SA make more than a point

AB de Villers overcame his recent indifferent form to hit an unbeaten century after the bowlers,notably spinners Imran Tahir and Johan Botha,had restricted the opposition to 222 as the pre-tournament favourites cruised with 7.1 overs to spare. But the match belonged to one man: Smith the captain. It was one of those days where he couldnt put a foot wrong.

Amid overcast conditions,and on what described as an unknown track the previous day,Smith won the toss and decided to field. South Africas playing XI had an unusual ring to it. Included in the team where half-a-dozen spinners,three of them full-time. Smith also decided to hand Imran Tahir the ODI cap,with the leggie justifying his inclusion with a four-wicket haul.

Botha masterstroke

The masterstroke,however,was to throw the ball at Johan Botha as Chris Gayle took his guard to open the innings. Come to think of it: a captain who has arguably the best new-ball pair in the world at the moment Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel did a Martin Crowe. But Botha took only three balls to prove his captain right as he induced an outside edge off Gayles bat and Jacques Kallis plucked it inches off the ground to make it 2/1.

In 1996 and 2003,it was Brian Lara who took the game away from South Africa; in 2011 it looked like his first cousin and clone the younger Bravo would do an encore. He conjured up shots the world hadnt seen since Lara. He pulled with disdain and drove with grace,flicked with finesse and cut with ferocity to leave Smith juggling with his bowling options. After getting a measure of Tahir in the first over,he caressed him through the covers in the second to bring up his fifty. Bravo celebrated it by smashing the leggie for a six over long on,forcing Smith to take the spinner off the attack.

Bravo and Devon Smith brought up their 100-run partnership in the 20th over and West Indies looked on course to set a big target. That was when Smith brought Botha back into the attack. Like he did in the first over,the offie struck again,rapping the pads of the dangerous Bravo,who was looking unstoppable at 73. This time the umpires finger went up.

Buoyed by the breakthrough,Smith reintroduced Tahir and the leggie delivered by removing the well-set Smith for his first wicket in international cricket. The celebrations hadnt completely died down in the South African camp when Tahir struck again,trapping Ramnaresh Sarwan in front as the West Indies characteristically crumbled from 113/1 to 120/4.

South African reply was iffy in the start,with two of their most prolific batsmen Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis back in the hut with just 20 on the board. Like Smith,West Indies skipper Darren Sammy too opened the attack with a slow bowler Sulieman Benn. The left-armer got Jacques Kallis in his 3rd over.

However,AB de Villers,who wasnt in the best of nick coming into the tournament,was in a mood to make amends. Talk that his wicketkeeping responsibility was affecting his batting was laid to rest and seemed a thing of the past after one Kemar Roach over. Having hit three magnifient boundaries to make his intentions clear,he went on to score his run-a-ball half century with a six off Gayle. Smith fell to Benn five short of his,but AB was in an unforgiving mood. Having taken the team near the finish line,he brought up century in 97 balls to bring the crowd to its feet. If West Indies were perceived as a banana peel for South Africa,AB squished them to make a mockery of the first marquee clash of the Cup.