Rohit Sharma surpasses MS Dhoni to become India's most successful captain

India edged past South Africa and registered a comprehensive win over South Africa in the first match of the three-match series in Thiruvananthapuram. India won the game by 8 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series. This was yet another win for India under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.

However, with this win, the Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma, has surpassed the former world cup-winning Indian captain, MS Dhoni, in terms of most T20I wins in a calendar year. This was the 16th win for India in 2022, while MSD led India to 15 wins in 2016.

India registered this 8-wicket win after a splendid bowling performance by the Indian bowlers. It all started with some swing for Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh in the first few overs. South Africa lost their first five wickets for just 9 runs in the 2.3 overs of the innings.

However, after that horrible start, South Africa had some good contributions from Aiden Markram (25), Wayne Parnell (24) and Keshav Maharaj (41). Thus, they crossed the 100-run mark and made 106/8 in their 20 overs.

Arshdeep Singh ended with a figure of 3/32. Deepak Chahar (2/24) and Harshal Patel (2/24) also bowled well. However, the veteran off-spinner Ravi Ashwin bowled India's most economical spell of 0/8 in four overs.

In response, India too struggled at the start and lost Rohit Sharma (0) and Virat Kohli (2) early and made only 17 runs in the first six overs. However, Suryakumar Yadav carried on his rich form and played positive cricket. He, along with Rahul, added an unbeaten 93 runs for the third wicket to win the game for India.

India won the game with 8 wickets and 20 balls to spare. Rahul was unbeaten on 51* off 56 balls, with two fours and four sixes, while SKY was not out on 50* off 33 balls, with five fours and three maximums. Both teams will now meet in the second game on Sunday at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.