Dhoni-led India beat SA; Advance

India made a couple of Cha(wla)nges to their playing eleven – Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan made way for Dinesh Karthik and Twenty20 International debutant Piyush.

South Africa made three changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Herschelle Gibbs, Johan Botha and Wayne Parnell made way for Jacques Kallis, Loots Bosman and Rory Kleinveldt.

On winning the toss, Graeme Smith, South Africa’s skipper, inserted the Indians.

Murali Vijay, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the Mark. A couple of balls into the match, he was caught by Boucher. Kleinveldt broke the four-run stand.

Karthik, whose 17-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 16. Thirty-one balls later, he was caught by Smith. Kallis broke the 28-run stand.

India scored 50 off 8.3 overs (54 balls). South Africa had conceded three extras at that point.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 35 balls. While the contribution of Suresh Raina, the player of the match, to the partnership was 32, Yuvraj Singh’s contribution to it was 18. Extras didn’t contribute to the partnership.

India scored 100 off 13.1 overs (83 balls). South Africa had conceded four extras at that point.

Raina’s half-century – which included four boundaries and a six – came off 42 balls.

Yuvraj, whose 30-ball innings included four boundaries and a couple of sixes, eventually scored 37. Sixty-two balls after Karthik’s dismissal, he was caught by Smith. Kleinveldt broke the 88-run partnership.

India scored 150 off 17.4 overs (111 balls). South Africa had conceded five extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Yusuf Pathan, whose seven-ball innings included a boundary, scored 11. Sixteen balls later, he was caught by Roelof van der Merwe. Dale Steyn broke the 43-run stand.

Raina’s ton – which included nine boundaries and five sixes – came off 59 balls. He eventually faced 60 balls, scoring 101. Seven balls later, he was caught by A B de Villiers. Albie Morkel broke the 15-run stand.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whose six-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 16. He was unbeaten, as was Harbhajan Singh, who didn’t face a ball.

India scored 186 for the loss of five wickets off 20 overs.

Van der Merwe bowled an over, conceding 13. He was wicketless, as was Morne Morkel, who bowled four overs, conceding 32.

Albie bowled three overs, conceding 39. He picked up a wicket, as did Kallis and Steyn, who bowled four overs apiece. While the former conceded 30, the latter conceded 24. Kleinveldt bowled four overs, conceded 48. He picked up two scalps.

Bosman, who faced 14 boundaries, scored eight. Twenty-eight balls into the chase, he was caught by Chawla. Yusuf Pathan broke the 21-run stand.

South Africa scored 50 off 8.4 overs (52 balls). India had conceded three extras at that point.

The second-wicket pair put on 50 off 43 balls. While Kallis’ contribution to the partnership was 26, Smith’s contribution to it was 23. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a couple.

Kallis’ half-century – which included three boundaries – came off 45 balls.

South Africa scored 100 off 14.2 overs (86 balls). India had conceded three extras at that point.

The second-wicket pair put on (Dho)ninety-seven. Smith, whose 28-ball innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes, scored 36. Sixty-five balls after Bosman’s dismissal, Praveen Kumar and the man from Ranchi ran him out.

Kallis, whose 54-ball innings included three sixes and as many sixes, eventually scored 73. Half-a-dozen balls (Chaw)later, he was caught by Ravindra Jadeja. The leg-spinner broke the 10-run stand.

South Africa scored 150 off 18.1 overs (110 balls). India had conceded four extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Although his innings included a six, Albie, who scored a dozen, had no reason to be in seventh heaven. A dozen balls later, he was caught by Harbhajan. Pathan broke the 24-run stand.

De Villiers, whose 15-ball innings included a boundary and three sixes, scored 31. Seven balls later, he was caught by Chawla. Ashish Nehra broke the 15-run stand.

Boucher, who faced a couple of balls, scored four. He was unbeaten, as was Jean-Paul Duminy, who faced a ball, scoring a boundary.

South Africa, who scored 172 for the loss of five wickets off 20 overs, lost by 14 runs.

Kumar, who bowled an over, conceded three. He was wicketless, as was Jadeja and Harbhajan, who bowled four overs apiece. While the former conceded 37, the latter conceded 33.

Chawla, who bowled three overs, conceded 27. He picked up a wicket, as did Nehra, who bowled four overs, conceding 27. Pathan, who bowled four overs, conceded 42. He picked up two scalps.

India advanced to the Super Eights.