By IANS
Durban : Playing like a professional unit, India defeated South Africa by 37 runs in a crucial Super Eights match to enter the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Championship here Thursday night.
India will now play World Cup winners Australia and New Zealand will clash with Pakistan in the semi-finals Saturday.
Chasing India’s 153 for five wickets in 20 overs, hosts South Africa finished at 116 for nine in 20 overs and crashed out.
Rohit Sharma, who scored an unbeaten 50 (40 balls, 7x4s, 2x6s) and ran out danger man Justin Kemp (5), won the Man of the Match. Left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh, who took four wickets with some superb bowling, must have given him a tough fight for the award.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the other main contributor with a 33-ball 45 (4x4s, 1×6) after India won the toss and batted at Kingsmead ground.
If R.P. Singh bowled accurately and incisively, Dinesh Karthik shone behind the wickets and in the outfield.
Karthik took a diving catch while fielding in slips and then effected two stumpings after Dhoni complained of back pain and fielded in the outfield for most part of the innings.
SCOREBOARD
India vs. South Africa, Super Eights, Twenty20 World Championship, at Kingsmead, Durban
India:
Gautam Gambhir c Smith b Pollock 19
Virender Sehwag c Boucher b Ntini 11
Dinesh Karthik c Albie Morkel b Pollock 0
Robin Uthappa c Smith b Morne Morkel 15
Rohit Sharma not out 50
Mahendra Singh Dhoni run out (Philander) 45
Irfan Pathan not out 0
Extras: (byes 2, leg byes 2, wides 8, no balls 1) 13
Total: (for five wickets in 20 overs) 153
Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Gambhir, 4.4 overs), 2-33 (Karthik, 4.6), 3-33 (Sehwag, 5.1), 4-61 (Uthappa, 10.3), 5-146 (Dhoni, 19.4)
Bowling:
Shaun Pollock 4 0 17 2
Makhaya Ntini 4 0 30 1 (2w)
Johan van der Wath 4 0 43 0
Morne Morkel 4 0 32 1 (1nb)
Vernon Philander 2 0 14 0 (2w)
Albie Morkel 2 0 13 0
South Africa:
Herschelle Gibbs lbw b R.P. Singh 1
Graeme Smith c Karthik b R.P. Singh 4
A.B. de Villiers lbw b Sreesanth 1
Justin Kemp run out (Rohit) 5
Mark Boucher b Sreesanth 36
Shaun Pollock b R.P. Singh 0
Albie Morkel b R.P. Singh 36
Vernon Philander st Karthik b Harbhajan 2
Johan van der Wath st Karthik b Harbhajan 1
Morne Morkel not out 1
Makhaya Ntini not out 4
Extras: (lb 10, w 15) 25
Total: (for nine wickets in 20 overs) 116
Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Gibbs, 1.1 overs), 2-12 (Smith, 1.4), 3-12 (de Villiers, 2.3), 4-30 (Kemp, 5.4), 4-30 (Kemp, 5.4), 5-31 (Pollock, 5.5), 6-100 (Boucher, 16.4), 7-103 (Philander, 17.4), 8-109 (A. Morkel, 18.4), 9-111 (Wath, 19.4)
Bowling:
Sreesanth 4 0 23 2 (6w)
Rudra Pratap Singh 4 0 13 4 (3w)
Joginder Sharma 4 0 24 0 (1w)
Irfan Pathan 4 0 16 0 (1w)
Harbhajan Singh 4 0 30 2
Result: India win by 37 runs (enter semi-finals)
Points: India 2, South Africa 0
Man of the Match: Rohit Sharma (India)
Toss: India (chose to bat)
semi-finals: India vs. Australia; Pakistan vs. New Zealand
Umpires: Steve Davis (Australia) and Simon Taufel (Australia)
TV umpire: Billy Doctrove (West Indies)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)