Clinical South Africa surge into quarter-finals

South Africa 272 for 7 (Duminy 99, Ingram 46, van Wyk 42) beat Ireland 141 (Peterson 3-32, Morkel 3-33) by

131 runs

	Shot selection and selflessness epitomised JP Duminy's fine innings © Getty Images

The World Cup finally reached Eden Gardens, and the sparse crowd that turned up on an overcast day were treated to a JP Duminy special that lifted South Africa from the dumps, and set up a facile win. Ireland's effort began like a dream and ended like a nightmare as they showcased the inconsistency that holds back upwardly-mobile Associate teams. There was disciplined, if somewhat limited bowling; there were breath-taking fielding efforts to go with grassed sitters; and there was the glaring inability to land the knockout punch, as they let things drift after hustling the opponents into a corner. Duminy was ready when they ran out of steam, and made them pay with a well-paced innings.

If Dale Steyn doesn't get you, Morne Morkel will, and Ireland found this out the hard way, chasing a tall score on a wicket with true bounce. Morkel removed the openers with his menacing lengths, and the back-up bowlers, led by Robin Peterson, ensured there were no escape routes for the middle order. Under lights, the game petered out into a mismatch, Ireland's first in a spirited World Cup campaign, and confirmed South Africa's entry into the quarters, while the jostling continues for the remaining spots from Group B.

The one-sided finish seemed unlikely when Ireland's trademark enthusiasm had reduced South Africa to 117 for 5 by the 27th over. Ireland's initial brilliance was epitomised by two outstanding efforts on the field - first, George Dockrell moved rapidly to his left from a widish third man, tumbled, yet held on to a fierce upper cut from Hashim Amla. Then, John Mooney

Smart Stats The win is South Africa's seventh by a margin of hundred or more runs in World Cups. The 131-run margin of defeat is Ireland's biggest in World Cups, surpassing their 129-run loss to New Zealand in 2007. Eden Gardens hosted its 23rd ODI, the most for anyground in India. It has hosted 14 day-night games, which is the third highest among all Indian grounds. JP Duminy's became the second batsman after Adam Gilchrist to be dismissed for 99 in a World Cup match. Overall, there have been 36 occasions when a player has been dismissed in the nineties in World Cups. The 87-run stand between Duminy and Colin Ingram is the highest for the sixth wicket for South Africa in World Cups. The highest sixth-wicket stand for South Africa inODIs is the 137 between Hansie Cronje and Shaun Pollock against Zimbabwe in 1997. The 76 runs conceded by Trent Johnston in his ten overs is the highest by an Irish bowler in a World Cup (completed spell of ten overs). The highest number of runs conceded by an Irish bowler in ODIs is 95 in nine overs by Peter Connell against New Zealand in 2008. Robin Peterson's 3 for 32 is his third three-wicket haul and his second-best bowling performance in ODIs after his 3 for 22 against England in Chennai.

caught a struggling Graeme Smith short with a fierce pick up and throw from midwicket. Smith's exit in the tenth over exposed South Africa's middle order and they continued to wobble as Jacques Kallis was run out for the second successive innings, and Faf du Plessis guided tamely into the slips. Ironically, AB de Villiers' replacement helped South Africa stem the rot that might have never set in if he had been playing. de Villiers' absence allowed Morne van Wyk to bat at No. 3 and Colin Ingram at No. 7, and both batsmen played crucial hands to propel South Africa.

By his own admission, van Wyk's batting is not "poetry in motion", and his cameo at No. 3 justified that evaluation. His loose on-the-up drives without much feet movement left him prone to edges and soft dismissals, and he was lucky to escape twice, with Kevin O'Brien and Paul Stirling spilling straightforward chances. The reprieves had no impact on van Wyk, who kept backing himself to clear the infield, until George Dockrell slipped a perceptive arm-ball past him in the 16th over. van Wyk had by then provided the early momentum, that allowed Duminy and Ingram the time to settle in before turning things around.

Duminy initially chose caution against Dockrell's attacking line outside off, one that spinners have used to torment in him the past. He kept deflecting and nudging, lapping and steering for ones and twos, and his inventiveness inevitably led to the Irish dropping their guard. Ingram cashed in when they delivered loose deliveries, targeting the square fields with a series of powerful horizontal-bat shots. Johnston castled him in the 40th over, but by then South Africa had wrested control.

In the meantime, Duminy had seamlessly shifted gears from nurdle to attack mode, and was on the verge of hitting overdrive. After 46 boundary-less balls, his first four came through the most audacious of reverse-sweeps. By the time he brought up his half-century, caressing Johnston into the covers, his strike-rate was nudging the 80s. Ingram's dismissal forced him to reassess the situation, and he chose to delay the Powerplay to the absolute end.

He had chugged along to 68 when the Powerplay came on by default in the 46th over. A couple of quiet overs from Mooney and Boyd Rankin suggested a whimpering finish. Duminy, however, lined up Trent Johnston for special treatment in the 49th over, dumping him for four and six over the leg side, before forcing another boundary to third man. With three balls to go, and 99 against his name, Duminy did not push the single. He instead looked for the straight six and perished in the outfield. In a sense, it was a fitting end to an innings that was all about shot selection and selflessness. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

South Africa take series despite blazing Yusuf ton

South Africa 250 for (Amla 116*, van Wyk 56, Munaf 3-50) beat India (Yusuf 105, Morkel 4-52) by 33 runs by the D/L method

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In pic: Yusuf Pathan celebrates his second ODI century © AFP

Hashim Amla's century was his sixth in ODIs in the last 12 months © Associated Press Enlarge

Yusuf Pathan launched the sort of assault that has made him a rich man to ensure it wasn't all one-way in Centurion but it wasn't enough to prevent South Africa from snatching the series with a 33-run victory. After a tough tour over the past month-and-a-half, the last day of the series seemed set to be an anti-climactic non-scrap courtesy yet another Hashim Amla century and a slew of reckless strokes from the Indians.

Yusuf, though, blasted a century of utter violence when all looked lost, and after an hour of Yusuf, the South African bowling was looking clueless and India were 49 short, dreaming of a miraculous win. Yusuf clubbed a 68-ball century but holed out soon after, much to the relief of the Sunday crowd at Supersport Park.

The tour had begun with South Africa's crushing Test victory in Centurion and ends with another defeat for the visitors at the same venue. One reason India's bowlers will be thrilled to be heading back home will be that there will be less sparring with Amla, who has plundered more than 1100 runs in the past 11 months against India in Tests and one-dayers. He collected another 116 on Sunday to push South Africa to a tall total in a rain-hit match.

MS Dhoni had chosen to bowl on winning the toss, perhaps swayed by Supersport Park's reputation of being a ground where it is easy to chase in day games. No matter what the past record, though, it is unlikely any team can win when its top-order combusts so spectacularly and heedlessly as India's did. Barring Virat Kohli, the rest of the top six were dismissed not by unplayable deliveries but by attempts at extravagant strokes.

Rohit Sharma's horror series ended as he was bowled by Lonwabo Tsotsobe going for a loose drive through the line; Dhoni's imperious cut ended as an edge to first slip; Yuvraj Singh edged two boundaries to third man before giving catching practice to JP Duminy at point; Suresh Raina smashed a couple of fours before an upper cut sailed to third man; Parthiv Patel was the only one in the top order to inspire confidence, middling nearly every ball for the second innings in a row before falling to a debatable diving catch by Faf du Plessis at cover. India were 74 for 6 in the 14th over, and their only hope of saving the series seemed to be if the ominous clouds circling the stadium brought a massive downpour which washed away the match before the 20th over.

Enter Yusuf. He fell over reverse-sweeping Robin Peterson for a six early in his innings, but the wickets kept tumbling and India slid to 119 for 8. With Zaheer Khan adopting a blithe step-away-and-swing approach, the end seemed minutes away, but he knuckled down after some initial scares and kept turning the strike over to Yusuf.

Indian fans would have nursed little hopes even when bursts of hitting took Yusuf to 66 off 58, and India moved to 175 for 8 in the 33rd over. That all changed as Yusuf pounded three sixes and three fours in the next three overs to race to his century, and a 21-run over from Tsotsobe brought the required-rate below five. Yusuf skied another attempted blast down the ground, and du Plessis latched on to it to settle South African nerves.

Yusuf's ton was in absolute contrast to Amla's in the morning, when the South African chose patience over pyrotechnics to coolly compile his runs - he reached his half-century on the back of 30 consecutive singles. After Graeme Smith's troubles against Zaheer Khan continued - again unsure of how the ball will jag around, he nicked to second slip - Amla let No. 3 Morne van Wyk be the aggressor.

van Wyk grew in confidence as his innings progressed, unleashing a series of powerful cuts whenever he was given width, and even pulling off an audacious lap-shot off Munaf Patel for four.

India went in with only two quick bowlers, and their armada of spinners didn't pose too many questions to the South African batsmen. South Africa glided to 113 for 1 before Yuvraj plucked a spectacular caught-and-bowled to send back van Wyk, and had AB de Villiers stumped with a sharply turning delivery.

Amla and Duminy, the home side's two form batsmen this series, both had lives - Duminy surviving a close lbw shout and Amla dropped at square leg - and revived South Africa with a 102-run stand. The standout shot in Amla's innings was the dab to third man, perfectly timing the ball as he opened the face to pick up several boundaries, one of which brought up his century.

In the four overs that remained after an 80-minute stoppage, South Africa lost their heads and plenty of wickets as panicky running, smart bowling and attempted slogging combined to result in a collapse of 6 for 24. Amla played only two deliveries in those last four overs. India went into lunch on a high, but there was little joy for them after the break till Yusuf's heroics, and their dreams of a maiden series win in South Africa were shattered. -ESPNcricinfo

Inconsistent batting worry India ahead of series-decider

CENTURIAN: With the series tantalisingly poised at 2-2, India will have to quickly regroup and sort out their batting woes as they go into the fifth and final cricket one-dayer here tomorrow against the Proteas, hoping to register their first-ever series triumph on South African soil.


In pic: Rohit Sharma failed to impress © AFP

The Indians have never won a limited-overs series in South Africa and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his young bravehearts will leave no stone unturned to achieve the feat at the SuperSport Park here. But it won't be easy for the visitors as with their 48-run win via Duckworth and Lewis method in the fourth ODI, South Africa have showed that they will not allow the series slip from their hand without a fight.

Down 1-2 after back-to-back defeats in Johannesburg and Durban, the Proteas made a strong comeback in Port Elizabeth last night to level the series and take it to the decider. But going into the match, India would be a worried lot as their middle-order failed yet again in the series.

Young Virat Kohli has been the only bright spot in the series for India in an otherwise out-of-form batting line-up, which has been hit hard by injuries to key players like Sachin Tendulkar and opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. At the St George's Park yesterday, Kohli scored his second half century of the series but his 92-ball unbeaten 87 runs knock was not enough to win the fourth ODI for India. The batting has come a cropper in the series so far with skipper Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina failing to consolidate on the starts they got.

What will be worrying Dhoni the most is the opening slot as Rohit Sharma's woeful run continues at the top while Parthiv Patel, who replaced an out-of-touch Murali Vijay in the last match, failing to make any impact. With World Cup round the corner, India would not only want to win the series here but also be keen to see the youngsters, who have done well in the recent past, show some character on the pacy South Africa pitches before the game's show-piece event, which stars next month. In the second match, too, it was some superb bowling by the Indians that helped them defend a low total of 190.

The likes of Yuvraj and Raina would need to take some responsibility tomorrow to down the ever-fighting Proteas while it is also high time for Dhoni himself to produce something valuable from his bat. Dhoni himself conceded that the middle-order need to fire after the visitors failed to secure a historic series-win in the fourth ODI.

"It's (Kohli's batting) a big positive for us. It's good for us at number three. He has carried through the innings but the other batsmen also need to chip in. The middle-order has not clicked," Dhoni said. "It (final match) will be interesting. The team that handles pressure better will win," he added.

On the bowling front, the Indians so far did a decent job in the series. But the performance of his frontline bowlers in the last match would be worrying Dhoni ahead of the decider. In the last match, except for Ashish Nehra no other frontline bowler has managed a wicket while part-time spinner Yuvraj got three prized scalps. The pace duo of Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel and spinner Harbjhajan Singh turned out to be a tad too expensive and Dhoni would need the trio to deliver in tomorrow's encounter.

However, the Indian skipper can take heart from the part-timers performance with Yuvrj, Raina, Rohit Sharma and Yusuf Pathan all coming good in the middle-overs yesterday. South Africa, on the other hand, will be high on confidence after their series-levelling win in Port Elizabeth and would do whatever it takes to prevent India from creating a first on the African soil.

The Proteas may be missing the required balance in the side in the absence of veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis, but one or the other have chipped in with runs for the home team when they needed most. If it was skipper Graeme Smith in the first two matches, JP Duminy delivered the goods for South Africa in the next two.

The left-handed Duminy scored fifties in consecutive matches to rescue South African innings in both the third as well as fourth ODIs. His crucial 71-run unbeaten knock yesterday turned out to be the match-winner for South Africa. Duminy, who batted till the last, shared two crucial partnerships with Johan Botha (44) and Robin Petersen (31) to rescue South Africa from a precarious situation.

The South African bowling, meanwhile, has been the talking point of the series with both Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tostsobe igniting fire upfront while Botha stemming the run flow in the middle overs.

In Peterson, who impressed with both bat and ball yesterday, South Africa have found an utlity player. All in all a cracker is in the offing in the final match of the series, which has seen some outstanding competitive cricket from both the sides.

The teams (from): India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/keeper), Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Parthiv Patel.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers (wicketkeeper), Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Colin Ingram, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe. -PTI

Match starts 1330 hrs (IST) Live on Ten Cricket and DD National

Bad start wrecked India's chances: Dhoni

DURBAN: Chasing 290 on the bouncy Kingsmead track was always going to be a tough task, said Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the humiliating 135-run loss to South Africa in the first ODI but insisted that the target was gettable had the visitors not lost early wickets. "We could have done better. When you are playing with four bowlers, you are under a bit of pressure, that if one of the bowler don't bowl well then you have to make those overs with the part timers. Fortunately in this game our part timers bowled really well and they brought us back into the game," Dhoni told reporters here last night.


In pic: The South Africa players celebrate the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar © AFP

"But still chasing 290 runs was a stiff target especially on the Kingsmead track. If we would have got a good start then we could have fancied our chances," he added. India lost four wickets for a mere 43 runs and Dhoni said the poor start put a lot of pressure on the lower half of the batting order. "Playing well against quality fast bowlers on new white ball is going to be a huge challenge. This wicket had a bit of bounce but it was not that quick a wicket. We could have negotiated the first 8-10 overs and then could have gone for runs. "But we lost couple of wickets earlier on and then again we lost few in the middle overs. That put pressure on our lower middle order," he said.

Asked whether going in with six batsmen was a gamble that didn't pay off, Dhoni said, "we picked Rohit keeping in mind the Kingsmead wicket. He played reasonably well...got bad decision but it is just part and parcel of the game. "He bowled and fielded well too. So you can always debate about whether to go in with 6 specialised batters or 5 specialised bowlers," he added.

Dhoni also defended the inclusion of Ashish Nehra in the squad despite the pacer being short of match practice. "Honestly speaking these are the four-five fast bowlers we have got. We do not have many options to play with. So we have to back them to do well. Whether they are in match practice or not what is important is that we take care of these bowlers and they should go in the World Cup without any injuries," he explained.

Despite the heavy loss, Dhoni said the Indians will bounce back in the five-match series, the second game of which is on Saturday. "This question was asked when we had lost centurion test. We can play better cricket than this. That way cricket is good game as in every match you start afresh. We have to click as a unit to win matches. "We should bat with positive intent and try our best to get a good start. Talking about the wicket, it did change a bit. Under lights the ball had a bit more bounce and movement," he said.

Dhoni said Virat Kohli's fighting half century was one of the positives he would take from the game. "Virat batted well and our part timers bowled well. It was good to see Zaheer bowling well and Munaf too. But together we have to click," he said. The Indian skipper was also generous in his praise for rival medium pacer Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who grabbed four wickets in the match. "He is good and a different type of bowler. He bowls at 130kmph speed but he gets bounce. He hits right areas," Dhoni said. -PTI

Ruthless SA win by 135 runs

South Africa 289 for 9 (de Villiers 76, Duminy 73, Amla 50) beat India 154 (Kohli 54, Tsotsobe 4-31) by 135 runs

In pic: AB de Villiers' 76 off 69 balls set up what turned out to be a winning total of 289 for South Africa © Getty Images

India had to survive the new ball if they were going to make a fist of chasing 290 but they were gasping for breath within 11 overs, after slipping to 43 for 4, and never quite recovered. South Africa had threatened twice to run away to a mammoth total in their innings. India pulled them back on both occasions to keep the target below 300, but the chase went nowhere. South Africa were 82 for 2 in the 14th over before Munaf Patel removed Hashim Amla to slow the innings down, but the hosts bounced back to reach 213 for 3 in the 36th over, when AB de Villiers fell and India clawed their way back once again.

The ball was expected to do a bit under lights and the top order, barring Virat Kohli, collapsed without much fight. The dismissal of Yuvraj Singh perfectly captured South Africa's dominance on a bouncy track. Morne Morkel got one to kick up and jag away from Yuvraj, who got his feet into an awful tangle, and ended up stabbing the ball to second slip.

It was that kind of a night: the India batsmen struggled to adapt to the conditions and they went down in a heap. M Vijay was trapped in front in the first over of the innings by a full delivery from Dale Steyn and Sachin Tendulkar perished to a pre-determined move to shuffle across his stumps. There was a short fine-leg in place for Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Tendulkar moved across to drag a short-of-length delivery past that fielder but only succeeded in top-edging a dolly to Steyn.

India recovered from 13 for 2 to reach 41 without further damage but a double strike by Morne Morkel pushed them further back. Morne had hustled and hurried Rohit Sharma into having a few injudicious wafts outside off but Rohit was eventually unlucky to be given out, caught behind by AB de Villiers. It was a gem of a delivery that kicked up and straightened just outside off and Rohit hit his pad with the bat as he pushed inside the line but the umpire mistook the sound for an edge.

Yuvraj Singh proved a walking wicket in these seaming conditions and India were left staring down the barrel after MS Dhoni's run out just before the half-way mark. Kohli hit a straight drive but the bowler Wayne Parnell got a hand on it to accidentally run out Dhoni and leave India with a mountain to climb. Kohli hung around for a while but once he fell to Steyn, the lower order just crumbled.

South Africa's bowlers blew away India but it was their batsmen who set up the win. It was a fascinating late afternoon at Durban after Amla's exit. There was an imminent threat of a collapse in the air: South Africa had a long tail, JP Duminy can be an iffy starter against spin and the ball was starting to stop on the batsman a touch. de Villiers and Duminy initially batted like men who were aware of these threats. They added 47 runs in a little over 12 overs and the hosts had reached 132 for 3 in 25.4 overs when a single shot turned things around for them. de Villiers charged down the track to Harbhajan Singh and didn't quite seem to connect well, but his sliced golf-shot sent the ball into the screaming fans beyond long-off. When Duminy slog-swept Yuvraj Singh for a six in the next over, it was official: they had broken free of the shackles.

They followed it up with a smart move: they took the Batting Powerplay in the 28th over and looted 45 runs of the five overs. de Villiers made 28 of them, with a hat-trick of fours - a pull, a skillful inside-out hit over cover, and a slice over point - against Ashish Nehra in the final Powerplay over to leave South Africa sitting pretty at 192 for 3.

Things were looking dire for India and Dhoni decided to bring in part-time spinners Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina. de Villiers pulled Rohit straight to deep midwicket in the 36th over, David Miller played inside the line to lose his off stump against Raina in the 39th, and then in the 42nd Duminy missed a reverse sweep and was trapped in front by Rohit. The tail didn't have the skill to add too many and South Africa meandered towards the end of their innings.

It was quite a contrast to the frenetic start to the innings, with Amla going after Nehra in some style. The bat-speed was rapid, and time and again he played on the up and through the line. There were some trademark cover drives on a stretched front foot and the highlight was the hat-trick of fours he unleashed against Nehra in the seventh over. Amla whacked a short ball to the midwicket boundary, then walked down the pitch to lace a length delivery to the left of mid-off before he pinged that region with an off drive. There was a caressed straight drive for three runs in the same over and he put away couple of slower ones from Munaf for boundaries. His dismissal put pressure on the middle order but de Villiers and Duminy ensured that their bowlers had a score to defend. -ESPNcricinfo