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Rohit Sharma scores maiden T20 International century
Kohli first Indian to complete 1,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket
Rohit Sharma's blistering century went in vain as South Africa began their long tour of India on a winning note, scripting a thrilling seven-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 International in Dharamsala on Friday.
Sharma (106) notched his maiden T20 International century to give India a competitive total of 199 for 5, but the visitors rode on some sparkling strokeplay by J P Duminy (68 not out) and A B de Villiers (51) to overhaul the target with two balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Test skipper Hashim Amla (36) and ODI skipper De Villiers laid the foundation for the Proteas with a 77-run opening stand while Duminy guided them to the finish line with a sublime unbeaten 68 off just 34 balls.
His 105-run unbeaten partnership for the fourth wicket with Farhaan Behardien (32 not out) sealed the game.
Left-handed Duminy played with a lot of responsibility under pressure and could not have timed his eighth fifty in T20Is better than this. Thanks to his gritty batting, South Africa collected 22 runs off Axar Patel in the 16th over and 14 when Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled the penultimate one.
Duminy hit Patel for three successive sixes and found a six and a four off Bhuvneshwar's first two balls as he stroked India out of the match. He punished the Indian bowlers with seven sixes.
Debutant left-arm pacer Sreenath Aravind was given the daunting task of bowling the last over from which the Proteas needed 10. Duminy ended India's thin hopes with a six off the third ball and strolled through for the winning run off the fourth.
The flat track at the HPCA Stadium as well as dew made it difficult for the bowlers to contain the batsmen and it was the Proteas who had the last laugh.
The teams now travel to Cuttack for the second T20I of the series on October 5.
The Proteas made a strong start in the chase, reaching 72 for none in just seven overs, with de Villiers and Amla going hammer and tongs.
Like Rohit, they too took full advantage of the flat pitch and were easily managing a run-rate of 10 per over.
Dhoni used four bowlers in the first seven, but success was nowhere to be seen as the Proteas raced to 72 in no time.
The tide started to turn a bit India's way after the run-out of Amla in the eighth over.
De Villiers drove off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on the leg side, looking for two. He was quick, but Amla struggled to reach his crease before Mohit Sharma's solid throw from square leg.
It was again in Ashwin's over that India got their second wicket. De Villiers charged down the wicket, missed the turning ball, which hit the leg stump. His 51 came off 32 balls, with seven fours and a six.
Now the Proteas had two fresh batsmen at the crease -- skipper Faf du Plessis and Duminy -- and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni attacked more by employing a slip fielder when the spinners operated.
India's hopes rose when Aravind bowled du Plessis, who dragged one on to his stumps.
Duminy, though, found a good ally in Behardien and the two took their side closer to target.
They needed 66 from last five overs and Duminy put the pressure back on the Indians by hitting three successive sixes off Axar. That over fetched the Proteas 22 runs. Duminy kept going in the same vein and scripted a memorable win for his side.
Earlier, Rohit, who got off to a slow start, picked up pace and plundered runs at will. He became only the second Indian to score a T20 International hundred after Suresh Raina. His sensational 66-ball knock was packed with 12 fours and five sixes as he sent the visiting bowlers on a leather hunt after being invited to bat at the scenic stadium.
Rohit struck effortlessly and raised a 138–run partnership for the second wicket with skipper Virat Kohli (43), who became the first Indian to complete 1,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket during his cameo.
Kyle Abbott stemmed the rot by dismissing Kohli first and then Rohit in the space of four balls. The opener went for a pull but got an edge which was taken by Chris Morris at long leg. By that time, India were cruising, the scorecard reading 162 in 16 overs.
Indian lost Raina (14) and Ambati Rayudu (0) in the 19th over but Dhoni (20 not out) helped India get close to 200. He finished the innings in style, hammering Abbott for a six.
The quick dismissal of Sharma and Kohli did affect India's run-rate as the hosts managed only 37 runs in the last four overs.
Abbott was the only South African bowler with respectable figures, as he gave away just 29 runs in his four overs.
Shikhar Dhawan (3), who hardly got strike, was run-out when he attempted a second following a mis-field from Marchant de Lange.
Rohit, though, grew better and better. De Lange continued to dig in short and the Indian kept pulling him. He did not spare even Morris and smashed him for a six on the leg side after getting a boundary off a drive.
Faf du Plessis introduced Imran Tahir as India put on board 46 after six power-play overs. The leg-spinner bowled a tight over but the pacers kept leaking runs. This time it was Kohli's turn to inflict some damage as he hammered Morris for a six and followed it up with a boundary.
Rohit completed his half-century when he guided a short and bouncy one from Abbott to third man boundary. A delivery later, he played a scoop for a leg-side boundary as India put on board 86 after the half-way stage.
Tahir came in for some punishment from the two batsmen as they collected 21 runs from the 12th over. Rohit sent the first ball soaring over the ropes to bring up team's 100 and off the third ball Kohli heaved him over deep mid-wicket to complete his 1000 T20 international runs.
The skipper followed it with a flat six in long-off area.