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 CAPE TOWN: Chasing 275 to win in the third ODI against South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town, India were bundled out for 168 in 41.3 overs, suffering their second successive defeat in the five-match series.
The Indians never really looked in the hunt after losing early wickets.
Justin Kemp's Man of the Match winning blistering ton seemed to have added to the psychological dents that the South Africans inflicted on the Indians at Durban, and they clearly seemed to have few answers to the South African bowlers, who strangled the batsmen for runs while taking wickets at regular intervals.
The 106-run win has now given South Africa a 2-0 lead in the series.
The Indian innings began poorly with Shaun Pollock sending Virender Sehwag 0 (4) and Sachin Tendulkar 2 (9) packing within the first few overs.
The only real resistance from the Indians came in the form of an 85-run stand between skipper Rahul Dravid (63) and wicketkeeper MS Dhoni (55).
However, the batting wilted under the pressure created by some tight bowling and brilliant fielding by the Proteas.
For South Africa, Shaun Pollock was the chief destroyer as he ran through the Indian top order, claiming four scalps, while Kallis and Hall also chipped in with two and three wickets a piece.
Batting first, South Africa staged one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent times as they recovered from being 76 for six in 20 overs to post 274 for seven.
Although the South Africans won the toss and elected to bat, it was the Indians who got off to a dream start as paceman Zaheer Khan made early in-roads sending South African skipper Greame Smith and the dangerous Jacques Kallis back in the very first over.
Thereafter, the South African batting seemed to be buckling under the pressure, as the Indians captured the scalps of Loots Bosman (6), Haerschelle Gibbs (35), Mark Boucher (4) and AB De Villiers (29) in regular intervals to leave the hosts at a dismal 76 for six.
However, the Proteas' fightback was led by Justin Kemp, who scored his maiden ODI hundred. Kemp's 100 of 89 balls included six boundaries and seven towering sixes.
The big-hitting Kemp was well-backed by allrounders Shaun Pollock (33) and Andrew Hall (56). His 138-run partnership with Hall set a new record for the eight wicket.
For India, Zaheer, continuing with the good form he displayed in Durban, claimed three wickets for 42 runs in his 10 overs, while Kumble was his miserly best as he conceded just 24 runs of his 10 overs, but failed to pick up any South African scalps.
However, the Indians failed to deliver the knockout punch as Irfan Pathan (8-1-60-1), Ajit Agarkar (9-0-71-1) and Harbajhan Singh (10-0-63-0) delivered below par performances.
The Indians will now be under tremendous pressure after two dismal batting performances, and questions are also bound to be raised about the bowling in the final 10 overs.
The hosts, on the other hand, are sitting comfortably with back-to-back wins and will be looking forward to wrapping up the series in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.
The Teams:
India: Rahul Dravid (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan.
South Africa: Graeme smith (Captain), L Bosman, Jacques Kallis, Haerschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Justin Kemp, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya Ntini.
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