By IANS
Durban : Indian bowlers rose magnificently to the challenge to halt host South Africa’s progress in the Twenty20 World Championship here Thursday and take the team into the semi-finals where they will face Australia.
Playing like a focussed unit, India beat the home side by 37 runs in a crucial Super Eights match at Kingsmead to top Group E with four points – the same as New Zealand — and qualified for the semi-finals along with the Kiwis while South Africa crashed out.
In the semi-finals Saturday, Pakistan will play New Zealand in Cape Town and India will clash with World Cup winners Australia here.
In Group F, Pakistan were the clear winners with six points from three wins while Australia finished second with four.
Chasing India’s 153 for five wickets in 20 overs – made possible with some poor fielding and catching by the hosts — South Africa managed 116 for nine in 20 overs.
Although South Africa also ended up with four points, their net run rate was inferior to that of India and New Zealand and hence they crashed out – again raising questions about their ability to win crunch matches.
Young Rohit Sharma, who scored the lone half-century of the match (50, 40 balls, 7x4s, 2x6s), fielded well and ran out danger man Justin Kemp (5) to win the Man of the Match award, marginally ahead of pacer Rudra Pratap Singh who took four wickets with some superb bowling.
Sharma was also involved in the highest partnership of the match – a crucial 85 for the fifth wicket with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (45, 33 balls, 4x4s, 1×6) – after the top order had failed to contribute substantially. The acceleration came towards the end of the innings.
But it was the bowlers who resurrected India after getting a none-too-big total for the cushion. Undaunted, the four-man pace attack of Singh, Sreesanth, Joginder Sharma and Irfan Pathan rose brilliantly to the challenge and won the day before a packed stadium.
Singh started the demolition job by removing Herschelle Gibbs (1), playing again as an opener, pretty early. Then Dinesh Karthik took a brilliant diving catch of captain Graeme Smith (4) at second slip off Singh and Sreesanth had A.B. de Villiers (1) leg before the wicket at the same total to rock the home side.
At this stage, South Africa were reeling at 12 for three.
By the time the total reached 31, Kemp and Shaun Pollock (0) too were back in the pavilion, thanks to the superb pick up and throw by Sharma and left-armer Singh’s another deadly accurate delivery.
Wicket-keeper Mark Boucher (36, 41 balls, 4x4s) and Albie Morkel (36, 37 balls, 2x4s, 1×6) revived the innings with their 69-run partnership for the sixth wicket and provided some respectability to the scoreboard.
But after Sreesanth was castled Boucher to reduce South Africa to 100 for six, the hosts never really recovered from the morass and it was only a matter of time before the tailenders also surrendered to a charged up Indian side.
Singh was both deadly accurate and razor-sharp as he conceded only 13 runs in four overs to snare four wickets. He must have been disappointed not to have won the match award.
Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh took two wickets each while Irfan Pathan again bowled accurately, conceding just 16 runs in four overs.
Karthik made up for failure with the bat by excelling in the outfield and behind the wickets. He effected two superb stumpings after Dhoni had complained of back pain and fielded in the outfield for most part of the innings.
Overall, it was a determined display by India. The team played without in-form Yuvraj Singh, who complained of pain in his left elbow and watched the action from the bench.
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: Pakistan vs. New Zealand; India vs. Australia
Umpires: Steve Davis (Australia) and Simon Taufel (Australia)
TV umpire: Billy Doctrove (West Indies)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)