South Africa squeak home by three runs

South Africa 226 for 5 (van der Merwe 54) beat India 223 (Dhawan 66) by 3 runs
Scorecard

South Africa pulled off an exciting three-run win - and ended India's unbeaten record in the competition - in their floodlit Super League match at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka. Chasing South Africa's 226, their highest score in the tournament so far, India looked dead for all money at 188 for 9 - but a stirring last-wicket stand between Abhishek Sharma and Rudra Pratap Singh took them agonisingly close to victory.

India started well, but on a slow pitch they struggled after the shine went off the ball. The opener Shikhar Dhawan contributed a measured 66, and Rakesh Solanki's 29 included one big straight six, but the South Africans kept the pressure on with regular wickets. Vernon Philander and Waylain September took two wickets apiece, but the South African bowling hero was Boland's fastish left-armer Vince Pennazza. He dismissed Sunny Singh for a duck and Gaurav Dhiman for 12, and was on at the death when the last-wicket stand seemed set to bring India an unlikely victory. But Pennazza swung a well-judged yorker into the base of Sharma's off stump, and the fun was all over.

Earlier India's spinners had whizzed through 40 of South Africa's 50 overs - and bowled them so quickly that there was time for India's openers to come out to face eight overs before lunch, in which time they piled on 56 of an evenhtual opening stand of 86.

All the South African batsmen got starts, but the only one to pass fifty was Roelof van der Merwe, who biffed four fours in reaching 54 from 68 balls, before an attempted reverse-sweep looped gently to Dhawan on the fielding circle at backward point. But van der Merwe already suspected he had done enough: "It's a slow wicket, and it's difficult to play spin on it," he said.

The early impetus was provided by Vaughn van Jaarsveld, who hit 26 from 25 balls before lofting Dhiman to Sunny Singh in the sixth over. Fellow opener Clint Bowyer made 33 before Suresh Raina slipped an offbreak through his defence. Divan van Wyk, South Africa's captain, laboured to 23 from 47 balls before he lobbed his opposite number, Ambati Rayudu, tamely to Raina at midwicket. And Jaco Booyen's 33 ended equally tamely, when he wasn't even in the frame as Raina's sidearm flick from backward point zeroed in to the keeper Dinesh Karthik.

After van der Merwe's departure Philander (34*) and the patriotically named Keagan Africa (19*) conjured 29 runs from the last 5.4 overs, to set the Indians a stiff target. It proved to be enough ... just.

After the match Russell Domingo, South Africa's coach, said that the match had gone much as planned. "Before the match I thought that a score of around 230 would be enough and I was pleased with the way our boys batted," he said. "I was a bit concerned when India's batsmen got off to such a good start but our bowlers fought back well and I think we deserved the victory. I still think our players have more to show but after today's result I feel that we are capable of beating anybody."

But Robin Singh, India's coach, was predictably less impressed. "It was a very disappointing performance," he said. "I don't think we bowled particularly well, we fielded poorly and batted appallingly."