India win despite van Wyk fifty
Morne van Wyck hit a cultured half-century but it was Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina who helped India post a winning score on a low, slow pitch
Morne van Wyck hit a cultured half-century but it was Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina who helped India post a winning score on a low, slow pitch
That's it from the presentation. And that's it from us as well. It has been a good game, and more importantly, marks the end of another great career, that of Makhaya Ntini. This is Abhishek Purohit signing off on behalf of ESPNcricinfo, along with the scorer Gopi Rangarajan. You can read Sriram Veera's bulletin here. Cheers!
Finally, Ntini gets an award from CSA. Ntini: "Hello, Durban. I would say to each and everyone of you, thank you very much for all the support. Been a lovely 12 years. To my family, I really appreciate you guys. I don't know what to say, it was an honour to play cricket with Sachin. To all the South Africa boys, it has been great. I don't wanna take long. We want to party!"
Cricket South Africa honours Sachin Tendulkar for his ongoing contribution to cricket. "I'd like to thank CSA for this gesture. It's been a terrific evening. Thanks for the support, and finally to Makhaya, the great champion. Great bowler, great competitor. Never gave up till the last ball. Till the last ball you didn't allow me to relax, now I can. He is a great role model for everyone."
Dhoni: "Well of course, after winning the toss, we needed to put the runs on the board. Rohit gave us a good start. Once the ball got old, it was difficult to get it away, and our hitters got out. But the total we got was good on this wicket. We have known these conditions in the IPL. The spinners took advantage of the low bounce. Playing football here would have been better here, the stadium dimensions and outfield are designed for soccer. It was a great atmosphere though, good evening to play cricket."
Ntini gets a bowling machine for his cricket academy from Jonty. But first he gets a big hug from Jonty.
Rohit is the Man of the Match. "It was important to start on a good note. And I am thankful it came off at the right time. I will take every opportunity as it comes. I do not want to put pressure on myself. I have been playing domestic games. I have played the IPL here before, and know the conditions here. The wicket was on the slower side. I took my time knowing that we had a good batting line-up."
Botha: "India got a good start. We struggled to put them back. They bowled better than us, better lengths. We were ahead of the required run-rate at one stage, but once we started falling behind, we could not expect the tail enders to do the job. Ntini has been inspirational not only to us cricketers, but for everyone in South Africa."
Hang on for the presentation. Jonty Rhodes is in the presentation party, and gets loud cheers. He looks as fit as ever.
Rayhan: "Its sub continent day today.Pakistan won against NZ...India won against SA :)"
MS Dhoni walks up to Ntini, his former Chennai Super Kings team-mate. Raina hugs him. Kohli and Nehra have a word with the grinning man. He has a stump in hand, now two. The crowd stand to applaud their champion. A career that earned Ntini 390 Test wickets comes to an end. And he goes away smiling, as ever.
South Africa were in control for almost half the chase, but the spinners brought India back in to the game. van Wyk played some amazing shots, but once he fell, India took charge, and won comfortably in the end.
Dhoni and Ntini have a laugh
Makhaya Ntini comes out to bat
J Botha c Sharma b Nehra 25 (36m 22b 1x4 1x6) SR: 113.63
ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the only Twenty20 between South Africa and India in Durban
In Makhaya Ntini's farewell game, it was Rohit Sharma and Morne van Wyk, two players who weren't supposed to be there, who shone brightest
Makhaya Ntini was special not just because he was the first black African cricketer to play for South Africa, but because he bore the responsibility with such grace that South Africans of all colour embraced him
Indians have been in South Africa for 150 years now, and cricket has been one of their connections to the motherland
Morne van Wyck hit a cultured half-century but it was Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina who helped India post a winning score on a low, slow pitch