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Scorecard Summary
SOUTH AFRICA 220 (49.2 OVERS)
- Faf du Plessis60 (78)
- Jean-Paul Duminy52 (59)
- Harbhajan Singh2/23 (9)
- Zaheer Khan3/43 (9.2)
INDIA 223/8 (48.2 OVERS)
- Yusuf Pathan59 (50)
- Suresh Raina37 (47)
- Morne Morkel3/28 (10)
- Dale Steyn2/31 (10)
Whew, that was a thriller. Some superb bowling from Steyn and Morkel, but that was overshadowed by the lethal hitting of Yusuf, who surely has confirmed a place in the World Cup starting XI, and the nerves of steel of Harbhajan. Two clean hits for six from Harbhajan steered India to victory, just as he had in the high-profile India v Pakistan match in the Asia Cup last year.
South Africa were let down by their batting and the back-up bowling - Parnell is still short of confidence. The positives for SA was the confident debut of Faf du Plessis, though we didn't get to see much of his leg spin.
Post-match presentation: Smith: "Obviously very disappointing, we were some 20 runs short. 240 was a good score on this wicket, full credit to Yusuf whose innings made the difference, the pitch was a bit up-and-down and there was sideways movement as well. Our last five batters managed only 19 runs and lost five wickets in the Powerplay, we could have scored 30-40 runs in that period. We just have to re-group and look to be better than we were today."
Yusuf Pathan is the Man of the Match for his quickfire half-century. "Good win for us. The hundred against NZ has made a big change in my career and also my confidence. If I get the ball in my area, I'd go for it."
MS Dhoni has a big grin on his face. "Very good effort from the lower middle order. The death bowling and Powerplay was also very good from us. We just told the youngsters to play their natural game, we want Yusuf to play the sort of game he plays. Harbhajan is kind of an allrounder for us, though we don't put the pressure on him by calling him an allrounder, and he's been bowling very well, taking the momentum away from the South Africans. Catching has been decently good, we have been outstanding so far, ground fielding has also improved a bit."
Vijay007 says: "With matches like these, who needs to go to the gym to give the heart a good workout?"
Sriram Veera has the bulletin of the match here. Do send us your six-word reports for this game. We'll publish the best ones on Page 2.
That's it from me Siddarth Ravindran, thanks for all the mails. If you are craving more cricket, hop on over to our commentary of the final day of the Pakistan-New Zealand Test which starts in around half an hour.
Slip and short leg in place for Nehra
Botha to bowl, no more options for Smith
END OF OVER:48 | 2 Runs | IND: 218/8 (3 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 4.54, RRR: 1.50)
- Ashish Nehra2 (9b)
- Harbhajan Singh22 (24b)
- Wayne Parnell8-0-53-0
- Morne Morkel10-0-28-3
Two slips in place
Match Coverage
All Match NewsSmith left to rue missed opportunities
Two matches, two close defeats, crucial mistakes in the final stages of both matches. South Africa have to be hurting
If it's in his area, Yusuf will hurt you
Yusuf Pathan will struggle against the short ball, he will take blows on his body, but if you pitch it in his hitting area, he will make a clean connection and he will hurt you
Yusuf shines as India win thriller
Yusuf Pathan swung the game India's way with three brutal shots and Harbhajan Singh sealed a close win with two sixes, to give India a 2-1 lead in the series
AB's gift, and Munaf surprises
ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the day of the third ODI between South Africa and India in Cape Town
Much to work on for teams after Wanderers thriller
Corrie van Zyl believes that the heartbreak at Wanderers on Saturday can be turned around into a positive if taken in the right way