Chennai, Mar 6 : South Africa succumbed to a batting collapse under pressure as England snatched a dramatic six-run victory over title aspirants South Africa in a low-scoring World Cup Group B thriller here today England defended a small total of 171 which they scored in 45.4 overs after electing to bat with fast bowler Stuart Broad taking four for 15 to help his side bounce back into the tournament after their humiliating defeat against Ireland.
Chasing 172 for a win, South Africa were on course at 124 for three in the 32nd over after openers Graeme Smith (22) and Hashim Amla (42) had given them a sound start before they slumped to 127 for seven in the 37th over on a turning track at the M A Chaidambaram Stadium.
They, in fact, lost three wickets -- that of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy -- at the same score of 124 with fast bowler James Anderson taking two.
The South African tailenders, however, hung on for a while with Morne van Wynk and Dale Steyn sharing 33 runs in 10.4 overs for the eighth wicket.But once van Wynk was out for 13, Broad dismissed Dale Steyn (20) and Morne Morkel (1) in the space of four balls to bundle out South Africa for 165 in 47.4 overs.
With two full points from today's match, England bounced back to contention for a quarterfinal berth on five points from four matches while South Africa are on four points from three matches.
Defending a small total, England opened their bowling with left-arm spinner Michael Yardy and fast bowler Anderson but South Africa raced to 27 for no loss in the first five overs without much trouble.
Searching for an early wicket, Andrew Strauss introduced his best spinner Graeme Swann in the seventh over and that did put brakes on South African scoring rate with the offie getting the turn from the Chepauk pitch.
England, however, had to wait till the 15th over to get their first breakthrough as they were successful in their review of the umpire's decision to rule South African opener and captain Graeme Smith not out.
The field umpire gave Smith not out but the television replays suggested the ball might have just kissed the batsman's glove before wicketkeeper took the catch and the third umpire ruled him out.
Smith's 22 came from 41 balls from which he hit just two fours. He raised 63 runs for the opening wicket with Amla.England pressed hard for another wicket and the introduction of Broad in the 17th over paid dividends as he dismissed two key South African batsmen -- Amla and Jacques Kallis -- in his first three overs.
Amla, who was batting comfortably till then, seemed to have lost his concentration as he dragged a Broad delivery to his stumps as his side were reduced to 75 for two in the 18th over. His 42 came from 51 balls and studded with two fours.
South Africa were in a spot of bother as dependable Kallis departed two overs later, this time Broad getting an edge for wicket-keeper Prior to take a fine catch. Kallis' 15 came from 20 balls out of which he hit three fours.
England fought their way back into the match with three wickets in three overs at the same score with Anderson getting rid of de Villiers and Duminy while du Plessis was run out as South Africa were pegged back to 124 for six in the 34th over.
De Villiers left alone an Anderson delivery which caressed the bail at the top of offstump before zipping through to wicketkeeper Prior.
du Plessis' tried to run for a non-existent single after flicking a Swann delivery off his toes. After a sharp piece of work at short leg, Prior whipped the bails off.
Anderson, who was at the receiving end against India and Ireland, then dismissed Duminy (0) with a gem of a delivery which knocked off the stumps to end the batsman's misery at the crease. Duminy could not open account from 12 balls.
Earlier, Robin Peterson (3/22) and Imran Tahir (4/38) shared seven wickets between them as South African spinners bundled out England for 171. English batsmen's susceptibility to spin was throughly exposed by Tahir and Peterson.
Jonathan Trott (52) and Ravi Bopara (60) were the only English batsmen to put up a semblance of fight against some disciplined bowling by the Proteas.
Aware of the turning conditions, South Africa skipper Graeme Smith opened the attack with the spin-pace combination of Peterson and Dale Steyn and the strategy paid dividends immediately.
England were in trouble in the very first over when skipper Andrew Strauss, while trying to strike Peterson over midwicket, ended up holing out to de Villiers after facing just three balls and without scoring a single run off them.
Two balls later, the destructive Kevin Pietersen (2) also fell to Peterson, who induced an edge from the left-hander effortlessly taken by Jacques Kallis in the first slip.
The English, reeling at 2/3, were dealt another blow when the in-form Ian Bell (5) too was snapped up by Peterson. Bell was beaten in flight as he popped the ball back and Peterson dived to his left to take a brilliant return catch.Trott and Bopara then started to rebuild the innings with a half-century stand for the fourth wicket but the pace of scoring was too slow to cause any concern in the Proteas camp.
While Trott's 52 came off 94 balls, Bopara's 60 runs took 98 deliveries. Trott was dismissed by leg-spinner Imran Tahir who clung to a fine return catch after surprising the Englishman with some extra bounce.
South African pacers too joined the party when Morne Morkel trapped Bopara leg-before. After the duo's departure,cleaning up the tail was a mere formality for the South Africans and Dale Steyn and Tahir did the job without much effort. PTI
