India made 197 for one in the first 30 of their allotted 50 overs against South Africa in Group B of the World Cup here today.
Opener Sachin Tendulkar (84) and left-hander Gautam Gambhir (28) were at the crease.
Opener Virender Sehwag was the only Indian batsman to fall, making 73 off 66 balls with the help of 12 fours and putting on 142 for the first wicket with Tendulkar in 17.4 overs. It was du Plessis who finally got the breakthrough for the South Africans, as the batsman got a thin edge that went on to the leg stump.
Earlier, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that he hoped would help the batsmen after the first few overs.
The Indians, who are unbeaten so far in Group B, made one change, bringing in pace bowler and leaving spinner Piyush Chawla out from the side that played against the Netherlands in their last outing.
The South Africans brought in Johan Botha in place of Imran Tahir, who fractured his thumb in their last match against England.
Sehwag began the innings in his usual style, lofting the ball from Dale Steyn over mid-on for another first-ball four, much to the delight of the huge crowd at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium.
In the next over, Morne Morkel swung one away from Sehwag and the batsman edged the ball to the fence, only slightly away from wicket-keeper van Wyk, who barely managed to move.
India got 14 runs in the third over, including four from on overthrow by Botha, with Morkel failing to back up properly at the bowler's end. In the same over, Sehwag lifted the ball off his hips to fine leg for a superb one-bounce four. Five wides came off the next delivery, with van Wyk getting no chance to get to the ball.
Sehwag was slowly getting into his stride, and he despatched Steyen wide of third man for another one-bounce four. India were 33 at the end of the first five overs, with Sehwag on 17 and Tendulkar on 10.
In the next over, Sehwag hit Morkel for three fours, the first a back-foot shot through the covers, the second straight past the bowler and the third wide of third man.
Steyn, who had conceded 24 runs in his first three overs, was replaced by Kallis and Sehwag pulled one from him to the fence to bring up the 50 of the Indian innings in 6.4 overs. Tendulkar also helped himself to a four to short fine-leg in the same over.
There appeared to be no stopping the India openers now, as they helped themselves to 13 runs in the next over from Morkel. First, Sehwag drove him past mid-on, and then Tendulkar sent the ball crashing through the covers and then straight past the bowler for two consecutive fours.
The two batsmen also kept collecting singles and twos, and managed seven in this fashion in the next over from Kallis.
Steyn was brought back from the other end, and Tendulkar pulled him over deep backward square leg for six, a powerful and well-timed shot that sent the ball flying flat over the boundary.
As India piled up 87 for no loss in the first ten overs, they also earned the distinction of making the highest score in the mandatory powerplay in this World Cup, beating their own performance against Netherlands.
Tendulkar blasted a slower one from Kallis past mid-on for a four, and, at the other end, Sehwag lofted one from left-arm spinner Robin Peterson over cover for four to get to his half-century off 44 balls. Sehwag then came up with a a superb square drive off Duminy for four. In the next over, Tendulkar stepped out and on-drove Peterson for another boundary.
In the same over, Tendulkar took a single off Peterson to get to his half-century. He celebrated by lifting Duminy over long-on for another six. At the other end, Sehwag lifted Peterson over cover for four. In Botha's next over, Sehwag got another chance, with wicket-keeper van Wyk again failing to get to a thick edge that was a bit wide of him.
Sehwag finally left in the next over, when du Plessis sent down a faster and flatter one, and the batsman got a thin edge that took both bails off. India were 142 for one in 17.4 overs. Sehwag's 73 came off 66 balls and included 12 fours.
The left-handed Gambhir, who replaced Sehwag in the middle, came down the track and lifted Botha over cover for a four, a perfectly timed and placed shot. Tendulkar took a single off du Plessis to bring up the 150 of the innings in 19.1 overs.
The departure of Sehwag certainly slowed down the Indian innings, and Botha and Peterson did not allow Tendulkar and Gambhir too many liberties. At the half-way mark, India were 174 for one, the previous five overs just producing 19 runs.
The next five overs produced only 23 more runs, though Tendulkar showed some signs of trying to break the shackles, sending Peterson sailing over long-on for his third six.
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