South Africa beat India by 3 wickets in a thriller

Nagpur: Jacques Kallis (69 off 88 balls) and Hashim Amla (61 off 72) scored fifties and gave South Africa a chance of chasing down Indian total of 296 in a crucial Group B encounter at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur on Saturday.

The two experienced batsmen also shared an important 86-run stand for the second wicket before Amla got caught behind off Harbhajan Singh.

Kallis always kept the Proeas in the hunt before getting run out.

The Proteas made a steady start before Zaheer Khan made Graeme Smith to play a false stroke and give a simple catch to Sachin Tendulkar at mid-off.

Amla, in his half-century, hit some crisp shots on both sides of the wicket.

Earlier, Dale Steyn grabbed five wickets as the Proteas made a stunning comeback to restrict the home side for just 296.

After being set for a massive score by centurion Tendulkar (111 off 101 balls), Virender Sehwag (73 off 66 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (69 off 75 balls), India lost a cluster wickets in the batting powerplay (4 for 30 runs) and bundled out in 48.4 overs.

In pics: India vs South Africa