Some key stats from the thrilling game between India and South Africa in Nagpur

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan12-Mar-2011In a tense finish, South Africa held their nerve to win by three wickets on a pitch that got a lot slower as the game went on. South Africa paced their innings superbly, maintaining a required run-rate of close to eight. With 13 runs required off the final over, MS Dhoni opted to go with Ashish Nehra. Robin Peterson hit two fours and a six to give South Africa a nail-biting win.Perhaps, the most notable feature of the match was the contrast in batting approach of both the teams. While India started in an extremely aggressive manner and reached 87 for 0 in the first ten overs, South Africa were far more sedate, scoring just 43 for 1 in the same period. India continued to score quickly, reaching 267 in the 40th over before Tendulkar was dismissed. South Africa, despite scoring at a much lower rate, kept pace with the required run rate and reached the 200-run mark in the 39th over. However, in the last ten overs, India suffered a collapse losing nine wickets for 29 runs. The worm for the Indian innings clearly shows the clutter of wickets at the end which kept the score down to 296, a far more achievable target. South Africa though, maintained wickets in hand throughout and this proved most crucial as they got past the line with two balls to spare. The table below shows how the teams were placed at various stages of the innings.

TeamOvera 1-10Overs 11-20Overs 21-30Overs 31-40Overs 41-50India87/068/142/071/128/8South Africa43/146/055/174/182/4In India’s innings, Dale Steyn’s spell of 5 for 50 kept the score down to 296 after 370 looked possible at one point. Zaheer Khan responded well in the second innings, conceding just 43 runs in his ten overs and bowling 35 dot balls in the process. However, the rest of the bowlers conceded more than six runs per over which proved critical in the end.Quite a few batting records were set in a high-scoring game, and are listed below.Opening pair comes good
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, one of the most successful opening pairs in ODIs, had previously aggregated just 54 runs in five matches against South Africa. Their 142-run stand in this match is the third-highest opening partnership for India in World Cups and the second-highest for this pair behind the 153 against Sri Lanka in Johannesburg in 2003. Tendulkar has been involved in three of the five century opening stands for India in World Cups.Electric start
At the end of ten overs, India had reached 87 without loss. This is the highest score in the first ten overs in the 2011 World Cup. The previous best was the 82 scored by India against Netherlands in Delhi. In World Cup matches since 1999, the most runs scored in the first ten overs is 119, by West Indies against Canada in the 2003 World Cup. The highest for India in the same period is 88 against Pakistan in 2003.Top three make fifty-plus scores
With Sehwag, Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir scoring over 50, the match became only the third instance of the top three batsmen scoring over fifty in an innings in a World Cup match. The previous two occasions came in the 1975 World Cup.India’s incredible collapse
After the second wicket fell with the score on 267, India lost their last eight wickets for 29 runs collapsing to 296 all out. There have been only three occasions in ODIs when teams have lost their last eight wickets for less than 29 runs. The lowest is 17 runs, by Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka in 2004.Tendulkar adds to impressive numbers
Tendulkar scored his sixth century and his 19th fifty-plus score in World Cups, both records for any player in World Cups. He also became the first player to score 2000 runs in ODIs against South Africa.Smith’s woes against Zaheer continue
Graeme Smith was dismissed by Zaheer for the sixth time in ODIs to add to his six dismissals in Tests. He has now been dismissed 13 times by Zaheer overall (including Twenty-20 internationals). James Anderson is next, having dismissed Smith eight times overall.Other key stats from the game: Dale Steyn’s 5 for 50 is his best bowling performance in ODIs and the sixth five-wicket haul by a South African bowler in World Cups. The target of 297 is the highest successfully chased score by South Africa in a World Cup game. Their previous best of 253 also came against India in the 1999 World Cup.Tendulkar’s century was his 13th in an ODI defeat, the most for any player. He is followed by Chris Gayle, who has nine centuries in defeats. The 52 runs scored by South Africa in their batting Powerplay is their second-highest in the tournament. The highest by any team is 70, by Pakistan against Kenya. This is the fourth occasion that a team winning the toss in a day-night match in Nagpur has gone on to lose the game. Only one has been won by the team batting first.