India stormed into the finals of the World Twenty20 finals on Friday to set up an all South Asian clash for the trophy with Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Virat Kohli helped his team chase down 173 with a magnificent 44-ball 72 under pressure at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
He initially played sheet anchor but then attacked furiously to take India past the formidable South African total of 172 with five balls to spare.
He brought up India’s win with a powerful on-drive to the boundary. They now have the chance to match their 2007 triumph in Johannesburg.
Kohli was adjudged the Man of the Match for the brilliantly judged and perfectly paced innings. He has scored 242 runs, the highest in his tournament so far.
All the Indian batsmen did their bit but it was Kohli’s characteristic innings that took the game away from the Proteas, who were unable to live down their reputation as chokers.
The game hung in balance with India needing ten runs an over until Suresh Raina blasted left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell for 17 runs in the 17th over and his last over.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahana started in cavalier fashion blasting off spinner JP Duminy for 13 runs in the very first over of the innings.
They put South Africa under pressure at the top and never allowed the bowlers to settle.
Sharma (24 off 13) cut and pulled with aplomb until he tried to lift one over the bowler to be cut off Beuran Hendricks.
Rahane (32 off 30) continued hitting all round the wicket until he fell to a mistimed pull.
That was when Kohli took charge and kept India in the game with his selective hitting all round the wicket.
He allowed Yuvraj Singh (18 off 17) who looked slightly off colour to take his time. But the star of the 2007 India campaign kept rotating the strike with Kohli and hit the occasional boundary to keep India in the hunt.
But it was Raina (21 off 10) , as he pulled Parnell for a six and then cut him over third man for a four followed by an inside edge that raced to the boundary, who took the game away from the South Africans.
After that, there was no stopping Kohli. He hit five boundaries and two sixes in his prolific innings.
India needed 8.65 runs per over after South Africa raced to 172 in 20 overs.
Earlier, South Africa skipper du Plessis scored a blistering 41-ball 58 to lay the platform for the challenging total.
Duminy held the innings with an unbeaten 45 off 40 balls before David Miller’s 23 off 12 provided the late burst for South Africa to post 172 for 4.
The Proteas scored 106 runs from the last 10 overs after a slow start.
The Indian bowlers initially found a flurry of inside edges, which sometimes went for lucky boundaries for the South Africa.
South African opener Quinton de Kock (6) went back when he inside-edged Bhuvaneshwar Kumar to the wicketkeeper in the first over.
Hashim Amla (22) had a jittery start. After adding 35 runs for the second wicket with skipper du Plessis, who returned to the side after his one-match ban, the opener fell when Ravichandran Ashwin went through his gates with a carrom ball.
Indian spinners soaked up the runs in the next five overs, conceding just one boundary for 23 runs in them.
However, the Proteas skipper took on Raina hitting the spinner for 16 runs in the 12th over with a boundary and a six to break free.
Du Plessis scored his fifty off 36 balls.
Duminy, on the other end, had a sluggish start scoring just 10 runs off his first 19 balls.
The pair brought up 100 runs for their side and the 50-run third wicket partnership in the 13th over.
Du Plessis pressed on the gas as he hit another Ashwin carrom ball over the fence. But two balls later, the spinner got the skipper bowled but not before he hit five boundaries and two sixes.
The third wicket partnership was worth 71 runs off 52 balls.
AB de Villiers (10) was looking dangerous before he fell for Ashwin’s third wicket, giving a catch to Rohit Sharma at long-leg.
Duminy and Miller added 43 runs off 27 balls for the fifth wicket to lift their side to the total.
Ashwin was the pick of the Indian bowlers. He ended with figures of 3 for 22 in 4 overs.
Sri Lanka have already secured a place in the final with their victory against the West Indies in the first semi-final held at the same stadium on Thursday.
The outcome of the rain-marred first semi-final was decided through the Duckworth-Lewis method, declaring Sri Lanka the winner by 27 runs.
Source: Bd news24
