India vs South Africa, 1st ODI: Kohli, Rahane script India's first ever win at Durban

Dhoni pulls! Four! India have won! This is their first ever victory at Durban - a six-wicket triumph over hosts South Africa. And it was chase master Virat Kohli's (112) 33rd ODI century and his 189-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane (79) that laid the foundation of India's successful chase of South Africa's 269/8. But credit also to India's spin twins Chahal and Kuldeep who took five wickets between them to restrict the Proteas despite Du Plessis' 120. 

That is it from us here at Zeenews.com Sports. Do join us back for the fourth ODI on February 4. It begins 1:30 pm IST. Until then, goodbye and take care.

Kohli (112) has perished looking to finish the game early. Rabada takes the catch, wicket for Phehlukwayo. The India skipper gets a standing ovation and acknowledges it by waving his bat around. India 262/4 in 44.3 overs, need 8 runs more to win.

Phehlukwayo gets Rahane (79), caught by Tahir in the deep. Bit late in the day but Rahane wanted to get done with it bit quicker. Not looking happy but an innings of substance he has played. A 189-run patnership, the biggest in an IND-SA ODI for the fourth wicket.

A crunchy drive through the covers for four, and Virat Kohli brings up his 33rd ODI century in 105 balls to put India at the brink of win. India 248/2 in 41 overs, need just 22 more to win. Rahane on 78*.

Things are getting worse for the South Africans. Ajinka Rahane disdainfully hits Morne Morkel straight back for a six, followed by a four. Don't think South Africa now have any chance in this game, even though cricket is a great game of uncertainty. India 232/2 in 39 overs, need 38 more to win. Kohli 89* Rahane 74*. 

200 up for India. Five wide runs and a four from Kohli from this Aiden Markram over take India past 200. India 205/2 in 36 overs, need 65 more to win. Very few people will now put their money on South Africa. The 138-run stand between these two is the highest 3rd wicket stand at Durban. 

Rahane also completes his fifty, his 24th. He pulls Morne Morkel to fetch a four to reach the milestone. South Africa need to break this stand as soon as possible as the match is slowing slipping away from them. India 190/2 in 35 overs, in pursuit of 270. Kohli 77*, Rahane 51*.

These batsmen continue to go from strength to strength. Virat Kohli has contributed 61, Ajinkya Rahane 31 in this 100-run stand. The South African camp looks completely disappointed. Kohli celebrates the milestone with a six off Imran Tahir. South Africa just don't know how to rein in these two in-form batsmen. India 175/2 in 32 overs, in pursuit of 270. Kohli 71*, Rahane 42* 

46th ODI fifty for Indian captain Virat Kohli, comes off the 56th ball of his innings. India 141/2 in 26 overs in pursuit of 270. The partnership has gone up to 74. Kohli 52*, Rahane 27*. At this stage, India definitely are in the driver's seat.  

50-run stand between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane comes up. India (125/2 in 23 overs) are on track in their pursuit of 270. Kohli 41*, Rahane 22*. So far nothing has bothered these two batsmen. These are very good signs as far as the Indian chase is concerned. 

100 up for the Indians. After the faux pas related to Shikhar Dhawan's run-out, new batsman Ajinkya Rahane has settled nicely, keeping Virat Kohli company just the right way. India 101/2 in 19 overs, in pursuit of 270 runs. Kohli 29*, Rahane 12*.

Another unnecessary wicket. Shikhar Dhawan missed a Chris Morris ball going down leg. He was content to stay where he was but Virat Kohli insisted he run. Couldn't say no to his captain. Had to run and Aiden Markram ran in from point and hit the stumps at the non-striker's end. On his way back, Dhawan showed his displeasure with his captain. He had all reasons to react that way. He was looking in great touch having scored 35 off 29 balls. India 68/2 in 13 overs, needing 270 to win. Kohli also indicated Dhawan should have responded a little early to his call. Whoever might have been at fault, at the end of the day it was India that had been set back.       

Fifty up for India in 10.1 overs. Dhawan taking the lead as of now batting on 24*, Kohli on 5*. Chris Morris has been brought into the attack. 

There goes the first wicket for India. Rohit Sharma miscues a Morne Morkel delivery while attempting to hit the ball out of the park on the leg side. Quinton de Kock makes some ground before safely nesting the ball in his gloves. The opener goes for 20. India 37 for 1 in 7 overs, in pursuit of 270. Frankly speaking, that was unnecessary. There was no reason for him go for a shot like that so early in India's chase. But that's how the nature of the format is. Patience is the last thing you will expect from these modern-day batsmen. 

Already four boundaries - two each by Rohit and Dhawan - and a six by the former has taken India off to a positive start. At the end of six overs, the visitors are 31/0, with Rohit on 18 and Dhawan 12. 

Awhhh! What a stroke that is from Rohit! Short swivel and pulls Morkel into the stands behind deep square-leg fence. SIX! Those are the kind of shots with which Rohit can put off bowlers world over. India 11/0 in 3 overs.

India's opening pair of Dhawan and Rohit taking their time before playing their natural aggressive game. Rabada and Morkel have hit nice areas in the first couple of overs. India 3/0, chasing 270 to win.

Rabada was run out off a wide, which gave South Africa an additional delivery, in the final over; however, just one run came off it and the HOSTS FINISHED AT 269/8. But had it not been for Du Plessis's 112-ball 120, the innings would have fallen apart. Crucial cameos down the order by allrounders Chris Morris (37) and Phehlukwayu (27*). For India, spin twins Yadav (3/34) and Chahal (2/45) were the chief wicket-takers, while Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah took one each. 

Out! End of a brilliant captain's knock by Du Plessis. He is held in the deep by Pandya off Bhuvneshwar after scoring 120 off 112 balls. He gets a well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd at Kingsmead. SA 264/7 with four deliveries left in the innings. 

Fifty stand between Faf-Phelukwayu in just 48 balls, and Faf has deposited Bumrah for another big six. The home team is getting the push they needed from these two, especially the skipper, who is now batting on 120. 

Du Plessis has cut lose now. Steps out to Bhuvneshwar and smacks him high and long for a huge SIX over long-on. Phehlukwayu playing a good hand as well. SA 248/6 in 48 overs. 

Out injured, De Villiers congratulates Captain Faf and feels 270 can be defended on this track.

What a great knock from @faf1307 ! Come on boys, 270 will be very defendable #ProteaFire

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) February 1, 2018

Century for Faf du Plessis. His 9th ODI century and very intelligently paced one. Even though wickets fell around him, he didn't lose his calm and reached the three-figure score in just 101 balls. 

Five overs left in the South African innings and they are 223/6, with Du Plessis eight runs away from a well-deserved century. Phehlukwayo batting on 11. 

Kuldeep Yadav ends a splendid spell of bowling with figures of 3/34 in 10 overs, which included wickets of SA middle-order mainstays David Miller and JP Duminy. SA 211/6 in 43 overs. Faf on 89*, Phehlukwayo 2*. 

Just when it seemed Morris (37) had the measure of Indian spinners, after hitting Kuldeep for a six, the chinaman bowler comes back in the same over to clean up the South African allrounder who would rue missing that innocuous fullish delivery and see his off-stump pegged back. SA 208/5 in 40.2 overs. Third wicket for Kuldeep.

SA were 134/5 when Morris joined Du Plessis. And now they have crossed 190 while still together, stitching a partnership in excess of fifty. They are 191/5 at the end of 39 overs with Faf on 80* and Morris on 28*.

Kohli, bowler Bumrah, Dhoni and Rohit deliberated for long before going for that review as Morris tried to flick the ball but missed and Dhoni caught the ball. But as it turned out, nothing on the Snickometre at all. Morris, meanwhile, is getting a move on and has reached 16 off 25 now. 

Excellent overall bowling figures for India at the end of 33 overs. SA 149/5. Faf on 64*, Morris 3*

Bhuvneshwar Kumar - 0/27 in 5 overs
Jasprit Bumrah - 1/16 in 5 overs
Hardik Pandya - 0/39 in 6 overs
Yuzvendra Chahal - 2/23 in 7 overs
Kuldeep Yadav - 2/22 in 7 overs
Kedar Jadhav - 0/19 in 3 overs

Chris Morris has joined Faf du Plessis but finding hard to get bat to ball. He's now faced 16 balls for his 2*. On the other end, Faf is on 58* and desperately searching for someone to stay with him in the middle. SA 142/5 in 32 overs. 

Another wicket! Kuldeep Yadav gets his second as India's spin twins continue to hurt the South Africans. This time Miller (7) tries to check his off-drive but couldn't keep it away from a lunging Kohli who takes the catch centimetres above the ground. Third umpire checked and found it perfectly fine. Miller is on his bike. SA 134/5 in 27.5 overs.

Fifty for Captain Faf! His 30th in ODI cricket. Easily the best Proteas batsman on show today. Brings it up in good time as well, just 54 balls, as wickets keep falling around him.

Bowled! Duminy had no clue whatsoever about that googly from Yadav, who went through the left-hander's defences as he shaped up to cut. SA 122/4 in 26 overs and now desperately need a wicketless period before entering the last 15 overs. 

Kedar Jadhav is on the bowling chart as third Indian spinner after Chahal and Yadav. His unconventional round-arm action will take some time for SA to get used to. But Faf and Duminy won't mind milking for a while to prevent anymore fall of wickets. They are 120/3 in 25 overs.

Markram's struggle against spin ends at 9 off 21 balls. He tries to flick Chahal, who has taken his second wicket, but couldn't keep it down and Pandya produced a smart effort to pouch it. SA 103/3 in 21 overs. 

Twenty overs complete and South Africa are just a run shy of touching the triple-figure mark - 99/2. Du Plessis the mainstay so far at 37*, while a scratchy Markram has reached 8 off 19.

Markam survives a run-out, dived well in time to get his bat in before Dhoni could collect the throw from short cover and break the stumps. SA 87/2 in 17 overs.

Aiden Markram joins Du Plessis but is all at sea facing chinaman Yadav who kept the young Proteas batsman guessing through his first over. SA 85/2 in 16 overs.

Got him! Chahal gets the dangerous-looking De Kock (34) with the one that held its line while the batsman played for the spin. Caught in front. End of his 53-run second-wicket stand with Du Plessis who is batting on 29* off 25. SA 83/2 in 15 overs, and Kuldeep Yadav is into the attack. 

The De Kock-Du Plessis stand has crossed the fifty-run mark and looking ominous the way they are attacking, especially Pandya.

De Kock not allowing Pandya to settle. Comes out and smacks India's seam-up allrounder for a walking pull to the boundary. Pressure on Pandya brings about a no-ball but luckily not much damage off that. And then a rare error in collection by Dhoni, who lets the ball through his legs to the fence behind him. Du Plessis adds to the agony with a punch through the covers for another four. 18 runs off the over. SA 79/1 in 14.

Double change by Virat Kohli, brings on legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal to give Bhuvneshwar a breather. Meanwhile, the South African fifty is up. They are 53/1 after 11 overs.

Here's the 50 up for SA and they get there in 10.2 overs. Du Plessis has been excellent since his arrival at the crease. He struck three successive fours to end the ninth over and is up to 15 off 13 balls. It's 50/1 #ProteaFire #SAvIND #MomentumODI pic.twitter.com/3porFxIpOK

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) February 1, 2018

Hardik Pandya comes in first change replacing Bumrah for the 10th over of SA innings, and he's welcomed with a stunning cover drive by De Kock (18*) for a boundary. This is a good period for the hosts as boundaries have started flowing. End of the first Powerplay. SA 49/1. Du Plessis on 13*.

Du Plessis breaks the shackles and hits Bhuvi for three consecutive boundaries - first two copybook shots through the on-side and then a cheeky edge through the vacant slips cordon. 12 runs off that over. SA 43/1 in 9 overs. 

Amla (16) trapped in front by Bumrah and the umpire raises his finger to declare the SA opener out lbw for 16. But Bumrah just managed to keep something behind the popping crease as the third umpire checked for a no-ball. SA 30/1 in 7.3 overs.

Virat Kohli in a bit of strife as he jams his right knee into the turf while trying to slide at the end of a chase to the boundary. That's a scary moment for India. Hope he hasn't done any damage to himself. Amla had a heart-in-mouth moment at 15* when his attempted flick off Bhuvi found a top edge but fell into the vacant area on the off-side. De Kock on 12*. SA 29/0 in 7 overs.

De Kock looks at home in limited-overs cricket, which was evident in that last shot off Bhuvneshwar, where the SA 'keeper despatched Bhuvi to the vacant cover fence for another boundary. He moves onto 10 and SA 17/0 in 4 overs.

Jasprit Bumrah begins from the other end and is crunched straight by De Kock for the first four of the match. SA 7/0 after two overs. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar opens bowling for India, with Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla coming out to start proceedings for South Africa. For the record, the average first-innings total in last five day-night ODIs at this venue is 295. 

Team News: India have drafted both spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in their playing XI. Rahane slotted at No. 4 on the team sheet. Kedar Jadhav also in.

PLAYING XIs

INDIA: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

SOUTH AFRICA: Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Aiden Markram, JP Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, A Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Imrah Tahir

SA have won the toss and will bat first in the 1st @Momentum_za ODI v India. After the overnight rain, it's turned out to be a wonderful day in Durban #ProteaFire #SAvIND #MomentumODI pic.twitter.com/b9f6ao1zu2

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) February 1, 2018

TOSS UPDATE: South Africa win the toss and decide to bat. 

Indians looked set to put up a show as they left their hotel in Durban. We are moments away from the toss.

And...we are off to Kingsmead for the 1st ODI #TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/F53icvsMLQ

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 1, 2018

After a closely-contested Test series that the hosts secured 2-1, India's tour of South Africa hits the ODI leg of their gruelling African safari with the first game of the six-match series at Durban. Incidentally, India have never won an ODI at Kingsmead, which means history beckons the visitors.