Cricket Match
India vs S Africa
Last Updated: April 4, 2014 5:19pm
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End of innings
Phew, South Africa simply had no answer to that innings from Virat Kohli. The young Indian batsman was superlative, once again. He started slowly, almost anonymously, but timed his innings to perfection, going through the gears as he put together partnerships of 56 and 34 with Yuvraj and Raina to turn the game decisively in India's favour. One has to question South Africa's decision to open their bowling with Duminy and Morkel, and saving Steyn for the death. Anyway, what's done is done. Congratulations to India, who will face Sri Lanka in the final of the World Twenty20 on Sunday.
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Over 19.1 - Ind 176/4 (Kohli 72, Dhoni 0)
There it is! Kohli takes all of one delivery to end the game, picking up a full length ball from Steyn and smashing it to the wide long-on boundary. Game over! India are into the World Twenty20 final.
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Over 19 - Ind 172/4 (Kohli 68, Dhoni 0)
Hendricks deceives Raina with a slower ball to have him caught at mid-off, but on either side of the wicket, boundaries take India to the brink. Both batsmen go on the pull, Kohli particularly impressively. He crunches the ball to midwicket for a single to level the scores, and Dhoni then blocks one to give Kohli the opportunity to hit the winning runs.
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Over 18 - Ind 163/6 (Kohli 63, Raina 17)
India are cruising towards the final of the World Twenty20, and not even Steyn can stop them now. His first delivery is a wide, and his fourth is flicked to the boundary at cow corner by Virat Kohli's rubbery wrists. Great shot. Not content with that, Kohli walks at the bowler's final delivery and slashes it over point for four more. India need just 10 from two overs, and the match probably won't even go into the final over from Steyn.
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Over 17 - Ind 150/3 (Kohli 52, Raina 16)
Runs flow for India! The 150 comes up for them and, barring something miraculous, this match is theirs. Parnell starts well, with a slower-ball bouncer, but his over unravels rather quickly thereafter. Raina smokes the third ball he faces over long leg with a paddled pull, then top edges a cut as Parnell continues with a short-ball attack. When he does finally pitch it up, Raina inside edges a drive down to fine leg for four.
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Over 16 - Ind 133/3 (Kohli 52, Raina 0)
WICKET! South Africa have another one! Yuvraj chips Tahir down the ground, aiming for wide long off, but the fielder out there is AB de Villiers, and he absolutely hares in and dives forward to hold onto the catch. Still, though, that's not the wicket that South Africa really need. The man at the other end is batting with ominous fluidity, and goes to his fifty with a monstrous slog-sweep to wide long on. Big finish coming up.
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Over 15 - Ind 122/2 (Kohli 42, Yuvraj 17)
Steyn does indeed come back into the attack, and has a good over ruined by a last-ball four off Yuvraj Singh's bat. Steyn steamed in and repeatedly hit a good length, with the fielders in the deep backing him up to keep the batsmen to singles. But his final delivery is a slower ball, pitched right up to the batsman, and with mid-off up Yuvraj chips the ball handsomely down the ground. A great-looking shot. The tension is palpable, but India are on top.
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Over 14 - Ind 113/2 (Kohli 39, Yuvraj 11)
Another probing over from Tahir, who is standing up to the batsmen even as they repeatedly come down the wicket at him. Tahir is a little unfortunate to concede a boundary in this over, Yuvraj stepping back and cutting, but edging the ball very fine down to third man. That wasn't intentional. Just to add a little drama, we're hearing that there are storms around Dhaka. It is also, I believe, time for Steyn to come back into the attack - he's got three overs left and will bowl all three on the trot from here.
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Over 13 - Ind 104/2 (Kohli 36, Yuvraj 5)
Kohli may well be setting himself up for one of his chasing masterclasses here. He steps back to Hendricks' second delivery, rolling his wrists on a powerful pull to collect four to long leg. The boundary takes some of the pressure off for the remainder of the over, and Kohli boosts the score further with a brace of twos. He's so fast between the wickets, and Yuvraj is doing his best to keep up.
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Over 12 - Ind 94/2 (Kohli 27, Yuvraj 4)
Imran Tahir rushes through his second over, and it's another good one. He still doesn't look like flighting the ball much, but responds well to the batsmen's movements to cut out any big shots. The required run rate is creeping up towards 10 ...
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Over 11 - Ind 89/2 (Kohli 25, Yuvraj 2)
Kohli has been largely anonymous until this over, content to pick up ones and twos. But Duminy is kept on for a third over and Kohli seizes his chance to go on the attack early, stepping down the pitch and biffing him over long on for six. With that done, both he and Yuvraj go back into accumulation mode.
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Over 10 - Ind 80/2 (Kohli 17, Yuvraj 1)
WICKET! Parnell strikes! This is the lift South Africa needed, though perhaps not the wicket they wanted. Rahane is the man to go, charging at a slower bouncer from Parnell, but top-edging his slog to be caught by de Villiers in the deep. But Kohli remains, and it's his wicket that the Proteas are really hunting. If he bats through, India win.
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Over 9 - Ind 75/1 (Rahane 31, Kohli 14)
Duminy wheels through his second over, coming round the wicket at the right-handers and cramping them for room. But with the field spread, there's also acres of room in which to place strokes, and the batsmen accumulate singles with ease. Duminy also helps them out with a wide - making it six wides in the innings already from South Africa. A whole extra over.
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Over 8 - Ind 69/1 (Rahane 28, Kohli 12)
No doubt chastised after his first over, Albie Morkel is brought on for another. Quinton de Kock comes up to the stumps when Rahane is on strike, the batsman having already shown that he's willing and able to come down the track at the quicks. The batsmen collect eight runs from the over without taking any great risk or targeting the boundary, placing the ball well and challenging the fielders with their running. But they haven't hit a boundary in three overs, and that will please South Africa.
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Over 7 - Ind 61/1 (Rahane 26, Kohli 6)
And indeed, Tahir does come on as soon as the field spreads. He doesn't offer much flight in his first over, spearing the ball in and targeting a good length around off stump. There's a hint of grip in the surface, but nothing dramatic and the speculative batsmen collect five singles from the over.
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Over 6 - Ind 56/1 (Rahane 24, Kohli 3)
Hendricks is kept on for a second over, and it's another good one. He comes over the wicket and around, mixing up full-pace deliveries with back-of-the-hand slower ones, and even holding a couple of deliveries cross-seamed. With neither batsman able to get the better of him, just four runs come from the over - and one of those is a wide. Now that the Powerplay is finished, the fielding restrictions are removed and we'll surely see Imran Tahir in action soon.
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Over 5 - Ind 52/1 (Rahane 23, Kohli 1)
Wayne Parnell comes on, mirroring Hendricks' left-arm pace, but possibly at even greater speed. The over seems to be building into a good battle between bat and ball, with Parnell zipping the ball through at up to 145kph, but Rahane's stroke to end the over is definitive: he steps to leg and flicks his hands gracefully through the line of the ball to pick up a classy six over extra cover. He barely seemed to hit it, but the ball just flew and flew.
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Over 4 - Ind 41/1 (Rahane 14, Kohli 0)
WICKET! Relief for South Africa! After the absurdity of the first two over, Faf du Plessis has brought his real bowlers on now, and Beuran Hendricks has broken through for South Africa. He didn't start all that well, and Rahane was able to free his arms and slap a wide, length delivery over extra cover for four. But Hendricks keeps the batsmen guessing with his variations, including a super-slow back-of-the-hand bouncer, and Sharma is undone by one that bounces a little more than he was expecting. His attempted swat down the ground rockets almost straight up into the skies over Mirpur, and du Plessis holds it as it flies back down to earth.
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Over 3 - Ind 34/0 (Sharma 24, Rahane 8)
Much of the intensity that's often apparent in the opening exchanges of a chase has now evaporated, making Sharma and Rahane's task against Dale Steyn just a little easier. Steyn starts with a leg-side wide, and Sharma shows his confidence by stepping away to uppercut the world's best fast bowler over third man for six. India are cruising.
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Over 2 - Ind 23/0 (Sharma 17, Rahane 6)
Duminy's over was a low-intensity test of the batsman's skills, and Albie Morkel's first effort is similarly friendly. Morkel offers Sharma a short, wide delivery that is crashed past point for four, and then attempts to hurry him with a medium-paced bouncer that is dismissed in front of square for another boundary. I can't see the sense in these tactics from South Africa.
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Over 1 - Ind 14/0 (Sharma 9, Rahane 5)
A little bizarrely, JP Duminy opens the bowling with his offspin - I say 'bizarrely' because neither of the batsmen at the crease are left-handers. Indeed, the experiment is weighed down in folly as India are helped by three boundaries in the over. The first pings off Rahane's bat, the batsman stepping back to punch through cover, and the second is fortuitous, via the outside edge of Sharma's driving bat. But there's nothing streaky about Sharma's next shot, the batsman leaning forward to drive powerfully down the ground.
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End of innings
A see-sawing encounter between these two great sides. India struck early, but the counter-punch from du Plessis was emphatic. Duminy ensured that the momentum carried on through the innings, despite the failure of de Villiers, and South Africa have reached a very handy total. But will it be enough? Almost no total seems large enough when Kohli gets going in a chase. Join us in 10 minutes or so for the resumption!
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Over 20 - SA 172/4 (Duminy 45, Miller 23)
Miller's got his eye in very quickly, and despite Sharma's best efforts he plunders 14 from the final over. Sharma's tactic is to come round the wicket, pitching the ball well up but also wide of off stump. It works once or twice, the ball slipping past the bat, but Miller gets underneath a low full toss to add six runs down the ground with a tremendously powerful bunt, and slashes a four wide of third man.
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Over 19 - SA 158/4 (Duminy 44, Miller 10)
Dhoni brings Kumar back into the attack. Was this a mistake for India? Mishra has taken some punishment, but spin has generally done the trick for India today. Kumar starts well, with two dot balls, but his third is shellacked into the second tier of the stands by Duminy. Actually, it appears as though someone may have been struck by the ball in the stands ... hopefully no-one is seriously hurt. Kumar aims for the yorker to Miller, but the muscular left-hander somehow manages to dig the ball out past cover for another four.
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Over 18 - SA 146/4 (Duminy 37, Miller 5)
Ashwin finishes his spell with a fourth over, but a fourth wicket is not forthcoming. There's a loud lbw shout when Duminy is beaten on the sweep, but the umpire disagrees and the batsman's riposte is a confident swat down the ground for six off the very next delivery. There isn't too much ruin to Ashwin's figures, however, and he finishes with 4-0-22-3.
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Over 17 - SA 136/4 (Duminy 29, Miller 3)
With two left-handers at the crease, Dhoni brings Raina back for another twirl. He was tossing the ball up nicely early on, but in his fourth and final over he's bowling darts. With the field spread, the batsmen take the chance to collect six singles.
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Over 16 - SA 130/4 (Duminy 26, Miller 0)
WICKET! Could this be the moment that decides the game? AB de Villiers entered the fray with a full 37 balls remaining - more than enough time for a batsman of his class and form to take full toll - but he's come and gone in a flash. Ashwin has taken a wicket in each of his three overs so far, and does so once again as de Villiers top-edges a slog sweep and presents Rohit Sharma with a swirling chance at deep square leg. This will set South Africa back.
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Over 15 - SA 127/3 (Duminy 24, de Villiers 10)
Another expensive over from Mishra, 11 runs coming from it. He starts with a slip to the new batsman, but that batsman is AB de Villiers and it quickly becomes apparent that the position is redundant. He picks up a brace of twos through the off side, and then collects his first boundary with a sweetly-struck reverse sweep. Shot!
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Over 14 - SA 116/3 (Duminy 22, de Villiers 1)
WICKET! File this one under 'odd dismissals'. Du Plessis started the over superbly, smashing a long-hop from Ashwin - a carrom ball, no less - high over wide long on for yet another six. But Ashwin spots the batsman setting himself to have another go later in the over, and fires in a much quicker ball that strikes du Plessis on the chest and ricochets onto his off stump. So, some relief for India after South Africa's counter-attack. This match has see-sawed rather nicely so far.
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Over 13 - SA 107/2 (du Plessis 51, Duminy 21)
South Africa are on the charge now! Du Plessis charges out at Mishra's first ball, and though he's beaten in the air and, almost, by the turn, he goes through with the stroke and picks up four over point. Mishra has spun the ball very hard, but that doesn't matter when it's a full toss, and Duminy smashes just such a delivery way over square leg for six. But he's not done there, and stretches well forward to a wrong 'un to sweep it behind square for yet another boundary. Carnage! The score rockets past 100, the partnership past 50, and du Plessis has also brought up his own half-century.
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Over 12 - SA 90/2 (du Plessis 45, Duminy 10)
Raina is kept on for a third over, and it's possibly one too many in this spell. Du Plessis targets the leg side, playing with the turn of the offspinner, and gets things going with an uppish sweep for four. His next attacking stroke is remarkable - a one-handed slog sweep that sails way over the rope for six. That must be an incredible piece of willow he's using. This stand is getting increasingly useful for South Africa.
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Over 11 - SA 74/2 (du Plessis 30, Duminy 10)
Yet more spin from India, and this time it's the pint-sized, portly, wispy-haired Amit Mishra. He's clearly getting plenty more revs on the ball than any of the men before him had, and fizzes one past du Plessis' outside edge. Unfortunately, he also over-steps and is called for a no-ball - a criminal act for a spinner - and du Plessis flays the Free Hit, a front-of-the-hand quicker one, for four over extra cover. One feels that South Africa are a spinner short in these conditions. Surely Phangiso would have been a handful here?
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Over 10 - SA 66/2 (du Plessis 25, Duminy 8)
A misfield from Rohit Sharma helps du Plessis to break the shackles! Raina is also given a second over on the trot by Dhoni, but his second delivery is a long-hop that du Plessis lifts out to wide long-on. He didn't get all of it, and the ball should have been easily stopped as Sharma and Kohli converged upon it ... but Sharma somehow contrived to let it past him. The rest of the over brings only singles, but Kohli is seething.
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Over 9 - SA 58/2 (du Plessis 19, Duminy 6)
After that brief foray into an attacking mode before Amla's dismissal, South Africa have opted for a recovery based around cautious accumulation. Jadeja continues for a second over, and the batsmen use swift feet and angle bats to take five singles off him. The spinners are really rattling through these overs.
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Over 8 - SA 53/2 (du Plessis 16, Duminy 2)
There's definitely some grip for the slow bowlers in this surface - so much so that even Suresh Raina's modest efforts are treated with caution by the batsmen. Raina starts by pushing one down the leg side to give away an extra, but thereafter he's reasonably accurate and the batsmen are content to work him around with the field spread.
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Over 7 - SA 47/2 (du Plessis 14, Duminy 1)
A succession of appeals put both the batsman and the umpire, Ian Gould, under pressure in this over. With Ashwin weaving his magic at the other end, Dhoni brings Jadeja on and he's worked around for a couple of singles. Duminy attempts to make something more of his strokes with a couple of hard sweeps, but each time the ball spins past the bat to strike him on the pad. Jadeja's appeals are loud and emotive, and he even accidentally barges into Faf du Plessis at the non-striker's end as he sets off on one, but Duminy is struck outside off each time and Gould is unmoved.
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Over 6 - SA 44/2 (du Plessis 12, Duminy 0)
WICKET! Ashwin strikes with his first legitimate delivery! His first actual delivery looped well down the leg side, spinning away even further, and Amla dismissively let it go past his legs. The next looked like it might also go down leg, but it was the carrom ball and zipped in the opposite direction after pitching. Did Amla read it? Even if he did, he was very late on the shot, playing all over the ball as it spun past him to hit the off stump. Remarkable. Dhoni senses an opportunity to take control after the dismissal, bringing in both a leg and an orthodox slip for Duminy.
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Over 5 - SA 43/1 (Amla 22, du Plessis 12)
Wonderful striking from Amla! A firm push that sends the ball racing to the midwicket boundary is followed up by a rather less genteel clearing of the front leg and a thrash over extra cover. After a confident start, India's seamers are coming under the cosh. Time for spin?
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Over 4 - SA 34/1 (Amla 13, du Plessis 12)
After a couple of overs of nudging and pushing, Amla and du Plessis are beginning to express themselves. Amla moves about in the crease to disrupt Sharma's line, moving away to leg to drive on-the-up through cover, and then shuffling in the opposite direction to glance the ball down to fine leg. Du Plessis follows his lead, getting right across to the off side to pick the ball up over midwicket, and South Africa are starting to flow, the run rate ballooning to 8.50.
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Over 3 - SA 17/1 (du Plessis 6, Amla 2)
Dhoni is up to the stumps for Kumar's second over. I wonder if that's because, having played with du Plessis in the IPL for Chennai, he knows his predilection for using his feet to pace and spin alike. Whatever the case, both batsmen remain crease-bound in the over, and a tight wicket-to-wicket line mean they can't do much more than pinch singles.
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Over 2 - SA 13/1 (du Plessis 4, Amla 0)
There's a steely look in Faf du Plessis' eyes, and a forthright manner in the way he's gone about the first few balls of his innings. He's trying to get at the bowling, getting well forward to Sharma and threading the gap in the covers for a couple. Amla is also able to find the middle of his bat, but nudges to midwicket and extra cover both go straight to the field. India are opting for pace on the ball early on tonight, no sign of spin just yet.
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Over 1 - SA 10/1 (du Plessis 1, Amla 0)
WICKET! MS Dhoni has a solitary slip in place as Bhuvneshwar Kumar opens the bowling for India. The bowler's line takes the ball repeatedly down the leg side, however, and de Kock is away with a flick off his pads for two. When Kumar does manage to push the ball through on the off side, there's an immediate result, de Kock under-edging a cut before feathering an airy drive through to the 'keeper.
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Weather watch
There is, apparently, some rain about, and locals have suggested that this is Bangladesh's storm season but there's no immediate danger from the weather. Hopefully there will be no disruption to today's semi-final.
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India team
Unchanged. R Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, S Raina, V Kohli, A Rahane, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, A Mishra, B Kumar, M Sharma
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Proteas team
Faf in for Behardien. Q de Kock, H Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, D Miller, F du Plessis, A Morkel, D Steyn, B Hendricks, I Tahir, W Parnell
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Toss!
South Africa have won the toss and are batting first.
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Greetings!
Hello and welcome to the second World Twenty20 semi-final, where the winner will take on Sri Lanka in the final. India are the favourites going into this game, but can the Proteas finally break their ICC tournament hoodoo? Join us at 2pm UK time for the action.
india BATTING CARD
| Batsman | R | |
|---|---|---|
| R.G. Sharma | c du Plessis b Hendricks | 24 |
| A.M. Rahane | c de Villiers b Parnell | 32 |
| V. Kohli | Not out | 72 |
| Y. Singh | c de Villiers b Tahir | 18 |
| S.K. Raina | c du Plessis b Hendricks | 21 |
| M.S. Dhoni | Not out | 0 |
| Extras | 9w, | 9 |
| Total | 19.1 Overs | 176 - 4 |
Full Batting Card
s africa BOWLING CARD
| Bowler | O | M | R | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.P. Duminy | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| J.A. Morkel | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| D.W. Steyn | 3.1 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| B.E. Hendricks | 4 | 0 | 31 | 2 |
| W.D. Parnell | 3 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| M.I. Tahir | 4 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
