spinners keep it tight

For a team who have been knocked out of the tournament a couple of days ago,a team left with nothing to play for....

For a team who have been knocked out of the tournament a couple of days ago,a team left with nothing to play for,there are two ways to approach an inconsequential match. They can either come out all guns blazing,oozing intent,all pumped up to make a point or they can troop out with drooping shoulders,the weight of despondency and irrelevance heavy on the minds.

At the time of going to print,India were at 58-3 in 10 overs with Johan Botha claiming two quick wickets.

India,thankfully,picked Option A as South Africa through already to the semi-finals after impressively cutting apart England and the West Indies were restricted to 130 for five in their 20 overs in the final Super 8s game.

Having opted to bat first,Herschelle Gibbs fell early,trying to pull an RP Singh delivery that was too full for the shot to be warranted. The ball cut in off a length,took the bottom edge,and left the stumps in a mess.

But as Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers tore into the opening bowlers,the game drifted along at an uncomfortably rapid pace. Smith cut with authority,de Villiers pulled with disdain,and the Proteas rocked along at 10-an-over. The introduction of spin,as early as the fifth over,changed all that though. India had fielded the same XI that went down to England at Lords on Sunday,which meant Ravindra Jadeja got another game.

The left-arm spinner,three matches old at this level,copped a fair share of the blame for that defeat,his 35-ball 25 dragging down the chase. At Trent Bridge,when his name was called out on the PA system,it sparked a round of boos from the fair-weather section of Indian fans. At the end of Jadejas spell,they might have felt differently.

Jadeja in the spotlight

Jadeja kept it flat and straight on a pitch that provided slow turn,and gave away just nine off three overs,picking up the crucial wicket of de Villiers just when South Africa were looking to force the pace. De Villiers had provided the launching pad for his side with a 51-ball 63 before a leading edge cut his outing short,but the South African innings never really took off.

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Jadeja himself must feel more at home after this performance,though it will take a few big blows with the bat in hand to make him believe,once again,that he belongs to this level.

South Africa,on the other hand,will go into their semi-final slightly worried about the way their batsmen handled Indias tweakers.

Yuvraj Singh bowled his four overs for 25,Harbhajan for 20. Indias three-pronged pace attack got just six overs between them,and went for 53,while the spinners part-time and otherwise had sent down 14 overs that went for 75 runs.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka,who made it to the semi-finals from the opposite group,have got two of the strongest spin attacks.

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The Proteas have been the form-team of the tournament so far. On Tuesdays evidence,a big challenge lies ahead.