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

Tsotsobe puts South Africa in control

50 overs India 190 (Yuvraj 53, Dhoni 38, Tsotsobe 4-22) v South Africa

In pic: India collapsed after the fall of Yuvraj Singh © Associated Press

A disciplined bowling performance from South Africa choked India at Wanderers, keeping them to a below-par score on a track that is expected to last out the day. Unlike in Durban, it wasn't the bounce that India's batsmen struggled against but nagging lines and lengths from the seamers, particularly Lonwabo Tsotsobe, and variations in pace from Johan Botha. India tried hard, promising to set the stage for a fighting score through two fighting partnerships but such was South Africa's determination to limit the visitors that a wicket never seemed too far away.

India approached their innings cautiously under overcast skies after opting to bat, and the openers were averse to chasing deliveries bowled outside off due to the movement off the pitch. Dale Steyn and Tsotsobe consistently bowled in the corridor outside off and were only targeted when they delivered full and straight. M Vijay flicked Steyn over square leg, while Tendulkar drove him past midwicket for a boundary but they were rare moments of relief for the batsmen.

At a venue that has traditionally been favourable for batting, South Africa capitalised on what little assistance was on offer and India's consequent circumspection. Tendulkar had taken 10 balls to score, while Vijay had been lucky to edge a slog over the slips. A similar attempt in the eighth over off Tsotsobe didn't pay off, however, and he skied a catch to mid-on. Tsotsobe benefited from angling the ball across the batsmen, getting the ball to cut away and beating attempts to open the face and press on. Not gifted with pace as his Steyn or Morne Morkel, Tsotsobe's role has been a largely containing one but his accuracy amid the India's pressure to get up to speed as the pitch eased out was to earn him some more rewards later in the innings.

Tsotsobe's possible competition for the spot of a third seamer in the World Cup is Wayne Parnell, and his introduction into the attack along with Virat Kohli's arrival at the crease infused some urgency to India's innings. Parnell bowled a length and line different to that of his team-mates, and was driven handsomely by Kohli down the ground and Tendulkar past midwicket. Made less potent by his lack of movement, Parnell was taken for runs mostly through the leg side.

Though the flow of runs increased, what remained consistent was the uncertainty in the running between the wickets. Tendulkar survived two run-out attempts and when he refused a single, it was Kohli who paid the price, dislodged by a direct hit from David Miller. Tendulkar didn't last long after that, inside-edging a slowish delivery that kept low from Botha onto the stumps.

The end of that hard-fought partnership meant MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh had to build from scratch, and they set about leading India's recovery as the field spread out. Displaying little signs of getting bogged down, neither batsman felt compelled to take any undue risks and instead ensured a steady scoring rate through working the field. Both used the sweep and the paddle, while Yuvraj often drove straight to pinch twos thanks to a wider-than-normal long-on. Bad balls were a rarity but Yuvraj was prompt to punish them when on offer; he slashed Morkel over point and flicked Tsotsobe to the fine-leg boundary to raise his half-century. The stand was worth 83 and with 13 more overs to go, a score of 240 was on.

But Tsotsobe struck next ball as Yuvraj drove straight into mid-off's hands, and he returned when India took the batting Powerplay to trap Suresh Raina plumb in front. If that wasn't enough, he backed up his wicket-maiden in the Powerplay but yorking Dhoni to finish with his best figures in the 50-over format and potentially, a second consecutive Man-of-the-Match award.

The rest of the line-up folded in little time, with the tail succumbing to ill-executed attempts to clear the field and Rohit Sharma being trapped in front when walking across to a Morkel delivery to mark another dispiriting performance with the bat for the visitors. -ESPNcricinfo

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