Cricket World Cup 2019: India v South Africa as it happened

2019 Cricket World Cup
Rohit Sharma India South Africa World Cup PA

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1814 BST: India 230/4 (47.3 overs) – INDIA WIN BY SIX WICKETS
Pandya’s third boundary in a hugely entertaining seven-ball innings finishes things off in fine style. A victory set up by the bowlers, with Bumrah and Chahal particularly impressive, and then finished off by yet another hundred for Rohit Sharma. Great start to the World Cup for India, but another disappointing showing from South Africa. They quite possibly need to win the next eight games in a row if they are to lift the World Cup.

1812 BST: India 225/4 (47.1 overs)
Pandya timing it as well as anyone today. Smears another one through point and gets two as Imran Tahir has to put some late yards in at deep cover.

1811 BST: India 223/4 (47 overs)
And here’s why. Pandya smacks successive boundaries to leave India needing just five more runs for victory.

1807 BST: India 214/4 (46.2 overs)
Pandya promoted above Jadhav.

WICKET! MS Dhoni c&b Morris 34 (46 balls, 2×4, SR: 73.91)
Excellent comedy cricket and, in all seriousnes, a very much deserved wicket for Morris. Dhoni trying to finish things with a flourish and sends the ball 200 yards in the air but only 20 yards horizontal distance. Morris tells everyone else to p*ss off out of it and catches the ball himself while crashing through the stumps at the non-striker’s end.

1800 BST: India 208/3 (45 overs)
Tahir’s last over brings 10 runs, including four for Rohit drilled through square-leg. No joy for Tahir today; he ends with no self-indulgent celebrations and 58 runs conceded from his 10.

1755 BST: India 197/3 (43.4 overs)
And the very next ball is ramped over de Kock’s head for four. Rabada deserves better than this.

1753 BST: India 193/3 (43.3 overs)
Well that rather sums up South Africa’s tournament. Rabada steaming in even now, and entices a false shot from the serene Rohit, who spoons an attempted pull high to cover where Miller shells the simplest of chances.

1750 BST: India 193/3 (43 overs)
Fairly brutal response from both batsmen to the run-rate reaching six. After that Dhoni four and a bludgeoned single down the ground, Sharma sweeps hard for four then fine for three, before Dhoni picks up two through cover. Fourteen from Shamsi’s ninth over, and the required rate is no longer six.

1748 BST: India 183/3 (42.2 overs)
The required rate just nudges up above six for the first time. So Dhoni immediately hits a four to put that right.

1740 BST: Rohit Sharma 100* (128 balls, 10×4, 2×6, SR: 78.12)
Rohit’s 23rd ODI century, taking him ninth on the all-time list and above Sourav Ganguly. It’s looked pretty much inevitable from the moment he got through that tough first 10 overs.

1736 BST: India 171/3 (40 overs)
So much love for the way Dhoni has followed Tendulkar’s lead by going through his whole India career with just two pairs of batting pads, one white and one blue. Rohit making everyone wait for this hundred, by the way. He’s on 97 and seems to have been in the 90s for at least a fortnight now.

1727 BST: India 164/3 (38 overs)
Half an lbw appeal against Dhoni. Du Plessis looks half-tempted to review it just because, well, might as well do something. Decides not to on the basis it would be silly. Dhoni pulls the last ball of Morris’ over away to the square-leg boundary. All too easy.

1723 BST: India 158/3 (37 overs)
Rohit baseballs Phehlukwayo back through mid-off for four to move to 94 not out. Rode his luck and toughed it out early, but in full control now and steering his side to a significant victory.

1718 BST: India 154/3 (36 overs)
Dhoni’s put his helmet back on. Phehlukwayo back into the attack.

1717 BST: India 154/3 (36 overs)
Just assume there are singles and dots happening. We’ll let you know when there’s a boundary or a wicket or Dhoni puts his helmet back on.

1710 BST: India 145/3 (34 overs)
MS Dhoni, in his cap, knocking singles around without a care in the world.

1657 BST: India 139/3 (31.3 overs)
I’ll be honest, I was not expecting that.

WICKET! Rahul c du Plessis b Rabada 26 (42 balls, 2×4, SR: 61.90)
Faf decides to keep Rabada on for one more over in the desperate quest for a wicket, and there it is. Not sure if it was a slower ball or just stuck in the pitch a bit, but either way Rahul has plinked it to mid-off and given du Plessis the easiest of catches and Rabada a well-deserved second wicket.

1652 BST: India 133/2 (30.1 overs)
And then a square-drive past point off Tahir. All of a sudden, Sharma is close to 80, and the target is down to double-figures.

1651 BST: India 129/2 (30 overs)
Rohit in full control now. Faf turns to Rabada in search of the wicket he desperately needs. Sharma instead pulls him miles in front of square for four. Smashed it.

1646 BST: India 123/2 (29 overs)
Four more for Sharma, rocking back to dispatch a rare bad ball from Tahir behind point. Required rate now precisely five an over.

1644 BST: India 116/2 (28.3 overs)
Worrying times now for South Africa. Sharma is looking increasingly assured, taking Shamsi for two fours in an over, while Rahul’s brand of patient, risk-free accumulation is custom-made for this precise situation. They’ve made India work unfeasibly hard up to now, but it’s drifting away from the Proteas now.

1632 BST: India 101/2 (25.5 overs)
Hundred up for India, but Shamsi should have done better here. Short ball from Morris helped round the corner by Rahul and beating the fielder’s dive at long-leg.

1624 BST: India 91/2 (23.4 overs)
Sharma in all sorts against Morris here. Another let-off as an outside edge lands just short of Amla at slip.

1620 BST: India 91/2 (23 overs)
South Africa need a wicket again. And soon. Morris – who has bowled two maidens in five excellent overs – continues. Looks as likely a source as any. South Africa really have bowled well here. Really only the Bangladesh game where the bowlers have let South Africa down. Have done admirable work against two great batting line-ups in England and India.

1618 BST: Rohit Sharma 50* (70 balls, 4×4, 2×6, SR: 71.42)
Sharma launches Shamsi over midwicket and into the stands for six before helping himself to a single down the ground to bring up 50. No great pace, but it didn’t need to be. Bat the overs, win the game.

1610 BST: India 81/2 (21 overs)
Can’t be many games where both teams have both flavours of wrist-spinner. They’ve all bowled pretty well so far as well, with Shamsi now through two overs at a cost of just six singles.

1604 BST: India 72/2 (19.1 overs)
Gorgeous from Rahul, driving Phehlukwayo classically down the ground for four. He’s also the latest player in the Puma colour-coded boots. We’ve seen plenty of green ones from the Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh lads. Rahul’s blue just as good. Shame none of the England lads have them tbh.

1550 BST: India 62/2 (17 overs)
The drinks break arrives, and South Africa are still very much in this. India two down – Kohli gone – and it could so easily have been three or four. Rohit has had a couple of hairy moments.

1542 BST: India 54/2 (15.3 overs)
KL Rahul in at India’s ever-problematic number-four spot. Comes off the back of a hundred in the warm-ups, which should help.

WICKET! Virat Kohli c de Kock b Phehlukwayo 18 (34 balls, 1×4, SR: 52.94)
There’s the big wicket! How South Africa needed it, and it’s a moment of genius from de Kock who throws himself to his right and clings on one-handed after Kohli top-edges an attempted guide to third-man. Great catch to get the biggest wicket in the game. Extra bounce from Phehlukwayo did for the great man.

1540 BST: India 50/1 (14.5 overs)
India continue to lead a charmed life. Kohli, who has not really settled into his work at all yet, twice sending the ball in the air just out of the reach of infielders. But India have made it to 50, and South Africa need their luck to change significantly and soon. Meanwhile, nice little quirk pointed out by Mark Nicholas on commentary in between observing how brilliant the ICC is: the bowler Imran Tahir (40) is older than the umpire, Michael Gough (39), at his end.

1532 BST: India 39/1 (12 overs)
Ah, this is the sort of thing that South Africa really need to go their way here. Huge lbw appeal against Sharma and it looks a tremendous shout for Phehlukwayo in his first over, the right-hander playing all across a straight one. Faf takes a review, and it’s hitting a good chunk of leg stump but not quite enough to turn the amber light red. You’re entitled to feel pretty aggrieved that wasn’t given on the field, and retaining the review is scant consolation.

1523 BST: India 34/1 (10 overs)
They’ve given the Phase to South Africa on the TV. Rabada and Morris were excellent, but I reckon in the context of this match that getting out of those 10 overs – Rabada has now bowled half his overs – with 34/1 on the board is a result for India.

1514 BST: India 29/1 (8 overs)
Great over ends with Sharma lacing a square-cut for four more. The over costs 15 and it might be that India have just weathered the early storm but in truth Rabada did little wrong in that over. He could have had three wickets in this four-over spell and not been remotely flattered by them.

1512 BST: India 24/1 (7.4 overs)
That’s just cruel. A perfect follow-up delivery from Rabada finds the outside edge, but it flies wide of the slips and down to the boundary for four.

1511 BST: India 20/1 (7.3 overs)
First six of the innings as Sharma helps an attempted Rabada bouncer over the ropes at long-leg. Great battle between Rabada and India’s batsmen. Mad that he only has one wicket.

1505 BST: India 14/1 (6 overs)
Kohli ducks under a 91mph bouncer first ball. This is going to be magnificent. South Africa – and Rabada in particular – doing all they can here.

WICKET! Shikhar Dhawan c de Kock b Rabada 8 (12 balls, 1×4, SR: 66.67)
Stand down, science! Rabada gets the breakthrough, and boy has he deserved that. What a new-ball spell he’s served up here, and Dhawan has to go after feathering an edge through to de Kock. Enter Virat.

1500 BST: India 13/0 (5 overs)
Scientists could spend whole careers trying to work out how South Africa don’t have a wicket yet and never get close to solving the puzzle.

1456 BST: India 11/0 (4 overs)
Rabada has broken Dhawan’s bat, if not yet his resistance.

Shikhar Dhawan broken bat South Africa India World Cup PA

1451 BST: India 10/0 (3 overs)
It’s happened again! Another short ball, this time from Morris who’s been brought straight in after the evidence of that Rabada over, and he finds the shoulder of Sharma’s bat only for the ball to loop agonisingly over Duminy’s head for the second time this afternoon. Bit of fun and games next up as Morris aborts his delivery stride at the last moment as his back foot slips, and then banters to attempt a mankad. He and Sharma both lolz it up, but the obvious joke hasn’t been picked up by the crowd who start booing. All right, lads, calm down. Dhawan gets the first boundary of the innings with a pull through square-leg.

1447 BST: India 4/0 (2 overs)
Just a brilliant over from Rabada. Both Dhawan and Sharma pop short balls up in the air but both survive. Dhawan’s flies off the shoulder of the bat and over Duminy at gully. Sharma’s is an attempted pull shot that balloons towards second slip where du Plessis dives forward but can’t gather. Think he got there, but the ball wriggled free.

1443 BST: India 3/0 (1 over)
Two misfields to give away singles in the first over. South Africa sending a message here: we’ve got so many runs to play with we don’t even need to bother fielding properly. Alpha move.

1439 BST: We’re back for India’s run-chase. Imran Tahir with the new ball again.

1409 BST: South Africa 227/9 (50 balls)
Much better than it could have been thanks to Phehlukwayo, Morris and Rabada. But surely nowhere near as good as it needed to be. South Africa in desperate trouble in a game they really, really need to win.

WICKET! Imran Tahir c Jadhav b Kumar 0 (2 balls)
Immie goes for glory off the final ball of the innings, and splices it to cover. Would like to have seen the full celebration if he’d somehow got it to the boundary.

WICKET! Chris Morris c Kohli b Kumar 42 (34 balls)
Fine hand from Morris comes to an end in the final over as he looks for the big one but can only slap a length ball down Kohli’s throat at long-off.

1403 BST: South Africa 224/7 (49 overs)
Rabada smears Bumrah down the ground for four. Don’t want to jinx it, but South Africa might be about to win a Phase here. Bumrah finishes with 2/35, while this partnership is now worth 66 from 57. Probably futile, but still.

1358 BST: South Africa 218/7 (48 overs)
Nine runs from an over in which not one single delivery finds the middle of the bat. South Africa scrambling their way to… something.

1354 BST: South Africa 209/7 (47 overs)
Top shot from Morris to start Bumrah’s penultimate over, backing away and spearing the ball through mid-off for four as the bowler attempts to follow the move. Fifty partnership now between these two, giving quite literally themselves something to bowl at later.

1349 BST: South Africa 200/7 (46 overs)
Two hundred up for South Africa as Morris miscues Kumar high but safe into the legside for a couple.

1344 BST: South Africa 191/7 (45 overs)
Bumrah is back to check South Africa’s recent quasi-progress. Just two singles – one a leg-bye – from his comeback over.

1339 BST: South Africa 189/7 (44 overs)
This is a handy partnership now for South Africa. Morris smears Chahal for another six, and these two have now added 31 from 27 balls. Chahal, meanwhile, is done. He’s been magnificent, despite a bit of late tap from Morris, and finishes with 4/51.

1336 BST: South Africa 182/7 (43 overs)
Gorgeous shot from Rabada, nailing a pull shot off Pandya that was only about five yards in front of the boundary sweeper but gave him no chance. Hit that outrageously hard. The sort of shot from a number nine that obliges a commentator to observe that A Top-Order Batsman Would Be Proud Of That.

1332 BST: South Africa 173/7 (42 overs)
Whack! That’s more like it. Morris takes full toll on a rare pie from Chahal. Dragged down short and begging to be hit. Morris obliges, sending it somewhere a long way into the bleachers at midwicket.

1329 BST: Meanwhile, Bangladesh are batting first against New Zealand at The Oval. One of those two will be top of the table tonight.

1328 BST: South Africa 164/7 (41 overs)
Kuldeep’s work for the day is done – or he’ll hope so anyway – after completing his 10-over spell for a very tidy 1/46.

1325 BST: South Africa 161/7 (40 overs)
Bad news, South Africa. You’re 4-0 down on Phases Won.

WICKET! Phehlukwayo st Dhoni b Chahal 34 (61 balls, 2×4, 1×6, SR: 55.73)
Not a huge shock. Great work from Dhoni, though, as Phehlukwayo runs at Chahal again and aims something murderous over the legside. The ball bounces between flashing blade and pad and Dhoni gathers after a slight fumble to complete the stumping.

Andile Phehlukwayo stumped MS Dhoni India South Africa World Cup PA

1318 BST: South Africa 157/6 (39 overs)
Yup, here we go. Phehlukwayo launches Kuldeep over wide long-on for six. Eleven runs in all from the over, the best of the innings for the Proteas.

1316 BST: South Africa 146/6 (38 overs)
Phehlukwayo has decided that time’s time. Comes running at Chahal and is completely deceived in the flight but still manages to get bat on ball to pick up a couple of run. Then has a huge hack later in the over and miscues to midwicket where Kohli is stood grinning quite happily to himself.

1310 BST: South Africa 138/6 (36 overs)
Chris Morris gets off the mark with a very satirical bottom edge that evades Dhoni and slip and trickles off towards the boundary. Rohit rumbles after it from slip and the batsmen complete three.

WICKET! David Miller c&b Chahal 31 (40 balls, 1×4, SR: 77.50)
Big bonus for India here, as Miller falls before he can capitalise on all the patient rebuilding he’s had to go. Chahal’s return reaps instant reward as he just gets one to dip on Miller, whose attempt to push down the ground for one becomes the simplest of return catches for the bowler. Miller swishes the bat in frustration as he marches off.

1300 BST: South Africa 132/5 (34 overs)
Phehlukwayo drives Jadhav handsomely in-to-out over extra-cover for four. But still only five runs from the over. Jadhav is an extraordinary bowler to watch. Surely the most round-arm spinner going, and coupled with the way he sort of crouches in delivery must have one of the lowest release points in the game.

1256 BST: South Africa 127/5 (33 overs)
This feels very much like one of those old ODIs now where you could quite safely go off and do something else for a bit, come back at the end of the 42nd over and be confident you’d missed nothing of great significance.

1248 BST: South Africa 124/5 (31.2 overs)
David Miller gets a run. Sad times.

1247 BST: South Africa 123/5 (31 overs)
A whole maiden over with the score on 123/5. This is the best World Cup ever.

1245 BST: South Africa 123/5 (30.4 overs)
Great bouncer-yorker combo from Bumrah, but Phehlukwayo equal to it. Just about. The score remains one, two, three, four, five.

1242 BST: South Africa 123/5 (30 overs)
One, two, three, four, five! Should definitely be some kind of bonus point system for teams who land on 123/5.

1233 BST: South Africa 112/5 (28 overs)
South Africa in such a pickle they’ve been forced to bring back the long-forgotten days of the Boring Middle Overs. Since Phehlukwayo’s reverse banter early doors, it’s just been ones and twos in a desperate bid to give South Africa’s attack Something To Bowl At.

1221 BST: South Africa 103/5 (25 overs)
The hundred is up for South Africa. So that’s something.

1216 BST: South Africa 97/5 (24 overs)
Andile Phehlukwayo reverse-sweeps Chahal for four. All the commentators who couldn’t believe van der Dussen was stupid enough to try and reverse-sweep Chahal are now in full agreement that this was an absolutely tremendous idea from Phehlukwayo. Very much van der Dussen’s decision to miss rather than smack the ball that they had a problem with, then.

WICKET! JP Duminy lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 3 (11 balls, SR: 27.27)
Duminy plays back to a flatter one and is absolutely plumb lbw. Like, the sort of lbw where you should really think about just walking. And then burning all your kit and never playing this stupid sport again. Duminy, though, decides to review it. Great stuff. Suppose there was a possibility that the ball might have disappeared into a black hole or something in the 18 inches between Duminy’s pad and the middle and leg stumps. That’s not how Hawk-Eye sees it, though, so Duminy has to go.

1203 BST: South Africa 80/4 (20 overs)
South Africa were five balls away from winning that phase and levelling the score. Now it’s 2-0. Confident that will be at the forefront of Faf’s mind now.

WICKET! Faf du Plessis b Chahal 38 (54 balls)
Huge 20th over for Chahal and India, picking up both set batsmen. Du Plessis is also bowled, but here the similarities with van der Dussen’s demise end. Faf plays a copybook forward defensive and even holds the pose for the cameras long after the ball has negotiated a path past that broad bat and the Zing bails lie flashing on the floor.

Yuzvendra Chahal India South Africa World Cup PA

1159 BST: South Africa 78/3 (19.1 overs)
David Miller the new batsman as South Africa’s tentative recovery hits a snag.

WICKET! Rassie van der Dussen b Chahal 22 (37 balls, 1×4, SR: 59.45)
That’s a bit of a mess from van der Dussen. Attempts to sweep Chahal but gets his foot planted way too far outside off stump and can’t reach the ball as it pitches outside his leg stump and spins back behind him to knock back middle stump. He’ll not want to see that one again.

Rassie van der Dussen South Africa India World Cup PA

1142 BST: South Africa 65/2 (16 overs)
Couple of handy overs for South Africa here. Faf helped out by the fielders here, getting two for a cover-drive after Dhawan can only parry at cover and then four for a hard square sweep that Bhuvi fails to deal with on the boundary. Englandesque from the opening bowler there. Time for everyone to have a drink. Maybe the BCCI will request that India bowlers be allowed a longer drinks break than everyone else?

1138 BST: South Africa 56/2 (15 overs)
Couple of pressure-easing boundaries for South Africa. First van der Dussen, slapping the first really poor ball bowled by Kuldeep through cover and then du Plessis carving a short ball from Pandya down to third-man. Pandya sends a bouncer past van der Dussen’s ear and then embarks on a stare-out with the Proteas batsman. Not been around long at this level, van der Dussen, but I’d suggest to Pandya he’d have as much joy trying to out-stare a tree.

1134 BST: South Africa 43/2 (13.4 overs)
Du Plessis is rattled here. An outside edge off Kuldeep doesn’t carry to slip, and the next two ball see attempted sweeps come to nothing.

1129 BST: South Africa 43/2 (12.4 overs)
Faf gets a rap on the gloves as a length ball from Hardik Pandya rears up alarmingly. It’s stood up from what Graeme Smith calls the “tufty grass”. The bat goes flying as the Proteas skipper snatches his hand away from the handle in pain. Smith chuckling at the fact that du Plessis is one of those batsmen whose instinctive reaction to such incidents is dramatic. Smith throws Kallis’ name in there. Kevin Pietersen definitely another. Brief delay while the physio has a look at Faf’s sore hand, but he’s soon back out there with some elite-level fist-bumping with van der Dussen.

Faf du Plessis South Africa India World Cup PA

1126 BST: South Africa 40/2 (12 overs)
Spin for the first time, and a tidy enough start from the left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Three singles from his opening over. Not much spin, but landing it nicely.

1118 BST: South Africa 34/2 (10 overs)
India win Phase One then. Lowest Powerplay score of the tournament so far. I’ve not checked that.

1113 BST: South Africa 32/2 (9 overs)
Bumrah getting all the attention, but Bhuvi more than playing his part as well. His five overs have cost just 20, and this was the best of them. Ended with an absolute snorter that bounced and moved away from du Plessis, whistling past the shoulder of the bat and carrying through to Dhoni at head height.

1106 BST: South Africa 31/2 (7.3 overs)
Three slips still in place for Bumrah. And rightly so. Remember, the problem with your modern white-ball cricket is that bowlers are irrelevant.

1100 BST: South Africa 26/2 (6 overs)
Bumrah absolutely roared to the crease for the final ball of the over, which Rassie van der Dussen calmly blocks into the offside for a single. Incredible atmosphere at the Ageas/Rose/Hampshire Bowl and India are rampant.

WICKET! De Kock c Kohli b Bumrah 10 (17 balls, 1×4, SR: 58.82)
Big trouble for South Africa, and Bumrah has his second. Another ‘authentic’ wicket, finding an outside edge that sends the ball flying to Kohli, who clings on above his head at *third slip*. This is some spell.

1056 BST: South Africa 23/1 (5.3 overs)
South Africa looking to rebuild but it’s been a tough old start for them. Meanwhile, here’s episode two of the Cricket Badger World Cup Podcast, looking back on the first week of the tournament and debating the fairness of India’s extra week off.

1048 BST: South Africa 15/1 (3.4 overs)
Oof. Faf du Plessis almost gone first ball, a thick inside edge flying past leg stump and down to the boundary. Bumrah on fire this morning.

WICKET! Amla c Sharma b Bumrah 6 (9 balls, 1×4, SR: 66.67)
Stunning start this from Bumrah. He’s given de Kock a torrid time, and a tactical bye from Dhoni gets Amla in his sights for the first time. It takes just one ball, Bumrah instantly adjusting for the right-hander and finding the outside edge. Sharma swallows it at second slip.

1040 BST: South Africa 8/0 (2.1 overs)
First boundary of the day, slapped through point by Amla as Kumar offers a bit of width.

1039 BST: South Africa 4/0 (2 overs)
Beauty of an over from Bumrah. Three balls jag past de Kock on the angle, and even when he does get bat on ball there’s almost bother. De Kock thinks he’s got an easy two for a leg-glance, but the ball gets down to the fielder so quickly that de Kock has to get the full-length dive out and it wouldn’t have saved him had the throw from the boundary hit its target.

1034 BST: South Africa 2/0 (1 over)
Tidy start from Bhuvi. A single apiece for Amla and de Kock. It’s noisy.

1029 BST: The anthems are done, and we’re all set for India’s first game of the tournament.

1013 BST: No great surprise for Faf to bat first, with teams batting first enjoying a 12-10 record at this ground. A quirk of that, though, is that teams who have chosen to bat first actually have a 5-6 losing record. We’ll see. The last team to bat first here were England, and they made a mere 373/3 which turned out to be only just enough. More numbers in the Pitch Report.

1007 BST: Both teams have gone with two spinners. Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets the nod over Mohammad Shami for India, which is perhaps a touch surprising.

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis (capt), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi.

1005 BST: One of the great unanswered questions is why, once the ICC decided that the Ageas Bowl needed renaming for this tournament due to sponsorship, they went with Hampshire Bowl rather than Rose Bowl.

1002 BST: Some confusion as Mark Nicholas initially calls the toss for India, to huge cheers inside the Rose/Ageas/Hampshire Bowl. But it’s actually South Africa who’ve won it. Faf decides to bat first.

0955 BST: Plenty of evidence thus far that this World Cup is taking place in the banter timeline. Ergo, fully expecting a thumping win for the wounded – literally and figuratively – Proteas today. Toss and team news coming shortly.

0950 BST: He’s pretty good, you know.

0920 BST: Hello, India! How lovely of you to join us. So glad you could make it. No, no, you’re not late at all. Make yourselves at home. Don’t mind South Africa, they’re just leaving.

It’s the Rose/Ageas/Hampshire Bowl today for India’s first game of the tournament and South Africa’s third. The Proteas have been, well, a bit of a shambles in the first two and could really do with winning this one. Which seems unlikely, frankly, against an Indian team that won’t exactly be quaking about what they’ve seen from everyone else so far to be honest. A win today for either side will take them – briefly – into an eight-way tie for the lead until either New Zealand or Bangladesh ruin it in the late game. Mind, if New Zealand make as quick work of Bangladesh as they did Sri Lanka they might even get finished before this one does despite a three-hour headstart.

The toss is about 40 minutes away, but to get you in the mood here’s a picture of Virat Kohli in full kingly regalia for some reason.

Anyway, click here for those latest World Cup standings after Sri Lanka got on the board by beating Afghanistan, and click here for a Pitch Report from the Rose/Hampshire/Ageas Bowl. TL;DR: there should be millions of runs today.

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