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South Africa completed India’s annihilation into the World Twenty20, grinding them down on a dusty Trent Bridge wicket, beating them by 12 runs.
If sharp pace bowling was India’s undoing against West Indies and England, today it be spin as India came apart chasing a modest target of 131, finishing at 118-8.
India’s openers raced to 48 in quick time but fell apart no sooner than the slow spin of Roelof van der Merwe plus Johan Botha be brought on.
Botha accounted for Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh at crucial points in the match, finishing with 3-16, while van der Merwe dismissed Yusuf Pathan for a duck.
Gambhir hit one to deep cover, Raina mistimed a slog sweep to long-on with Harbhajan, batting with MS Dhoni as his runner, hit a full toss to mid wicket.
The ball was turning with jumping when Yusuf offered the most timid of catches to extra cover.
Skipper Dhoni, his tournament empty of runs or wins, made 5 in 12 balls before he complete a disastrous call for a single only to be run out.
With his partners struggling to rotate the strike, Yuvraj Singh found himself in a corner all over again — as he has been into each of his innings in the tournament — and made 25 before he fell caught behind.
AB de Villiers’ sublime 63 stood out on a day India bowled 14 overs of spin plus South Africa — never known for quality spin — bowled nine.
India bowled eight bowlers. Their pacers — barring RP Singh’s first over dismissal of Herschelle Gibbs — bared no fangs.
It be Harbhajan and Ravindra Jadeja who turned the game around, bowling seven overs for 29 runs between them, taking the wickets of Graeme Smith also de Villiers.
South Africa has now won five games out of five in the tournament and has enhanced their reputation as the favourites to win the World Twenty20.
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