Raina ton powers India to win by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Ground:	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet
Scorecard:	India v South Africa
Player:	SK Raina, JH Kallis
Event:	ICC World Twenty20 2010

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DateLine: 2nd May 2010

 

India topped their group as they got better of South Africa by 14 runs. The margin of the win could have been huge had not the South African batsmen blazed away in the latter stage of their innings. Raina posted his maiden T20 century which literally blew away the South African side.

 

Smith decided to give his faster men a try on a pitch that had a bit of moisture. The first over bowled by Kleinveldt was an eventful one as it featured a mix-up between Murali Vijay and Dinesh Karthik of rib-tickling proportion and a wicket of Vijay for a duck. Karthik and Raina tried to counter attack but some excellent bowling coupled with a huge ground nullified their efforts as on more than one occasion the ball failed to cross the boundary ropes.

 

Nothing was pitched up as the ball was either was on the good length or on the shorter length and with the pitch not conducive to shot-making the Indian batsmen got strangulated. Frustrated with the inability to keep the scoreboard ticking Dinesh Karthik (16, 17b, 2x4) tried to hit Kallis over midwicket but found Smith in that region as India lost their second wicket. At the end of the eighth over the Indian score read 43 for 2 and it would have required something special to push the score to something substantial. The push came in the over bowled by van der Merwe as Yuvraj and Raina plundered 13 runs and that shifted the momentum in India's favour.

 

Raina deposited Kallis into the midwicket stand while Morkel found himself flicked into the square-leg by Yuvraj Singh. Slowly but steadily the pair shifted their gear as runs came in torrent. The pair added 88 in 10.2 overs before a slower delivery from Kleinveldt fooled Yuvraj Singh (37, 30b, 2x6, 3x4) and got himself dismissed. Raina meanwhile continued his blitzkrieg and he reached his T20 century with an emphatic six. At the end of the 20 overs India posted a massive score of 186 for the loss of 5 wickets.

 

The Indian bowling was spin heavy and it was the spinners who did the bulk of the scoring. Kallis and Bosman could not find the boundary early in the innings and that took toll in the chase. Bosman (8, 14b) fell early and Kallis was joined in the middle by his skipper. The pair took their sweet time and that really disturbed the chase. The pair only really got going post the 14th over and that was a bit too late.

 

Smith (36, 28b, 2x6, 1x4) was lazy with his running between the wicket and though Kallis and AB de Villiers blazed away it too late. Kallis (73, 54b, 3x6, 3x4) was holed out while Morkel (12, 7b, 1x6) found the task too tall. AB de Villiers kept the faint hopes alive as he clubbed his way to 31 of 15 balls which included three huge sixes but in the end the South African side fell just short.