World Cup, India vs South Africa Live: South Africa pull India back with quick ... - Firstpost

Feb 22, 2015

• 11:47 (IST)
  
  Over 35: India 183/2 (Dhawan 103, Rahane 28)


• 09:22 (IST)
  
  Over 2.5: India 9/1 (Dhawan 9)

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  13:08(IST)

  
  
  
  

  
  

  I am going to take a quick break and grab something to eat and then we will be back for what should be an exciting sceond innings. If India can successfully defend this total, it would be a big statement to make as they seek to defend their World Cup trophy.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  13:06(IST)

  
  


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  13:06(IST)

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Rahane: I really enjoyed batting in the middle. I knew I was batting well. Took my time initially then capitalised. I think it was important to carry teh momentum because Virat and Shikhar were batting very well. Wicket was really good. It is a pretty decent total. Big outfields here. First 10 overs will be very crucial for us.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  13:04(IST)

  
  
  
  

  
  

  India will be disappointed they did not get more but 307 is still a defendable score. South Africa have the fire power to chase it down though. If they can put India's bowlers under early pressure, 307 might not be enough.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  13:03(IST)

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Over 50: India 307/7 (Ashwin 5, Shami 4)

  
  

  Ashwin has a swipe at Steyn and misses. Then shovels a yorker to mid-on for a single. YORKER! Steyn pulls it back and bowl a length ball and Shami pulls him to deep square leg. That’s followed by a couple of swings and misses. And then a final swing and miss off the last ball. All those deliveries were full, outside off and swinging away. Just five off the last over.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  13:00(IST)

  
  


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  12:59(IST)

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Over 49: India 302/7 (Ashwin 4, Shami 0)

  
  

  Morkel bowls the penultimate over. Ashwin backs away and dabs Morne to third man for a single. Dhoni, trusting Ashwin more than he once did Ambati Rayudu, takes a single too. Then Ashwin wafts at a short ball and misses. He resorts to moving around in his crease and somehow shovels Morne over mid-on and picks up three. Tahir does well to slide and cut the ball off just short of the boundary. Brings up India’s 300.

  
  

  OUT! Dhoni tries an odd shot. Moves across and tries to pull a bouncer above head height outside off. Gets a thin nick and South Africa celebrate again.

  
  

  MS Dhoni c †de Kock b Morkel 18 (11b 3x4 0x6)

  
  

  Headless cricket from India at the death.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  12:54(IST)

  
  


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  12:53(IST)

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Over 48: India 297/6 (Dhoni 17, Ashwin 0)

  
  

  Dhoni is still there though and he isn’t done. Dhoni expertly tucks a short ball between short fine leg and deep square leg for four. Parnell pitches it up, as you do, and Dhoni goes down on one knee and spanks him past the stumps. So Parnell goes back to the short back and Dhoni pulls him over square leg for his third boundary on the trot. Poor bowling and poor captaincy, says Ganguly. I concur. A short ball wide follows to add insult to injury.

  
  

  Dhoni can’t connect off the last ball and there is no run but 13 off the over will do.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  12:48(IST)

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Over 47.2: India 284/6 (Dhoni 5)

  
  

  OUT! Jadeja takes on AB at mid-off and loses. The umpire doesn't even bother to go with the third umpire. Just raises his finger. India collapsing after the good work by the top order, much as they did against Pakistan.

  
  

  RA Jadeja run out 2 (4b 0x4 0x6)

  
  

  
  
  
  

Preview

Melbourne: India is brimming with renewed self-belief after an opening World Cup win against Pakistan, and star batsman Virat Kohli says a victory over South Africa on Sunday would take that confidence level to even greater heights.

After a lackluster test and one-day series against Australia this summer, India has been buoyed by victory over its arch rival, and is again upbeat as it heads into a tough Cricket World Cup Pool B match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against one of the tournament favorites.

For India, much will depend on Virat Kohli. Getty

"South Africa is, as we all know, one of the top sides in the world and they have a good balance of batting and bowling, and their fielding is a rare standard in international cricket," Kohli said Saturday. "To get over that hurdle tomorrow will be immense self-belief booster for us in many ways.

"It's very important to hold momentum in a tournament like the World Cup. We started off on a good note and something we'll be looking to build on over the next few games."

South Africa captain A.B. de Villiers is putting less stock in India's performances, or anyone's, bar that of his own team.

"I'm not too worried about other teams' results, even though we are part of the whole tournament, and it does influence us," he said. "We know India is still the world champions. We know they are an incredible cricket team, so the respect factor is definitely still there."

South Africa also opened its World Cup with a win, albeit a slightly less convincing 62-run victory over neighbor Zimbabwe.

The Proteas were in trouble at 83-4 before David Miller and J.P. Duminy smashed game-saving centuries in a 256-run, fifth-wicket stand.

"Sometimes the top three is going to score a hundred, sometimes 200, sometimes 300. There will be games where we'll be 10-3, maybe even 20-4," de Villiers said. "That's a team. You operate together as a unit. Sometimes the bowlers will win you games, sometimes the batters will."

A crowd of more than 85,000 — mostly India fans — is expected at the MCG.

"I'm pretty happy that it's going to be packed. The last few games I played here it wasn't full, and it almost feels wrong in a way," de Villiers said. "It should be good to get the blood flowing tomorrow playing in front of the big crowd in a big stadium with great tradition and history."

South Africa has won 43 of its 70 one-dayers against India, and all three at the World Cup. De Villiers' side also won both games of the most recent one-day series between the teams in December 2013, with the third game rained out.

Kohli, who assumed the test captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the series against Australia, has had a prolific southern summer with the bat, with his century against Pakistan being the latest in a string of tons during the tour.

Back at his preferred spot of No. 3 in the batting order after an experiment at No. 4 during last month's tri-series against Australia and England, Kohli recognized the growing level of expectation surrounding his performances and role in the team.

"If you do well regularly, people want you to play well in every game," he said. "I can't virtually score a century in every game that I play. As long as I know what I'm doing with my batting and the kind of mindset I'm in, I'm not really worried about anything else."

South Africa will not rely entirely on its famed pace battery on Sunday, with de Villers identifying leg-spinner Imran Tahir as a weapon against a strong Indian batting lineup.

"I see him as a match winner against any team in the world," he said. "It's a matter of bowling him at the right times, and that's my job, to make sure he bowls at the right times in order to give him the best opportunity to win us games, and that's what he's best at doing."

AP