NOTTINGHAM, England, CMC – Favourites South Africa condemned India to a winless spell in the Super Eights of the Twenty20 World Cup, when they prevailed over the dethroned champions by 12 runs yesterday.

South Africa typically bowled steadily  and fielded alertly to successfully defend a target of 131 in the 12th and final Super Eight match at Trent Bridge.

Off-spinner Johan Botha captured three wickets for 16 runs from four overs, and Dale Steyn took two for 25 from three overs to lead South Africa’s bowling.

A few of India’s batsmen got starts without carrying on – Rohit Sharma led the way with 29, Yuvraj Singh made 25, and Gautam Gambhir got 21.

Earlier, Abraham de Villiers smacked seven fours in a top score of 63 from 51 balls for South Africa, and earned the Man-of-the-Match award.

But South Africa, who had already qualified for the semi-finals, struggled in the middle to late overs to increase the tempo.
South Africa finished on the top of Group-E ahead of West Indies, and will now face Pakistan in the first semi-final on Thursday at the same venue.

West Indies will meet Sri Lanka – a side that beat them in the group stage – in the second semi-final on Friday at The Oval.(See scoreboard on page 26)