India advance; SA are D(hon)isappointed

India made no changes to their playing eleven.

South Africa made five changes to the (Mork)eleven that last played the Indians – Jacques Kallis, Farhaan Behardien, Robin Peterson, Johan Botha and Morne made way for Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Beuran Hendicks, Imran Tahir and Wayne Parnell.

On winning the toss, Faf du Plessis, South Africa’s skipper, chose to bat.

The first Powerplay of South Africa’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 44, and lost a couple of wickets.

De Kock, whose four-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. Four balls later, he was caught by Mahendra Singh, India’s skipper. Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke the (Dho)nine-run stand.

Hashim, whose 16-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 22. Twenty-seven balls (Am)later, Ravichandran Ashwin broke the 35-run stand.

South Africa scored 50 off 7.2 overs (44 balls). India had conceded five extras at that point.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 43 balls. While du Plessis’ contribution to the partnership was 37, Jean-Paul Duminy’s contribution to it was 10. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was three.

Du Plessis’ half-century – which included five boundaries and a six – came off 36 balls.

South Africa scored 100 off 12.3 overs (76 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave India no reason to be in seventh heaven.

Du Plessis, whose 41-ball innings included five boundaries and a couple of sixes, eventually scored 58. Fifty-two balls later, Ashwin broke the 71-run partnership.

A B de Villiers, whose eight-ball innings included a boundary, scored 10. Ten balls after du Plessis’ dismissal, he was caught by Rohit Sharma. Ashwin broke the 14-run stand.

South Africa scored 150 off 18.3 overs (112 balls). India had conceded eight extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Duminy, whose 40-ball innings included a boundary and three sixes, eventually conceded 45. He was unbeaten, as was Miller, who scored 23. His 12-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six.

South Africa scored 172 for the loss of eight wickets off 20 overs.

Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded eight. Amit Mishra and Mohit Sharma who bowled three wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 36, the latter conceded 34. Suresh Raina, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 35.

Kumar, who bowled four overs, conceded 33. He picked up a wicket. Ashwin, who bowled four overs, conceded 22. He picked up three scalps.

The first Powerplay of India’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 56, and lost a wicket.

Rohit Sharma, whose 13-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 24. Twenty-three balls into the chase, he was caught by du Plessis. Hendricks broke the 39-run stand.

India scored 50 off five overs (30 balls). South Africa had conceded four extras at that point.

Ajinkya Rahane, whose 30-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 32. Thirty-four balls after Rohit’s dismissal, he was caught de Villiers. Parnell broke the 38-run stand.

India scored 100 off 12.3 overs (75 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave South Africa no reason to be in seventh heaven.

Virat Kohli was the player of the match. His half-century – which included a boundary and a couple of sixes – came off 35 balls. He eventually scored 72 off 44 balls, which included five boundaries, in addition to the aforementioned number of sixes. He was unbeaten.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 37 balls. While Kohli’s contribution to the partnership was 36, Yuvraj Singh’s contribution to it was 18. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a run.

Yuvraj, whose 17-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, didn’t add to the aforementioned score. T(a)hirty-nine balls later, he was caught by de Villiers. The leggie broke the 56-run partnership.

India scored 150 off 16.5 overs (101 balls). South Africa had conceded eight extras at that point.

Raina, whose 10-ball innings included three boundaries and a six, scored 21. Fifteen balls after Yuvraj’s dismissal, he was caught by du Plessis. Hendricks broke the 34-run stand.

Dhoni, who faced a ball, failed to get off the mark. He was unbeaten.

South Africa eventually conceded nine extras. India, who scored 176 for the loss of four wickets off 19.1 overs, won by half-a-dozen wickets with five balls to spare.

Albie Morkel bowled two wicketless overs, conceding 17. Duminy bowled three wicketless overs, conceding 29. Dale Steyn bowled 3.1 wicketless overs, conceding 36.

Parnell bowled three overs, conceded 33. He picked up a wicket, as did Tahir, who bowled four overs, conceding 30. Hendricks bowled four overs, conceding 31. He picked up two scalps.

India advanced to the final.