25 overs South Africa 115 for 1 (Amla 56*, Kallis 42*) need 182 runs to beat India 174 for 1 (Tendulkar 72* Sehwag 73)
The pitch had slowed down from the afternoon and it threw up a few questions at the batsmen. Did that one keep a touch low? Did that stop a bit? Hmm … did that one turn more? It was nothing alarming, but the 297-run target brought its own pressure on the batsmen and South Africa moved to 115 for 1 from 25 overs in their chase in Nagpur.South Africa's hopes rested on their two accomplished batsmen, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, as the required run-rate crept over seven near the half-way mark. Understandably, Kallis was playing second fiddle to Amla, who looked in good touch. Initially, when Amla couldn't pierce the field, he started to take more risks: he lifted Nehra over the covers, slashed over point and shuffled to off to flick to the leg. He slowed down after the fall of Smith, and started to deal in singles against the spinners. Interestingly, India delayed the introduction of Harbhajan Singh until the 24th over - Yusuf Pathan came on in the 17th over and Yuvraj Singh appeared in the 20th - and much could depend on how he bowls on this track.
One expected South Africa would go hard at the new ball on this track but they couldn't find enough momentum. It appeared as if they were hitting straight to the fielders. And when they took risks by shuffling across the stumps, they were just getting a single to fielders in the deep. Even Amla, who came close to timing the ball the best, was unable to pierce the field as often as he normally does. India went in with a three-pronged seam attack and all the three were very disciplined. Zaheer Khan kept to a strangling line and length, and Ashish Nehra, who gave width to Amla on four occasions and leaked four boundaries, was spot on for the majority of his spell, often slipping in the slow cutters. Munaf Patel came in the 10th over, with South Africa on 41 for 1, and hit a back of a length and pinged the off-stump line.
It was a touch of dare and self belief that brought Zaheer the wicket of Graeme Smith. Smith just lifted him over mid-off but there was a touch of desperation in that shot. Emboldened, Zaheer floated the next one, slightly slower, full and outside off, inviting another big hit. Smith went for it but couldn't clear Sachin Tendulkar at mid-off. South Africa entered consolidation mode after that and when Kallis swept a boundary in the 25th over, it was the first four in 11 overs. From their point of view, though, they had lost just one wicket and Kallis and Amla were well-settled.
50 overs India 296 all out (Tendulkar 111, Steyn 5-50) v South Africa
Beware of that batting Powerplay. India lost their last nine wickets for 29 runs and you wouldn't have believed it if you hadn't seen it. South Africa were staring down the barrel at the end of 38 overs. India were strolling at 253 for 1, Sachin Tendulkar was cruising past 100, and a huge total seemed a certainty when they took the batting Powerplay and gaped in horror as disaster-gate crashed their party. India lost four wickets for 30 runs and collapsed to 296 in a sensational phase of play in Nagpur. It's a sign of times that 296 feels a par total. Admittedly, the pitch slowed up as the game progressed and hinted at taking turn and India's hopes rest on that.
Fittingly, it was the pair of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, who bled runs with the new ball, who did the damage during this manic phase. Tendulkar fell to an across-the-line hoick, his first ugly shot of the day, in the 40th over to Morne Morkel. Steyn had a double strike in the next over: Gautam Gambhir backed outside leg and scooped a slower one to mid-off and Yusuf Pathan blasted to cover. Things got worse when Yuvraj Singh swung a full toss to long-on of the final delivery of the Powerplay, and it turned chaotic when Virat Kohli gave a tame return catch to Robin Peterson. In the space of a few minutes, the game had spiraled out of India's control and returned to balance. Steyn even went on to complete a five-for, something that was scarcely believable when he was leaking runs with the new ball, when he cleaned up the tail.
Until that stunning phase of play, it was all India. Until then even 375 seemed a possibility. On Twitter, Ian O'Brien caught the carnage in the early overs in Nagpur perfectly: "Currently sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, having Indian nightmare. Poor bowlers, it's not fair." On a batting pitch, Tendulkar enthralled with his almost serene aggression, and Virender Sehwag dazzled with his impish strokeplay, as India rattled up 174 by the half-way mark.
If Sehwag pumped in the adrenalin, Tendulkar oozed class. Controlled aggression is a term loosely bandied about but there has been rarely a better display of it than the one provided by Tendulkar at Jamtha. If you just noticed the strike-rate, it would be tempting to say he rolled back the clock and was his young adventurous young self but it was a perfect mix of temperance and aggression. There was not a single shot that looked risky and yet he played all the shots, even a hooked six, a shot that he doesn't play too often these days. Tendulkar faced just 20 balls in the first ten overs but had raced away to 35 and his fifty came off 33 balls. Yet there was not one manic shot. It was in the eighth over, from Morkel, that he really got going with an awesome thump through the covers, which was followed by a gorgeous straight drive. Like always, he held his pose even as Morkel was down on the mat. It was a moment that perfectly caught the one-sided battle.
When Steyn fired a bouncer in the 10th over, Tendulkar unfurled a stylish hook to deposit it beyond the backward square-leg boundary. When Jacques Kallis bowled a slower one, Tendulkar glided forward and across to whip the off cutter past mid-on. Unlike Sehwag, Tendulkar played the spinners as per the demands of the ball but of course on his own terms. He went down the track to loft over long-on, he drove straight, he played inside-out with the turn and as always, worked the angles.
Sehwag's opening assault was a microcosm of his batsmanship: audacious hits, a few swing and misses, an inner battle to control his adrenalin rush, and then some more audacity. The first ball set the tone: it was an outswinger from Steyn that curved away from the off and middle line but Sehwag swatted it up and over mid-on for a four. He should have been out in the next over when Morne Morkel induced an edge from an on-the-up flash, but Morne Van Wyk, the keeper, simply froze. A skillful on-the-up thump through the covers, a screaming straight drive and a thunderous cut helped him collect 13 runs from the eigtht over bowled by Morkel.
Curiously, for a batsman who thrives on innovation, he got stuck into a set pattern against the spinners and it brought about his downfall. He repeatedly backed away from leg stump and tried to hit everything through off. He did pick up a couple of boundaries, but fell edging an attempted cut on to the leg stump against Faf du Plessis.
Even as the onslaught continued, you were left wondering whether Graeme Smith could have done anything different. Perhaps, he could have brought in the spinners earlier - Robin Petersen came on in the 12th over with India on 93 for 0. Perhaps he could have turned to Johan Botha sooner rather than waiting until the 17th over. Curiously, he opted for JP Duminy ahead of Botha, but once Botha came in, the run-rate started to ease up and slowed down further as India went into consolidation mode after the fall of Sehwag. India added 37 runs in nine overs as they went from 137 for 0 in 16 overs to 174 by the 25th over. India consolidated through Tendulkar and Gambhir but came crashing down when they took that Powerplay.
