SAMSON STANDS OUT

...But Batter's Unbeaten 86 In Vain As India Lose 1st ODI TO SA By 9 Runs

Below-par death bowling, coupled with ordinary fielding and batting except for Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer, hurt a second-string Indian team as it slumped to a nine-run defeat against South Africa in the rain-truncated first ODI.

Opting to bowl in the rain-hit 40-over-a-side game, India started on the right note reducing South Africa to 110/4 in 22.4 overs before David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen hit strokeful half-centuries to guide South Africa to 249/4.

Struggling at 110/4, Miller (75 not out off 63 balls) and Klaasen (74 not out off 65 balls) added 139 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket to take the visitors to close to 250-run mark. Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 2/35 from eight overs. The Indian bowlers struggled in the death overs, conceding 54 runs in the last five overs.