The Nike marketing department will be feverishly working overtime producing extra Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane shirts after India crushed South Africa by 130 in their long-awaited World Cup clash at the MCG last night.
The Indian ODI team sponsor had a picnic at the expense of intense rivals Adidas, who sponsor two teams at the World Cup – South Africa and England.
The mathematical equation struck again – South Africa plus World Cup equals choke, while England can’t beat time, losing by 111 runs to Australia, and by eight wickets to New Zealand.
Nike’s laughing all the way to the bank.
But in other mathematical facts, there’s no way India should be able to beat South Africa so comfortably.
South Africa has won 21 ODIs against India in South Africa, and lost only five.
In neutral venues, South Africa has won 11 matches to seven.
That’s 33 to 12 to South Africa away from India, where it’s 13-10 to India at home.
Pretty conclusive – on paper.
The current ICC batting and bowling rankings tell a similar story.
The top Indian batsmen are Kohli, ranked three, Dhawan seven, and MS Dhoni nine, with Rohit Sharma 13.
But the South African bowlers boast one of the very best attacks in world ODIs, with Dale Steyn ranked three, Morne Morkel 10, leggie Imran Tahir 11, Vernon Philander 34 – which is far too low in my book – and Wayne Parnell at 35.
Yet India finished with 7-307 off their 50 overs last night – Dhawan top-scoring with a brilliant 137 off 146 with 16 fours and two sixes.
He shared two successive century partnerships with Kohli (46) for the second wicket, and Rahane (79) for the third.
That was game, set and match against such a potent attack.
But the South Africans had a far inferior attack to face with offie Ravi Ashwin the highest ranked Indian bowler at 21, with Mohammad Shami ranked 24.
The South Africans boasted AB de Villiers, ranked one, without peer as the world’s best ODI batsman. Virtually the same can be said of opener Hashim Amla, ranked two.
Opening batsman Quinton de Kok is ranked 10, Faf du Plessis 33, and David Miller 37.
Yet the South Africans could only muster 177 in reply off 40 overs against an ordinary attack that was supported by outstanding fielding – and choke batting.
de Villiers thought he was Usain Bolt, and couldn’t beat a rocket outfield return from Mohit Sharma to keeper Dhoni. Umesh Yadav pulled the same trick to run out the dangerous David Miller.
So the South African batting strength was neutralised by an honest hard-working Indian attack, where de Kock was out for seven, Amla 22, de Villiers 30, Miller 22, and JP Duminy six, leaving du Plessis top-scorer with 55.
Indian supporters were the vast majority of the massive 86,876 crowd, just shy of the world record 87,812 for the 1992 World Cup final at the MCG,
It was a cacophony of non-stop barracking that reached a crescendo when Dhawan reached his century.
The crowd will not forget last night in a hurry, a fitting tribute to an Indian side that never looked like losing.
But then, winners are grinners, just ask Nike.
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