India vs South Africa, 37th Match at Kolkata, World Cup 2023, Nov 05 2023 - Match Result

A one-sided game but a tremendous display of skills. Kohli gets a hundred on his birthday and India march forward. South Africa will have a small break to work past their setback, they'll face Afghanistan on Friday. India take on Netherlands next Sunday before their semi-final in Mumbai. Bangladesh take on Sri Lanka tomorrow. See you for that. Bye for now from me, Ekanth, on behalf of my report-writing co-commentator, Deivarayan Muthu, and our scorers, Chandan Duorah and Thilak Ram.

Adarsh: "So, India's first 10 overs with the bat would have been enough to win."

Rohit Sharma, India captain: If we look at how we played in the last three games, we played better in terms of adapting to the situation. We were put under pressure against England. In the last game as well, we lost a wicket in the first over but got to a good score and seamers came to the party. Today was not an easy pitch, you needed someone like Kohli, who batted to the situation. Not to forget Shreyas. It's important to let guys have freedom in the middle and what the team expects from them. You know it can't always be done but when it does it looks good and that's what happened with Shami. Same with Iyer, wasn't getting the runs but he's showed in the last two games the kind of class he has. Going hard in the first ten isn't something we've discussed. That's how Gill and I have batted together. We let our instincts take over. If the wicket is good, we keep going and things fall in place. Jadeja has been really good. Big matchwinner. He keeps doing the job, goes under the radar but today is a classic case of what he does - score late runs and take wickets. Not to get ahead of ourselves is something we are constantly talking about. When we turn up, we want to play to our potential.

Temba Bavuma, SA captain: We know the challenge, know the narrative around us while chasing. Didn't do it any justice today. When we talk about it as a batting group, gotta be honest. The first ten overs with the ball made it a challenge. We did do quite well after that. Biggest challenge was taking wickets and India built big stands. The conditions are the biggest learning. Wicket played as we suspected it to play - expected it to deteriorate but we didn't adapt well. It will be up to us to adapt our skills accordingly.

Virat Kohli, POTM: It was a big game. Probably playing the toughest team in the tournament so far, there was motivation for doing well. People made it a bit more special on my birthday. I had a sense of it being something more. When the openers start in that fashion, you'd think it was a belter. Conditions change with the old ball. Message from the management was for me to bat deep, I was happy from that perspective. We knew we were above par when around 315. I enjoy playing cricket again which is more important now and that I'm able to contribute for the team all over again. Tendulkar's tweet is quite special. It's all too much to take in for now. It's a huge honour to equal my hero's record. He's perfection with the bat. It's an emotional moment. I know the days I come from, I know the days I have watched him on TV. To receive appreciation from him means a lot to me.

8:31pm Could it have been more comprehensive?! That's something to ponder as the fireworks go off. Eighth consecutive World Cup win for India, joint highest with their streak in 2003. Today was a fight between the table-toppers but South Africa were blown away. India continued their bowling exploits from the Sri Lanka game against a much stronger batting line-up. The pitch was tricky but that underlines how well India batted as well. Siraj and Bumrah were on the mark as expected with the new ball. Siraj had the in-form QDK chopping on early. Bavuma got a jaffa from Jadeja, who was brought inside the first ten. Shami nicked off Markram by hitting a good length at the end of the first powerplay and India were right on top. Klaasen and van der Dussen were not given out but India reviewed successfully and with South Africa five down in under 14 overs, there was no coming back.

Two slips, short extra cover, short midwicket

Jadeja back, replaces Bumrah after one over. Can he get a five-for? Around

Ishq: "Could Ngidi bat!? " So far so good

Ngidi's out to bat. Looks like he's okay, which is a good sign after walking back in the last over of India's innings, holding his hammy

Ansh: "Jaddu everywhere today!"

Sushant: "Leave semi final just get the final done with top 2 teams" lol

Two slips

Aadi: "Quarterfinal will be better option than the Playoffs"

Bumrah back. Slip in

Renn: "Re: poll question: What is meant by "playoffs" here?" Knockouts like the IPL where the top two teams can get two chances at making the final.