Duminy's 99 powers South Africa to 272

[truebluefan]

The World Cup finally reached Eden Gardens, and the sparse crowd that turned up on an overcast afternoon were treated to a JP Duminy special that ended one run short of a well-deserved ton as South Africa finished with 272. The final score seemed a far cry away when Ireland's trademark enthusiasm had hustled out South Africa's top half by the 27th over with just 117 on the board. South Africa were, however, let off the hook by an inconsistent Irish effort, that showcased the issues that hold back upwardly-mobile Associate teams. There was disciplined, if somewhat limited bowling; there were breath-taking fielding efforts to go with grassed sitters; and there was the glaring inability to land the knockout punch, as they let things drift after hustling the opponents into a corner. Duminy was ready when they ran out of steam, and made them pay with a well-paced innings.

Ireland's initial brilliance was epitomised by two outstanding efforts on the field - first, George Dockrell moved rapidly to his left from a widish third man, tumbled, yet held on to a fierce upper cut from Hashim Amla. Then, John Mooney picked up the ball and threw down the stumps in one fluid motion from midwicket to run Graeme Smith out. Smith's fall in the tenth over exposed South Africa's middle order and they continued to wobble as Jacques Kallis was run out for the second successive innings, and Faf du Plessis guided tamely into the slips. Ironically, it was AB de Villiers' replacement that helped South Africa stem the rot that might have never set in if he had been playing. de Villiers' absence allowed Morne van Wyk to bat at No. 3 and Colin Ingram at No. 7, and both batsmen played crucial hands to propel South Africa.

Read more: http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/current/story/506312.html