Top 5 India-South Africa ODI encounters

#1 Johannesburg, 2011

Parnell was distraught as Munaf Patel took the last two wickets to help India win the game

After a hard-fought Test series which ended in a draw (1-1), India won the only T20I but lost the first ODI comprehensively. With the World Cup in about 45 days, it was the final chance for both teams to get their combinations right. South Africa were 1-0 up as the teams moved to Johannesburg for the second ODI.

After opting to bat, India found themselves in trouble at 67/3. But Yuvraj Singh (53) and MS Dhoni (38) steadied the ship as they stitched an 83-run stand. But once their partnership was broken, the lower-middle order failed for the second consecutive time as they were bowled out for 190. Tsotsobe was the star for South Africa with the ball as he picked up a four-wicket haul.

Chasing a modest total of 191, South Africa looked on course for their second successive victory of the series when they reached 150 in the 32nd over (even though they had lost four wickets). But Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel brought India back in the game with 3 wickets in as many overs to reduce the hosts to 163/7. But Parnell kept chipping away with some vital runs as India picked up Steyn at the other end.

With 3 runs to win and 2 wickets in hand, South Africa looked favourites once again. But Munaf Patel scalped out Morne Morkel. With No. 11 Tsotsobe on strike, Patel would’ve backed himself to get him out, but the left-arm pacer found a way to sneak a single to give the strike back to Parnell. On the final ball of the 43rd over, Patel bowled a length ball outside off stump which was cut away (in the air) by Parnell only to find Yuvraj’s safe hands. India completed a superb come-from-behind win to level the series 1-1.

Brief Scores: India 190 (Yuvraj 53, Dhoni 38, Tsotsobe 4-22, Morkel 2/32) beat South Africa 189 (Smith 77, Miller 27, Munaf 4-29, Zaheer 2/37)