Live report - India vs South Africa, Eden Gardens

Virat Kohli is the Player of the Match. And here's what he has to say on Tendulkar congratulating him for equalling the record:

"That's quite special. For me, it's all too much to take in right now - to equal my hero's record in one-day internationals is something that is a new genre for me. I know people like comparisons; I am never going to be as good as him. There's a reason why we all looked up to him: he is perfection when it comes to batting. I am trying to do my best, trying to win games for my country. He is always going to be my hero regardless of what happens. It's a very emotional moment for me. I know from where I come from. I know the days when I watched him on TV, so just to stand here and get this appreciation from someone like him means a lot to me."

"It was a big game. We were probably playing the toughest team in the tournament that we have played so far, to be very honest. They have played some amazing cricket. So there was motivation of wanting to do well for the team. Because it happened to be my birthday, obviously it became a bit more special... people made it a bit more special for me. I had this sense that it was going to be something more today rather than just one more game in the World Cup. So I did wake up with that excitement, yes.

"People from the outside probably look at the game in a little different way. When the openers start in that fashion and the ball is new, then you feel like, wow, this is a belter and everyone has to keep going that way. But the conditions change quite drastically with the old ball, the pitch slows down.

"The message from the management was simple: I bat deep, the guys around me bat with me, stringing partnerships, express themselves and keep doing the job that the team requires me to. That's my role, that has always been my role. So I was just happy from that perspective because on pitches like these, if you get out, you can always look back and say, 295, maybe we could have got 320-325. Once we were above 315, we knew it was above par and we were in a comfortable situation."

"I would say I am enjoying myself playing cricket all over again - that too me is more special than thinking about phases as such. I think in a phase where things are not working well, you are not enjoying yourself. That's what I take out of it. You are still able to score runs because of your experience, but being out there even for those 50-60 is not as enjoyable as it is right now. So I am just happy that God has blessed me with that enjoyment again, and I can do the things I have done for so many years for the team all over again."

And I will leave you with that. Thanks for joining us. See you tomorrow.

It was a full delivery that Rabada hit straight back to Jadeja. Jadeja has a five-for, his second in ODIs. In the next over, Kuldeep's googly beats Ngidi's outside edge and brushes his pad before crashing into the stumps.

And with that, South Africa have been bowled out for 83, in just 27.1 overs. India win by 243 runs, it's a drubbing. South Africa fell 18 short of Kohli's score. In fact, India scored more in the first ten overs (91 for 1) than South Africa's eventual total.

India now have eight wins in eight games, making sure they finish the league stage at the top of the points table. South Africa are still on 12 points, losing their second game out of three when chasing. Their net run rate has taken a hit but it's still a healthy 1.376.

It was a googly that got stuck in the surface. Jansen was looking to it force it from the back foot but failed to keep it down. A simple catch for Jadeja at extra cover.

Ngidi, who couldn't complete the final over of the innings because of a foot injury, has walked in the middle.

That's an interesting idea by Tom Moody. Should we have the IPL-style Qualifier 1, Qualifier 2 and Eliminator instead of two semi-finals at World Cups? Have your say.

Maharaj doesn't last long as Jadeja castles him as well to pick up his fourth wicket. It was a length ball around middle stump. Maharaj tried to play it from the crease, looking to defend. But the ball spun past his outside edge and crashed into the off stump.

This was expected to be a blockbuster contest. It has turned out to be anything but.

Miller tries to paddle Jadeja fine. He had played a similar shot a couple of overs back as well, but this time he ends up moving outside the line of the ball and exposing the stumps. He fails to connect and the ball hits the off and middle stumps.

Jansen and Maharaj at the crease now, South Arica 64/6 after 17.

This chase is turning out to be anti-climactic. Heinrich Klaasen, arguably the best batter against spin in the world right now, tried to sweep Jadeja but missed and got hit on the pad. Jadeja went up in an appeal but the umpire ignored him. He persuaded Rohit to go for the review, and the ball-tracking showed the ball was turning enough to hit the leg stump.

In the next over, Shami beat Rassie van der Dussen's inside edge and pinged him on the pad. Again, the umpire didn't give it out when almost every Indian fielder looked convinced. The ball-tracking once again showed it would have gone on to hit the stumps, this time the top of middle and leg. And luckily for India, it's not umpire's call. That left South Africa on 40 for 5.

A couple of boundaries from David Miller have taken them past 50 since then.

Markram picked up two lucky fours off Shami, the first via a misfield and the other via an inside edge, but the bowler had the last laugh.

Shami bowled one on a good length in the channel and got it to shape away. Markram offered a tentative push and got an outside edge, which KL Rahul pouched diving forward. Markram took a long time to walk back, not because if doubted if the catch was clean but because he was so disappointed with himself. The umpires still went upstairs to be doubly sure. By the time, the third umpire gave his decision, Markram was already beyond the boundary line.

Brought into the attack in the ninth over, Jadeja strikes straight away. It was a typical, quickish delivery from Jadeja that had Bavuma neither forward nor back as he looked to defend it with a vertical bat. The ball pitched around middle and spun past the outside edge to hit the off stump.

South Africa 27/2 after 9, their winning chances now down to 12%.

Both Bumrah and Siraj have stuck to good and short-of-good lengths, and haven't let South Africa get off to a start they might have been looking for. After six overs, they are 19 for 1. At the same stage, India were 62 for 1. As per ESPNcricinfo's Forecaster, South Africa's chance of winning is already less than 20%.

Quinton de Kock has been setting the tone for South Africa with the bat. But chasing 327, he has got out for 5.

De Kock had hit the previous ball, an overpitched delivery, down the ground for four. But Siraj shortened his length and got the ball to straighten ever so slightly. De Kock went for the cut but got an under edge into the ground that bounced onto the stumps.

Now let's here from Virat Kohli about his and India's innings:

"It was a wicket that was a bit tricky to bat. I think we got a great start through Rohit and Shubman. When I got in, my job was to keep that momentum going but as soon as ten overs got over, the ball started gripping as the ball got older. So me and Shreyas wanted to string a big partnership. When we lost Rohit and Shubman within ten overs, my role was to bat deep and bat till the end, because that's what I have done over the years and that was the communication from the team as well, that I bat and guys bat around me. And then Shreyas started hitting a few. We were not thinking we would get to 327 [326] but that's what happens when you take deep and take the game into the last few overs, you can get a few more than you would have thought.

"We had a lot of practice sessions before we to the Asia Cup. And me and Shreyas invariably batted together. As No. 3 and 4, we batted together against spinners. And I would joke to him that this was the partnership that had to take centre stage through the middle overs. So both of us are very comfortable rotating the strike against spinners. And then whatever loose balls he got, he put them away - credit to him.

"As I said, when you lose two wickets and you don't have Hardik in your team, you need to bat deep and make sure that you get to a stage where the opposition feels like we have to restrict them, rather than thinking we are one wicket away from 30 runs lesser than what we had to chase. I mean he batted beautifully according to the situation and strike rotation was the key.

"Every opportunity to play for India is a big one for me, and to be able to do this on my birthday in front of such a huge crowd is the stuff of dreams. It's something that you wish as a child. So I am very grateful to God that I am blessed with these kinds of moments. So much love from the fans as well. Just continue to try and help the team in any way possible.

"According to me, the total is well above par. The way the ball was gripping through the middle overs, it wasn't easy to get hold of the bowlers. And we have a quality bowling attack. We will have to work hard, a few breakthroughs and then the pressure starts mounting as the wicket gets slower and slower. Hopefully, we start well with the new ball."

Jadeja ensures India finish with a bang with a six and two fours in the final over. He remained unbeaten on 29 off 15. Kohli on 101 off 121 with ten fours as India finished on 326 for 5. They scored 87 in the last ten overs.

Bowling the final over of the innings, Ngidi felt something was wrong with his right foot - earlier, he was hit on the same foot when he tried to stop a Kohli shot in his follow-through. He is walking off, and Marco Jansen will bowl the remaining four balls in the innings.

On his 35th birthday, Virat Kohli has equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI hundreds.

Kohli reached the milestone with a punched single to extra cover off Rabada in the 49th over, and a 50,000-strong crowd at Eden Gardens stood on its feet to applaud the achievement. It was a very subdued celebration from Kohli - just removing his helmet and raising his bat - partly, perhaps, because he looked exhausted after having batted for almost 44 overs by then.

Kohli reached the mark in his 277th innings; Tendulkar scored his 49 in 452.

After having started briskly - he was on 18 off 14 with four fours - Kohli slowed down considerably after the powerplay. The South Africa spinners - Maharaj, Shamsi and Markram - really tied him down, allowing just 42 runs, and a solitary four, off 64 balls. But Kohli hung in, picked up the pace once seamers returned, and brought up his hundred off 119 balls.

For a little while it looked like Suryakumar Yadav was all set to give India the surge they need. He opened his account with a fifth-ball four and quickly moved to 22 off 13. He could have been the difference between India scoring 325 and 340. But trying a reverse sweep, he gloved Shamsi and de Kock dived full length in front of the stumps to pouch it just above the ground.

Still a handy knock, though. At the other end, Kohli has moved to 91 off 112.

So far South Africa have given away 21 runs in wides. It started with Jansen straying on either side of the wicket in the second over of the match and continued with Shamsi turning the ball down the leg side.

Only once South Africa have conceded more wides in an ODI - 25 against Zimbabwe in 2000 - while they gave away 21 against Kenya in 2008.

Meanwhile, 250 has come up for India with Suryakumar Yadav hitting the fifth ball he faced for four (after four dots). Kohli is batting on 78 off 102 balls.

India 253/4 after 43.

He tried to stop a Kohli shot in his follow-through with his right foot and got hurt in the process. The physio is out to have a look and after a bit of magic strapping, he is good to go.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of stats, courtesy Sampath:

Fifty-plus scores on birthday in World Cup:

53* Inzamam-ul-haq vs Egnland, 1996
131* Ross Taylor vs Pakistan, 2011
121 Mitchell Marsh vs Pakistan, 2023
74* Virat Kohli vs South Africa, Today

South Africa bowlers not conceding a boundary in their ten overs in a World Cup game (since 1999):

Steve Elworthy vs Kenya, 1999
Shaun Pollock vs England, 2007
Keshav Maharaj vs India, Today

India, meanwhile, have reached 236/3 after 39 overs

Lungi Ngidi has a well-disguised slower ball. Like many seamers have started doing those days, he breaks his wrist and rotates it to achieve the desired result instead of rolling his fingers over the ball. So the ball comes out at 115.8kph. Iyer is looking to accelerate and goes for a big shot down the ground. But he fails to get the timing right and ends up skying it to Markram at midwicket.

And it's back-to-back fifty for him. He started slowly, was on 11 off 34 at one stage, but in the next 34 balls, he smashed 48.

Jansen, who replaced Maharaj in the attack, was once again in the firing line with Iyer hitting him for three fours in the over. Struggling with his line once more, Jansen too bowled two wides down the leg side.

This is the fourth time Kohli and Maharaj are face-to-face in ODIs. Kohli has faced 89 deliveries from Maharaj. scoring just 52 runs and getting out twice. Today, he scored 16 off 29 balls against Maharaj.

Maharaj ends his spell with excellent figures of 10-0-30-1. Kohli, meanwhile, has brought up his half-century off 67 balls, on his 35th birthday. Can he get to a hundred and equal Tendulkar, who also once scored a memorable hundred on his birthday.

Shiva Jayaraman: It should not come as a surprise that Keshav Maharaj had figures of 1 for 15 in his first five overs despite the start India got in the powerplay. Sure, the conditions are helpful for spin, but Maharaj often steps up when others are struggling. Since the start of 2021 and before this match, South Africa conceded over six runs an over in 13 ODIs. Maharaj’s economy in those matches is 4.52. He has also taken 23 wickets at an average of 21.4 in those games. Among 35 bowlers to bowl at least 60 overs in such innings, only Taskin Ahmed (3.9) has a better economy than Maharaj.

India have managed only 33 runs in the next ten overs. Kohli has slowed down; he is 37 off 38. Shreyas Iyer has gone nowehere; he is on 11 off 34. Kohli, in fact, is lucky to be still at the crease. In the 20th over, he got an edge down the leg side against Shamsi but de Kock failed to latch onto it.

From overs 11 to 20, India have scored just one fours; in the powerplay, they had hit 14 fours and three sixes.

Mohammad Isam, our Bangladesh correspondent, is also a handy left-arm spinner. He once helped Kevin Pietersen confront his spin demon. And here is his assessment of that Maharaj ball to Gill:

"A left-arm spinner always dream of a delivery that pitches on leg stump, spins and takes the top of off. If he does it in the nets, he will pump his fist and celebrate. When he does it in front of a 50,000 crowd, in a World Cup game, against hosts, nothing better. So how does that delivery happen?

"It is certainly not a coincidence, or sheer luck. A left-arm spinner can be more inclined to bowl darts when the opposition's run rate is over nine, but Maharaj's experience and skills can't limit his bowling abilities even in the harshest conditions. So he decided to give it a toss around middle and leg, just to see if it really spun back.

"It also depends on how much the batter is also inclined to go to the pitch of the ball. Shubman Gill was always going to have his eyes lit up when the ball was dipping on the middle-stump line. But Maharaj was always a step ahead, he got the ball to dip in front of Gill's bat and then turn away.

"A dream delivery like this also doesn't happen often. Maharaj, though, is a smart operator, and is unlikely to tread along similar lines too many times. Anything that slips slightly out of his control could be a wide or worse, a leg-stump half-volley. The magic doesn’t happen always. On a good batting wicket, though, once is sometimes enough."

We have around 51,730 spectators at the venue but for a moment, it looked like the whole stadium was empty.

As soon as the field restrictions were relaxed, Bavuma brought Keshav Maharaj on. And with his third legal ball, he has taken out Gill with a gem of a delivery. He gave it enough air, got it to drift, dip and turn past the batter to trim the off bail. It left Gill so puzzled that he wasn't convinced he was bowled. So the on-field umpires took the help of the TV umpire. There was no doubt what had happened.

Meanwhile, Kohli, too, has got off to a quick start, hitting four fours to move to 18 off 14.

India finish the powerplay on 91 for 1. This is the second-most runs South Africa have conceded in the first ten overs in the tournament. Against Sri Lanka, they had given away 94 for 2.

With India off to a flying start, Temba Bavuma brings on Kagiso Rabada, and the senior fast bowler doesn't disappoint his captain.

Rohit tried to take Rabada down as well. He gave him the charge and absolutely smashed it. But it looked like he got too close to the ball and, therefore, couldn't get the required elevation.

He ended up hitting it straight towards mid-off where Bavuma bent a little and took it reverse cups, right in front of his face.

Rohit departs for 40 off 24. Only a leg-bye from that Rabada over, so technically he starts with a maiden.

Jansen has been easily the most successful bowler in the powerplay this World Cup. He has picked up 12 wickets in that phase; Madushanka is second with seven. And he could have added one more to his tally.

It is not clear from the only replay we have had but looks like Tabraiz Shamsi dropped Rohit. It was a wide delivery from Jansen and Rohit threw his bat at it. The thick outside edge flew towards deep third where Shamsi had to charge in. Looks like he got there and had his hands under the ball but ended up grassing it.

Rohit rubs it in with a boundary and two sixes in the next over.

We saw Sri Lanka having a leg slip for Rohit and Gill when left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka bowled the first over. South Africa, too, are using the same ploy with Jansen bowling to Gill in the second over.

But Jansen seemed to be struggling with his line. Three times in the over he strayed down the leg side, once finding the gap between the keeper and leg slip for five extras. Another was so wide outside off that the first slip stopped it. Amid all that, Gill hit two pristine fours on either side of the wicket.

It's Virat Kohli's 35th birthday. Will he make it even more memorable by scoring a record-equalling 49th ODI hundred?

Amid the hysteria yesterday, though, Kohli kept calm and carried on. A small crowd gathered in the stands behind him had started chanting "King Kohli". He gestured at them to stay quiet during the training session. And immediately there was pin-drop silence. Sidharth Monga has more here.

It's pitch No. 5 for today's game, the same strip that was used for Bangladesh vs Netherlands game. Ravi Shastri says that from one end, the pitch will help spinners but from the other, the ball should come onto the bat nicely.

The square boundaries are 62 and 68 metres. Down the ground it is 63 metres.

India win the toss and opt to bat first. "Looks like a good pitch," says Rohit Sharma. "Honestly, it's less to do with the pitch and more about what we want to do as a team, and whatever the conditions are, we want to challenge ourselves. It's gonna be a good team, the two teams who are at the top of the table and playing consistent cricket. I love playing here, and the Indian team loves coming here - it's a historic ground. We are playing the same team. I don't think we need to change anything. We have played the last four-five games with the same bowling line-up, and they have done a great job."

"Looking at the wicket, we would have batted first," says Temba Bavuma. "But now we have the responsibility of chasing. It would be a nice challenge for us to chase and get over the line. We know that's one are of our game we would like to get more confidence in and strengthen our blueprint. We have put good all-round performances with the bat - most of the batters are smashing it. The bowlers have put their hands up as well. We have only one change: Tabraiz Shamsi comes in for Gerald Coetzee."

Do you back your strength, or look to exploit your opponent's weakness? Rohit Sharma and Temba Bavuma will have that question in their minds as they walk out for the toss.

South Africa love to bat first. Their top order invariably sets the platform for the middle order to go berserk. Batting first in this World Cup, their totals have been 428, 311, 399, 382 and 357. On each occasion, they won by more than 100 runs. While chasing, though, they lost to Netherlands and narrowly escaped, with a one-wicket win, against Pakistan.

For India, it's the opposite. They prefer having a target in front of them so that they can pace their innings accordingly. Batting first, they can appear unsure about how hard to go. So whoever wins the toss on Sunday will have to make the tricky call.

You can read more about it in our preview.