Image: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are back in ODIs / © ESPNcricinfo
It was a Sunday, but more like a fun day for the Indian cricket fans. After a series loss against South Africa in the Test format, the ODI series started with the first game being at Ranchi. And it was also time for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to mark their comeback in the ODIs at home. They last played a home game back in February against England.
And they made sure that the comeback went as well as expected. Rohit Sharma scored a half-century, and Virat Kohli brought up his 52nd ODI century, which was a moment to be cherished. While South Africa also tried its best for the chase, they fell short by 17 runs, allowing India to start the series with a win. With this win, several memes have also stormed up on Twitter.
Before the match between India and South Africa started, there were some reports coming in. And these were related to the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the ODI format. It has been reported that the BCCI will be calling a meeting with Rohit and Virat to decide their ODI futures.
But Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli decided to give a few more positive points before the meeting. They became the reasons why India was able to post a massive score in their innings, and also end up winning the game. Reacting to this, a Twitter page said what about the meeting which was supposed to take place.
Earlier when the talks of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the 2027 World Cup started, there was no clarity on the same. Even the BCCI Chief Selector, Ajit Agarkar, was present in a Press Conference and he talked about the same. Agarkar said that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are non-committal for the upcoming World Cup.
Looking at their recent knocks, it can be said that they didn’t look to be non-committal. With Rohit scoring 57 and Virat Kohli scoring 135, two non-committal players were able to win the game for the Indian cricket team. And to make things worse for the statement given by Agarkar earlier, Virat also received the POTM award.
During the second Test between India and South Africa, Shukri Conrad, the Head Coach of the Proteas said something which went controversial. He said that South Africa wanted to see the Indian team grovel in the Test match. And this was the reason why they batted for so long and gave India a target of 549.
But tonight, the team had almost grovelled against India in the first ODI. The team could have lost by a big margin, but Corbin Bosch went on to score 67 runs off 51 balls. It can be said that Bosch just saved the Head Coach of the Indian team from all the grovelling trolls.
After a long time, fans got to see the much awaited aggressive version of Virat Kohli. And aggressive not by the way in which he batted in the game, aggressive by his celebrations. With every wicket, the Indian team and the crowd felt the energy to take even more and this allowed India to get some extra pressure on South Africa.
This shows that Virat Kohli is now ready for the 2027 World Cup. And if he is able to maintain this aggressive mindset, it will be beneficial not just for him but also for the entire Indian team. A Twitter page has reacted to the same, saying that Virat Kohli should preserve this aggression till the World Cup.
The memes for the match between India and South Africa are mostly related to Shukri Conrad. He said that he would love to see the Indian team grovel in the Test format. But he was unaware of the storm he would have to face when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play for the team in the ODI format.
Moreover, Virat and Rohit were playing together at Thala’s home ground. This created more of a deadly combination, with two legendary batsmen playing at the home ground of a legendary captain. It can also be said that this combination which happened in the first game did grovel the South African Head Coach.
In the first ODI match, South Africa did fall short by a small margin but they did well on the field. And it was all due to Dewald Brevis, who was exceptional throughout the game. He took a brilliant catch of Ruturaj Gaikwad to dismiss him for just 8 runs in his comeback ODI game for the Indian team.
Moreover, the catch was so quick that he didn’t even take half a second to react for the same. However, it seems that Brevis must have forgotten that Gaikwad will be leading him in the next few months. It all now goes to the Indian Premier League too, because Brevis just gave his best to dismiss his own IPL captain.
MS Dhoni had a dinner party at his place where he invited a few players. Some of the notable names who were found at his home that day included Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Rishabh Pant. This is the second dinner party which has been hosted for the Indian team, one by Gambhir and now by Dhoni.
But it seems that Harshit Rana was not invited by Dhoni to his dinner party. And this was clear as Rana showed more aggression with each wicket he took. It should be noted that Rana even gave a send off to Dewald Brevis, and it seems that he must be telling Brevis to inform to Dhoni he didn’t do well by not inviting him.
The Chennai Super Kings boys are definitely having no chill for each other. And this was seen in the first ODI between India and South Africa, as Brevis and Gaikwad went against each other. It all started with Brevis spoiling the comeback party of Ruturaj Gaikwad as he dismissed him with a brilliant catch.
But Gaikwad was not letting Brevis go down with ease, as he even took revenge. When Brevis looked set on the crease, Gaikwad took his catch and this must have allowed him to send Brevis a reminder that he is the captain of his team in the IPL. It would be intense to see how both of them will remember the game when they meet in the IPL.
Whether India wins or doesn’t, one thing remains common and it is Thala for a Reason. Now it seems that there is Thala behind every possible thing which happens in the game. Virat Kohli played the first ODI of the series at Ranchi, which is also the home ground of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
And playing at this venue, he went on to score his 52nd ODI century. Adding 5 and 2 together gives 7, which is also the jersey number of Dhoni. So, it can be said that Dhoni does not ask for any credit, the credit goes to him in very unique ways. And it also came at the home ground of Thala, which adds more credits to the same.
There are several fans out there who have been backing Ruturaj Gaikwad for a long time. And with more than a year having passed since his last international appearance, he made a comeback in the ODI series against South Africa. Fans were excited to have Gaikwad’s name back in the playing XI, as they would finally see him play for the team again.
It should be noted that Gaikwad has been an opener for India A and even his domestic teams. But for the Indian team, the opening pairs have always been locked, which puts Gaikwad at number four. The Gaikwad fans got to see the comeback of their idol after a long time, but they decided to bear having him bat at number four.
Before the match between India and South Africa started, reports came that the BCCI will have a meeting with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. This meeting will also be having the Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir, and Chief Selector, Ajit Agarkar together, with the main objective to discuss the future of RoKo.
And now after watching their knocks, it can be said that they are better than ever. A meme has been created saying that Virat and Rohit will now be calling a meeting to decide the future of Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar for the 2027 World Cup. It would be absolute cinema if the meeting was conducted for the same.