T20 WC: Raina powers India over Proteas

India beat South Africa by 14 runs with a display of superior prowess in the format.

Zeecric Bureau

St Lucia: India stamped their authority over a hapless South Africa, winning their second T20 World Cup match. In the end, India won by 14 runs with a display of superior prowess in the format. Suresh Raina had pulled out a superb performance from his stables in the morning, slamming the first T20 century by an Indian to power his team to 186/5 at the end of their stipulated overs. Jacques Kallis (73) and Graeme Smith (36) went in quick succession after a couple of overs of good hitting after they were slow for most part of their tenure on the turf. The experienced pair managed a slow-yet-handy partnership that did inch them closer to the target, albeit in the added pressure of the piling-up run-rate. South Africa, thus, started on the unceremonious note for the T20 World Cup bid, with a match against Afghanistan coming-up after the loss today.Scorecard: India Vs South Africa» The Indian batsmen did good work in amassing the runs after the first half of the innings was tight due to the fall of wickets and the drying-up of runs. Choked for runs, Dinesh Karthik had lobbed an easy one into the hands of Graeme Smith at a score of sixteen runs. The Proteas ploy of rotating bowling spells paid dividends early-on for their campaign. This was however foiled in the later stages by the clinical batting display by Dhoni’s men.With Zaheer and Gauti out of the hunt, the Proteas hoped for a bit of swing with the new ball and they did some damage with the rattling of the Indian top order. They could not convert it into a winner in the end. India, with two wins on the trot, have it made out for them in the tournament as they made their presence felt to the other contenders for the crown.