De Villiers fined and warned

South Africa captain AB De Villiers has been fined 40 per cent of his match fee after the Proteas were found guilty of a slow over-rate during their victory in the opening game of the ODI series against India at Kanpuron.

Report & scorecard: Proteas win thriller

The International Cricket Council said South Africa's 'minor over-rate offence' means all players in the team were fined 20 per cent with the captain fined double that amount.

De Villiers had previously been found guilty of minor over-rate offences on two occasions in the past 12 months (in Perth in November 2014 and during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015), and served a one match suspension during the first ODI against Bangladesh in July.

"If South Africa commits another minor over rate breach in ODIs within 12 months of this offence with de Villiers as captain, it will be deemed a second offence by de Villiers and he will again face a suspension," the ICC said, in a statement.

De Villiers pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction so there was no need for a formal hearing.

First ODI, match report

A brilliant 150 off 133 balls from Rohit Sharma was in vain as South Africa defeated India by five runs in the first one-day international in Kanpur.

In a high-scoring thriller helped by short boundaries at the packed Green Park stadium on Sunday, India made a spirited chase of the Proteas' challenging 5-303 before being stopped just short on 7-298.

Sharma nearly upstaged South African captain AB de Villiers' 104 off 73 balls before the tourists' bowlers fought back in front of 40,000 home fans.

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Rohit Sharma was outstanding for India // Getty Images

Leg-spinner Imran Tahir removed Sharma and Suresh Raina in the space of five deliveries in the 47th over, before 20-year-old fast bowler Kagiso Rabada nailed his side's victory in the final over.

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With India needing 11 runs off six balls, Rabada conceded just five runs and claimed two wickets, including the important one of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for 31, to dash India's hopes.

The victory put South Africa ahead in the five-match series, which follows their 2-0 success in the preceding Twenty20 games.

"It was an amazing game of cricket," said a visibly tired and relieved de Villiers, who was named man of the match.

"It is close games like these that bring the fans in.

"The momentum turned around several times, but I thought Tahir turned the game on its head. Rabada, of course, proved to be a handful with his pace. He's got a bright future."

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AB de Villiers scored a match-winning ton // Getty Images

India were dealt a blow when frontline spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, playing his 100th one-dayer, suffered a side strain while bowling his fourth over and left the field.

Quick single: Spinners, experience give Pakistan edge over England

Ashwin returned to bowl only one more over before going off again. Fellow off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been drafted into the squad as a precaution.

Dhoni said he was disappointed by the narrow loss, which he blamed on his bowlers leaking runs in the final overs.

"The outcome was not great for us," he said.

"There were plenty that went wrong, but we showed character to get close. Frankly, we should have won this game.

"We missed the six overs from Ash (Ashwin), which was crucial because he is our best spinner. But the bowlers should have done a bit better.

"The partnership between Rohit and Rahane was superb. This was a fantastic innings from Rohit. It wasn't an easy wicket to bat on but he made it look so easy."

The second one-dayer will be played in Indore on Wednesday.