Batsmen flounder as S Africa draw level

Proteas register 48-run win via D/L method

For the fourth time in as many matches, India’s top-order came seriously unstuck; this time, there was no late flourish, no tail-end resurrection as South Africa stormed back into the one-day series.

The Proteas’ 48-run victory by the Duckworth-Lewis method has set the series up for a grandstand finale at SuperSport Park on Sunday, the teams locked 2-2 going into the decider.

Having allowed South Africa to wriggle out of a tight spot and post 265 for seven on the back of man of the match JP Duminy’s unconquered 71, India had floundered to 142 for six when a decisive second rain interruption forced the match to be called off.

Under the D/L method, the par score at that point was 190. The margin of victory might have been scaled down by the two rain breaks, but no one was in any doubt which the clearly superior team was.

India’s feeble chase of an imposing total on a surface that became increasingly sluggish – Dhoni called it slower than many of the Indian tracks – was propelled entirely by Virat Kohli, who is making it extremely difficult to ignore his claims for a place in the starting eleven for the World Cup.

The right-hander batted with an authority and assurance the rest of his colleagues left behind in the change room, his masterly unbeaten 87 (92b, 7x4, 2x6) rounding off a perfect day’s work that included one superb catch and two athletic bits of fielding resulting in crucial run-outs and stymieing South Africa’s early charge.

For the rest of the Indian group, however, it was anything but a perfect day. Rohit Sharma failed for a fourth straight time – how he continues to live on promise when he averages under 28 after 60 internationals will remain an eternal mystery – as did the skipper himself, who must be aware that he must start pulling his weight in run-chases, especially when so much experience has been taken away by the injury-enforced unavailability of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

South Africa’s bowling was as disciplined as it has been over the last ten days, Lonwabo Tsotsobe again doing the early damage and spinners Johan Botha and Robin Peterson enjoying themselves with an older ball which stopped, turned and kept low. Stroke-making was never going to be easy under the less-than-perfect lights at St George’s, but had the Indian top-order been paying attention, it would have learnt from Duminy’s 72-ball compilation in the afternoon which contained just two fours and a six that there were other means of run-scoring than merely belting the ball to the boundary.

That’s where Kohli stood out. Upright at the crease and driving majestically through the off-side while breaking his wrists, he had the measure of the pitch and the bowling from the off. It was as if he was batting on a completely different surface; neither his fluency nor his method rubbed off on his team-mates, who had as good as given up the ghost, it seemed, by the time the run-chase began.

For the briefest of whiles, when Suresh Raina kept Kohli company during a fourth-wicket stand of 63 (71b), India were in with a sniff. Suddenly, they lost three for 16 in 16 deliveries, including last-match hero Yusuf Pathan, through a combination of poor shot-selection, the vagaries of the pitch and an outstanding late-seaming delivery from Morne Morkel to hurtle towards their doom.

The first rain break came with India 137 for six in 31.3 overs; the 77-minute stoppage necessitated a revised target of 260 in 46 overs, but when play resumed, it was only for eight further deliveries. The rain, it must be stressed, hardly altered the course of the match. This was India’s match – and series – to win when they reduced South Africa to 118 for five. Now, they will require one great flourish in Centurion for their maiden series triumph in this country.

Score Board (target: 260 off 46 overs after stoppage)

SOUTH AFRICA
265/7 in 50 overs
INDIA
Rohit c Duminy b Tsotsobe    1
(6b)
P Patel lbw Tsotsobe    11
(24b, 2x4)
Kohli (not out)    87
(92b, 7x4, 2x6)
Yuvraj c Smith b Botha    12
(20b, 1x4, 1x6)
Raina st De Villiers b Peterson    20
(36b)
Dhoni c Du Plessis b Peterson    2
(8b)
Pathan c De Villiers b Morkel    2
(3b)
Harbhajan (not out)    3
(8b)
Extras (LB-2, W-2)    4
Total (for 6 wkts, 32.5 overs)    142
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Rohit), 2-32 (P Patel), 3-49 (Yuvraj), 4-112 (Raina), 5-123 (Dhoni), 6-128 (Pathan).
Bowling: Dale Steyn 4-0-15-0, Lonwabo Tsotsobe 6-1-25-2, Morne Morkel 6-1-13-1 (w-1), Johan Botha 6.5-0-27-1, Peterson 8-0-46-2, Du Plessis 1-0-5-0 (w-1), JP Duminy 1-0-9-0.
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 19/1; 10: 32/2; 20: 69/3; 30: 129/6; end of innings: 142/6 in 32.5 overs.
Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 32/2; Power Play 2: 11-15 overs: 17/1; Power Play 3 (batting): Not taken.