SA vs ENG: South Africa ride to 298 on Rassie van der Dussen's ton in the 1st ODI

Rassie van der Dussen smashed 111 against England in Bloemfontein (Associated Press)

The South African batting might have failed miserably in the Tests against Australia, but returning home and changing the shade of the cherry have worked finely for the Proteas.

The three-match ODI series versus the World Champions began at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, where the home batters not only showed their prowess with the willow but also put their case solidly for the qualification of the upcoming ICC showpiece tournament.

Batting first, skipper Temba Bavuma took a gamble and opened the innings with Quinton de Kock. The duo gave a sturdy start to their innings of 61 inside 9 overs, before the skipper got home off Moeen Ali's bowling. 

The hosts then lost a few wickets quickly before Rassie van der Dussen moved up the ante. He, who showed a mere form in the SA20, took his time initially but, when he got settled, took the runs on offer.

In the latter half of the first innings, the right-hander formed a right-left combination with David Miller, preventing both English seamers and tweakers from settling in against them.

On the back of Rassie's century and Miller's fifty, the Proteas could have posted somewhat around 315, but the English seamers pulled things back in the backend of the innings. 

With this century, the 33-year-old has broken Jacques Kallis' rare record. The legendary former South African had scored just one century against the Englishmen in ODIs, although Rassie already has smacked two centuries against them.

England premium pacer Jofra Archer's return to international cricket didn't go the merry way as he seemed ineffective with not the new and the older ball. The Surrey man returned with a wicket of Wayne Parnell after leaking 81 runs in his ten-over spell. 

However, his MI Cape Town mate Sam Curran rejoiced bowling at Bloemfontein, stretching his purple patch by bagging 3 for 35 in 9 overs.

Curran's spell in the death made sure South Africa didn't end with a mammoth total. The batting side could score 78 runs in the last ten overs. 

England, now, will need 299 to win the first One-Dayers, but you never what the Proteas may pull off with the ball.

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