Centurion, Jan 23: South Africa beat India by 33 runs in the fifth and final ODI at SuperSport Park Centurion today. The hosts, who might have handed India an even bigger defeat, survived a Yusuf Pathan blitz (105 off 70 balls) to win the five-match series 3-2.
Set to chase a Duckworth/Lewis target of 268 in 46 overs after rain had curtailed South Africa’s innings, the Indian top-order struggled to mount any kind of real challenge. Apart from opener Parthiv Patel (38), none of the other top-order batsmen got going. In fact Rohit Sharma (5), Virat Kohli (2), MS Dhoni (5) and Yuvraj Singh (8) all posted single-digit scores.
But Yusuf Pathan gave India hope of pulling off a stunning win. The all-rounder was severe on the South Africans as he hit as many as eight sixes off their bowling attack. His partnership with Zaheer Khan, which came about with the Indian score at 119/8, contributed 100 runs to India’s run chase in just 12.4 overs. Pathan brought up his 100 in just 68 deliveries and at that stage, the Indians certainly looked like they were within reach of the target.
Morne Morkel, who had earlier taken the wickets of Patel, Kohli and Dhoni, then forced Pathan into playing a mistimed lofted shot off a short of good length delivery. Faf du Plessis took a comfortable catch to bring Pathan’s wonderful innings to an end. Zaheer Khan (24) fell 15 runs later to hand South Africa a 33-run victory.
Earlier, Hashim Amla struck an unbeaten century (116* off 132 balls) to help South Africa post a total of 250/9 in 46 overs. Put in to bat after MS Dhoni won the toss, South Africa lost Graeme Smith (7) early. The South African captain edged a Zaheer Khan delivery outside the off stump to Yusuf Pathan at second slip.
Morne van Wyk, coming in at No. 3, played a crucial innings in the context of the match. Batting with Hashim Amla, the duo put on 97 runs for the second wicket with van Wyk even posting his half-century off 53 balls. Yuvraj Singh then brought India right back into the game by taking a wonderful, one-handed return catch to send van Wyk (53) back and having AB de Villiers (11) stumped by Dhoni off his bowling.
But this was Amla’s day. The opener did not let the fall of those two wickets slow down South Africa’s momentum. In JP Duminy he found an able partner and the two took their side to a position of strength. Amla even brought up his century with a delectable late cut off Suresh Raina in just 113 deliveries.
Rain abruptly brought the game to a halt with the hosts placed comfortably at 226/3 at the start of the 43rd over. It was a disappointing disruption as the hosts were looking to finish their innings on a high.
The game only resumed after a 90-minute stoppage with the number of overs reduced to 46-per-side. India came back strongly in the last four overs allowing the hosts to add only 24 more runs while removing six wickets. Hashim Amla remained not out on 116, while Munaf Patel, with three wickets to his credit, was the pick of the Indian bowlers.
Brief Score: South Africa 250/9 in 46 overs (Hashim Amla 116*, Morne van Wyk 53, Munaf Patel 3/50) beat India 234 all out in 40.2 overs (Yusuf Pathan 105, Parthiv Patel 38, Morne Morkel 4/52) by 33 runs under the D/L method
Man-of-the-Match: Hashim Amla for an unbeaten 116 runs
Man-of-the-Series: South African pacer Morne Morkel for grabbing 12 wickets in the series at an economy rate of 3.70
