Pace bowlers Allan Dawson and Makhaya Ntini shared seven scalps as South Africa defeated India by five wickets in a three-nation tournament.
Dawson took 4-49 and Ntini 3-37 on a lively pitch used for the first time in the tournament to help bowl out India for 215. Neil McKenzie (80) then saw the team to a well-deserved win with eight balls to spare.
The Indian batting line-up struggled from early on as Ntini tormented them with some incisive bowling, Dawson bowled spot-on and the rest of the attack put up a disciplined effort. Ntini was the pick of the lot, extracting good pace and bounce from the pitch. He dismissed Gautam Gambhir, Sanjay Bangar and Ajit Agarkar and also put other batsmen in discomfort with his rising deliveries.
Virender Sehwag was hit on the forearm by one such ball, but came out to bat again and also took the field later despite a ruptured tissue for which a doctor had advised 48 hours’ rest. Dawson took the important wickets of Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia to peg the Indian middle-order back and followed them up with those of Harbhajan Singh and Sarandeep Singh.
Captain Sourav Ganguly top-scored with 61 off 83 deliveries, hitting six fours and a six. He was out when he hit a full toss from spinner Paul Adams straight to Shaun Pollock at long-off.
The left-hander’s 52nd one-day half-century included some delectable shots through the off-side and he looked good for his 23rd one-day ton. Mohammad Kaif chipped in with 30 off 49 and was bowled by Dawson while going for a drive.
Dawson had almost got him on 16, but Jacques Rudolph let off a simple catch at mid-wicket.
The South African reply got a jolt with a twin-strike from Harbhajan in his very first over, when he bowled Boeta Dippenaar and trapped Herschelle Gibbs leg before wicket to reduce South Africa to 42-3.
But McKenzie saw the team out of trouble, putting on 63 runs for the fourth wicket with left-hander Jacques Rudolph (37) and 107 for the fifth with Mark Boucher (44 not out). McKenzie started cautiously but displayed a wide array of shots later in his 110-ball innings, that came with the help of five hits to the fence.
He was finally dismissed by Harbhajan, whose three-wicket haul took him to 100 wickets in his 76th match. South Africa’s win has enhanced interest in the tournament as India were unbeaten till this match.
Both teams had ensured berths in the final before this match. South Africa made no change from the side that played Bangladesh on Thursday.
For India, Ganguly and Harbhajan came in for batsman Abhijit Kale and leg-spinner Amit Mishra. Paceman Zaheer Khan, with a pulled hamstring, and left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh, who has flu, did not figure in the first 11, but are expected to play in Sunday’s final. – Sapa-AFP