LONDON, June 11: Defending champions India outclassed South Africa in all departments of the game to enter the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory here today.
India will meet Bangladesh in the semifinals in Birmingham on Thursday.
The Proteas lived up to their �Perennial Chokers� tag in a virtual quarterfinal clash that turned out to be a thoroughly one-sided encounter.
Shikhar Dhawan (78 off 83 balls) and skipper Virat Kohli (76 off 101 balls) made it look like a walk in the park as India chased down a target of 192 in only 38 overs.
It was Dhawan�s third 50-plus score in the competition, while skipper Kohli made amends for a rare failure against Sri Lanka in style, notching up his 41st ODI half century.
On a day when it mattered the most, India brought their A game to the fore while AB de Villiers� men wilted under pressure, as it has been with them in high-stakes games.
The Indian bowling was disciplined, the fielding exceptional with three run-outs, and then there was a professional batting performance.
If it�s the Champions Trophy, Dhawan can hardly put a foot wrong as he hit 12 fours and a flicked six off Morne Morkel over deep square leg.
If Dhawan muscled the ball through the off-side cordon, Kohli caressed it with care, hitting seven fours and a six as the duo added 128 runs for the second wicket.
A rhythm player to the core, Dhawan has made the best use of the second lease of life that he has got in this Champions Trophy. The ferocity with which he drove was a treat to watch. A lot of his shots were in the arc between cover and mid-off. When Imran Tahir bowled short, he pulled him with disdain.
Skipper Kohli also made merry with no pressure. He saw off Morkel�s first spell before teeing off with a cover driven six off rookie pacer Andile Phehlykwayo.
He later used the extra pace of Morkel to hit him down the ground, whip him through mid-wicket and slash the pacer over the off-side cordon.
By the time India�s total touched 100, the match was as good as over. It was Yuvraj Singh, who finished the match with a pulled six off JP Duminy.
Earlier, an impressive bowling performance that was complemented by fantastic fielding effort, saw the holders skittle out South Africa for a paltry 191 in 44.3 overs after winning the toss.
It was yet another embarrassing batting collapse after the openers put on 76 runs. The world�s number one team lost the last eight wickets for 51 runs after being comfortably placed at 116 for one at one stage.
Two run-outs of skipper AB de Villiers (16) and David Miller (1) within the space of six deliveries triggered the slide from which they could never recover, with almost all the Indian bowlers succeeding in choking the runs.
SCORECARD
South Africa: Q de Kock b Jadeja 53, HM Amla c Dhoni b Ashwin 35, F du Plessis b Pandya 36, AB de Villiers run out (Pandya/Dhoni) 16, DA Miller run out (Bumrah/Kohli) 1, JP Duminy not out 20, CH Morris c Kumar b Bumrah 4, AL Phehlukwayo lbw b Bumrah 4, K Rabada c Dhoni b Kumar 5, M Morkel c Kohli b Kumar 0, Imran Tahir run out (Kohli/Dhoni) 1. Extras: (LB-6, W-10) 16. Total: (allout in 44.3 overs) 191. Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-116, 3-140, 4-142, 5-157, 6-167, 7-178, 8-184, 9-184, 10-191. Bowling: B Kumar 7.3-0-23-2, JJ Bumrah 8-0-28-2, R Ashwin 9-0-43-1, HH Pandya 10-0-52-1, RA Jadeja 10-0-39-1.
India: Rohit Sharma c de Kock b Morkel 12, Shikhar Dhawan c du Plessis b I Tahir 78, Virat Kohli not out 76, Yuvraj Singh not out 23. Extras: (LB-2, WD-1, NB-1) 4. Total: (For 2 wickets in 38 overs) 193. Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-151. Bowling: K Rabada 9-2-34-0, M Morkel 7-1-38-1, A Phehlukwayo 5-0-25-0, C Morris 8-0-40-0, I Tahir 6-0-37-1, J Duminy 3-0-17-0. � PTI
