SA batsmen make merry to reach 358/4 vs Ind in the 1st ODI

South Africa batsmen sent a lacklustre Indian bowling attack on a leatherhunt piling up a massive 358 for four riding on opener Quibnton de Kock's century and significant contributions from skipper AB de Villiers and senior pro JP Duminy.
Young de Kock batted splendidly upfront scoring a 121-ball-135 studded with 18 fours and three sixes as he added 152 runs for the opening stand with Hashim Amla, who scored a patient 65.
The foundation laid by de Kock helped De Villiers and Duminy to launch a furious assault on the Indian attack as 135 runs were scored of the last 10 overs of the innings.

De Villiers smashed his way to a 47-bal-77 that had six fours and four sixes while Duminy clobbered five sixes in his 29-ball-54 that also had a couple of boundaries. The duo added a whopping 105 runs in 7.4 overs to take the total beyond 350-run mark.
The Indians lost control from the start of the final 10 overs as Ravindra Jadeja (0/58 in 8 overs) leaked 17 runs.
The inexperience of new ball bowlers Mohit Sharma (0/82 in 10 overs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/68 in 9 overs) was evident as the South African batsmen played them with consummate ease.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to bowl first didn't work as per plan as two young swing bowlers struggled to adapt to the nippy, windy conditions and find the right line or length, as Amla and de Kock sped away from the blocks.
There was a flurry of boundaries from their bats as the duo hit seven fours and one six in the first nine overs. That one six was hit by Amla off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a huge hit into the electronic score-board and at the end of the ninth over, the two batsmen had put on 53 runs at an encouraging run-rate of 5.88.

Kumar particularly was struggling with his control, conceding 29 runs in his first five overs. Mohit bowled his first six overs for 28 runs, and he was unlucky not to account for both batsmen. In the seventh over of the innings, de Kock sliced him straight down to third man when Shami was adjudged to have grounded the ball. The very next ball, a top-edge from Amla did not carry to Rohit Sharma at cover.