South Africa hold their nerves to win another close finish
South Africa reduced the final margin to 3-2 after beating India by 10 runs with 1.1 overs to spare in the fifth one day international at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur today
Sankhya Krishnan
19-Mar-2000
South Africa reduced the final margin to 3-2 after beating India by 10
runs with 1.1 overs to spare in the fifth one day international at the
Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur today. It brought the
curtain down on a highly entertaining series in which four out of five
matches went down to the wire with both sides remaining in the hunt
until the final moments. Lance Klusener was named man of the match
after unveiling his potent striking power for the first time in the
series and taking 3-59 in the bargain to pull the rug from under
India's lower order.
It was always going to be an uphill struggle for India after they
allowed the visitors to plunder 320 runs in 50 overs. But a roaring
second wicket association between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid
had the South Africans press the panic buttons as the bowling and
fielding went to pieces in the closing stages. Although both Tendulkar
and Dravid fell at 193 in the space of three balls, the lower order
manfully strove to match a soaring asking rate that touched a high of
7.83 at the end of the 44th over.
Saba Karim and Robin Singh led a counter rally, putting on 31 runs for
the seventh wicket, with the former showing icy cool nerves under
pressure to make a sweet 22 in 17 balls with four boundaries. After
Karim was out, a poor 47th over from Hansie Cronje that cost 13 runs
gave India the edge with a couple of misfields by the visitors
seemingly indicating that they were losing control of the
situation. With 18 needed in as many balls, India lost Robin but a
boundary by Kumble restored their hopes by keeping the asking rate at
six. However India had already reached the limits of their endurance
and ran out of steam in the penultimate over quite literally as Kumble
and Chopra were thrown out to leave the visitors worthy victors.
Earlier Saurav Ganguly, the South African bete noire during the
series, had fallen in the third over, pulling a widish delivery
outside leg stump into the hands of short fine leg. But Sachin
Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid then produced a magical 180 run stand in a
little under 24 overs.
Tendulkar favoured the regions of long on and midwicket for special
attention in his innings of 93 in just 89 balls, inclusive of seven
fours and four sixes. When he reached fifty he also became only the
second batsman to cross 9000 runs in ODI's after Mohd. Azharuddin. But
the revelation was Dravid who went for his strokes with a rare
flourish from the word go, without getting into a defensive mould at
the beginning of his innings. His untypically bellicose knock was
worth 79 in 70 balls and his dismissal probably the turning point of
the match.
Ganguly won his first toss of the series in Nagpur, raising his arms
in mock triumph and rolling his wrists to indicate that he was
bowling. Two savage assaults by Herschelle Gibbs at the beginning of
the innings and Lance Klusener at the end took South Africa to the
towering summit of 320/7 on another perfect batting strip. Gibbs lost
his prolific partner, Gary Kirsten, run out by Tendulkar in the second
over when trying to steal a cheeky single to midoff. Hitting cleanly
and with equal felicity on either side of the wicket, Gibbs made the
Indians pay for two fielding lapses by Kumble and Tendulkar, which let
him off the hook at 31 and 53. He found an enterprising companion in
skipper Hansie Cronje whose contribution of 38 in 31 balls out of a
fourth wicket partnership of 60 helped the innings gather terrific
momentum.
After 20 overs, the South Africans had galloped to 160/4 but when
Gibbs was thrown out in a smart piece of work by Sriram at cover for
74 in 53 balls (12 fours and a six), the batsmen lost their way in the
middle overs. The four man Indian spin attack of Kumble, Chopra,
Sriram and above all Tendulkar throttled the middle order with a
flattish trajectory, wicket to wicket line and run denying
length. Just 71 runs accrued to the total in the 20 overs from over 21
to over 40 and Tendulkar finished with the quite sensational figures
of 1-31 in 10 overs on this featherbed strip.
But the South Africans were merely biding their time and a 114 run
seventh wicket partnership between Boucher and Klusener firmly turned
the match South Africa's way. Klusener started slowly, taking 29 balls
to score his first boundary. He overhauled his highest score of 19 in
14 previous matches against India and then accelerated with
breathtaking speed to end up with an unbeaten 75 in 58 balls that
included 8 fours and three sixes.