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South Africa handed India their first ODI defeat at home this year with a thrilling nine-run win in the series opener to take a 1-0 lead.

In what was a rain-curtailed match, Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan gave the visitors a steady start before Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller took advantage of sloppy fielding to stitch a 139-run partnership and guide South Africa to 249/4.

The chase got off to a difficult start as both the Indian openers were dismissed within the first six overs and with just 18 on the board. Nevertheless, India were in the game till the very end courtesy of Iyer’s fifty and Samson’s breathtaking innings.

The match began after a two-hour delay due to rain.

India won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravi Bishnoi were handed their ODI debuts as the stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan announced a combination of six batters and five bowlers.

For South Africa, Janneman Malan, Heinrich Klaasen and Tabraiz Shamsi returned to the starting XI following a disappointing T20I series.

Opening with the new ball, Mohammad Siraj almost got an early success, with an umpire’s call coming to Janneman Malan’s rescue.

India started on a positive note as Proteas’ openers struggled against Siraj and Avesh Khan’s swing bowling display. At the end of eight overs of the powerplay, the scoreboard read 28/0.

The Men in Blue again came close to their first wicket as Shubman Gill dropped a catch in the slips to dismiss Malan immediately after the powerplay.

Malan’s gritty 42-ball 22 knock finally came to an end in the 13th over at the third time asking, with Shardul Thakur providing the breakthrough.

Shardul Thakur struck his second wicket in the 15th over. South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma’s poor form continued with yet another underwhelming exhibition of batting.

Wickets continued to tumble with Aiden Markram’s dismissal in the very next over off Kuldeep Yadav. Team India was duly rewarded for their disciplined bowling.

At the halfway stage, South Africa’s scorecard read 92/3.

Shortly after, Ravi Bishnoi bagged his maiden ODI wicket in the 23rd over as in-form Quinton de Kock missed out on a well-deserved half-century.

Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller upped the scoring rate slightly thereafter en route to their 50-run partnership and completed their respective fifties in the 36th over, helping their team reach a challenging total.

The Indian side continued to struggle. Multiple dropped catches coupled with some shoddy fielding in the final four overs helped the two batters remain unbeaten and propel their team to a strong total of 249/4.

Chasing the target, Team India lost Shubman Gill off Rabada’s wicket-maiden third over.

Things got bad to worse for the hosts when they lost Shikhar Dhawan for a rusty 16-ball 4 off Wayne Parnell in the sixth over.

At the end of the powerplay phase, the Men in Blue scored a mere 18/2. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Mumbai Indians’ Ishan Kishan survived a fiery spell by visitors’ bowlers.

The Indian duo continued to steady the ship with a 40-run stand but returned to the pavilion in the 17th and 18th overs. The hosts were reeling 51/4.

The new pair of Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson came out to bat with attacking intent and completed a quick-fire fifty-run stand in just 31 balls to give their team a glimmer of hope.

Soon after, Shreyas Iyer reached his fifty to continue his fine form in ODIs this year. India needed 132 runs in 84 balls at this point.

However, Iyer departed in the 27th over, denting Team India’s chance of an outside shot at victory.

Heading into the final powerplay, India needed 96 off 8 overs. The hopes rested on Thakur and Samson to try and steer India to a win.

Samson’s 49-ball 50* kept the expectations alive despite the asking rate close to 16.

The 36th and 37th overs saw 28 runs combined and suddenly India were back in the groove. Nonetheless, Shardul Thakur’s exploits came to a close with a well-made 33 off 31.

In the end, a flurry of wickets helped the Proteas pull things back and emerge victorious by nine runs.

Brief scores: South Africa 249/4 (David Miller 75*, Shardul Thakur 2/35) beat India 240-8 (Sanju Samson 86*, Lungi Ngidi 3/52) by nine runs

With this win, South Africa boosted their chances of direct qualification for next year’s 50-over world cup. As for India, they will look to bounce back in the second ODI on October 9 in Ranchi.