Virat Kohli’s masterful century and Kuldeep Yadav's clinical four-wicket haul proved decisive as India beat South Africa by 17 runs in a thrilling first one-day international in Ranchi.

Put in to bat, India got off to a positive start as familiar stars Rohit Sharma (57) and Kohli (135) returned to action and stitched together an imposing 136-run stand.

Rohit was dismissed just past the 20th over as the pitch started to become slightly two-paced, opening the door for South Africa to strike in quick succession, dismissing Ruturaj Gaikwad (eight) and Washington Sundar (13) with minimal damage.

Stand-in captain KL Rahul (60) combined well with Kohli as the duo were made to work hard for their runs, with the latter bringing up his record 52nd ODI ton in the process.

India ended with a positive first innings score of 349-8 and got off to a dream start in their defence as Harshit Rana (3-65) sent Ryan Rickleton and Quinton de Kock packing for ducks in just the second over.

Aiden Markram fell soon after as South Africa's chase looked to be unravelling, but a brilliant innings by Matthew Breetzke (72) steadied the ship.

As the pitch settled and the ball got wetter, conditions eased up, allowing Breetzke and Marco Jansen (70 off 39) to capitalise.

The duo's blistering partnership nearly took the wind out of India's sails, before Kuldeep (4-68) struck twice in the 34th over, removing both Breetzke and Jansen within three balls to put India back in control.

Corbin Bosch (67 off 51) kept South Africa's hopes alive with a fighting half-century, teeing up a tense finish, with Prasidh Krishna (1-48) holding his nerve to close out the game in the final over as the Proteas fell 17 runs short of the target.

Game, set, match! 

Prasidh Krishna bags the final wicket as #TeamIndia clinch a thrilling contest in Ranchi to go up 

Scorecard  https://t.co/MdXtGgRkPo#INDvSA | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/yHpkRnlEVk

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 30, 2025

Data Debrief: Rohit and Kohli roll back the years

For most cricket fans out there, there are few better sights than watching an on-song Rohit and Kohli bat and the Ranchi crowd were treated to exactly that.

In his innings of 57, Rohit struck three sixes, the third of which was his 351st maximum in ODI cricket, helping him break Shahid Afridi's 15-year record for the most sixes hit in the format (350).

Kohli, meanwhile, notched his 52nd ODI hundred in a spectacular innings of 135 off 120 balls, where he struck 11 fours and seven sixes at a controlled strike rate of 112.50.