A BLISTERING knock of 59 from 50 balls from Yusuf Pathan helped India post a stunning two-wicket triumph over South Africa in the third one-day international in Cape Town.
After sealing an unlikely one-run win at the Wanderers to level the five-match series at 1-1 on Saturday, India chased down their victory target of 221 with 10 balls to spare at Newlands.
Debutant Faf du Plessis had top-scored for the Proteas with 60, with JP Duminy contributing 52, but their score of 220 all out proved insufficient.
India must have fancied their chances as they began their pursuit, but Dale Steyn gave South Africa the perfect start by claiming the wicket of Murali Vijay for one in the third over. The paceman showed great agility, diving to his right to pull off a fine one-handed catch.
That brought Virat Kohli out to join Rohit Sharma in the middle and the pair shared a 52-run stand before Morne Morkel finally got the breakthrough his persistence deserved with two crucial wickets in successive overs.
First he induced an edge from Kohli, who was caught behind by AB de Villiers for 28, and then knocked over Sharma’s middle stump – for 23 – with one that kept low.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (five) fared even less well, thick-edging a Johan Botha delivery to de Villiers, who grabbed it at the second attempt to leave the tourists 69 for four after 20 overs.
Graeme Smith introduced Duminy into the attack shortly after and the change paid immediate dividends when his right-arm off-break did Yuvraj Singh in. The batsman, on 16, was rapped on the pads and umpire Simon Taufel had no hesitation raising his finger.
Pathan boosted India’s charge in the 30th over by smashing three huge sixes off Botha to leave his team requiring 85 from the final 20 overs. Pathan and Suresh Raina got the Indians well on course to pass their target but perished four overs apart from each other to give the Proteas hope.
Raina top-edged a nothing shot to de Villiers off Morkel for 37 and he then saw off dangerman Pathan, Morkel back-pedalling to hold onto a fine catch at third man off the bowling of Steyn.
The match was on a knife edge with four overs to go after Zaheer Khan looped a short ball from Lonwabo Tsotsobe to Smith at mid-off to leave India needing 13 runs from their final 24 balls but with only two wickets in hand.
However, Harbhajan Singh (23 not out) and Ashish Nehra (six not out) calmly saw India home, the latter taking the tourists over the line with a lofted on-drive off Botha. (PA Sport)