter.com/RahulAM20/status/962336647726579712?

https://twitter.com/Crichipster/status/962289434518609921?

Read on: SA vs IND, 2018: Suresh Raina congratulates Dhawan for a ton in 100th ODI

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