Ind SA ODI 5 Half Time: SA Crash After Amla Ton and Rain; India Need 268 for Series Win

India could not dislodge Hashim Amla. However, the rest of the South African team wilted rather strangely after a delayed rain break to leave India chasing 268 runs from forty-six overs in the fifth ODI of the India South Africa series that will decide the series winner at Supersport Park in Centurion.

hashim amla mahendra singh dhoni

Tied at 2-2, it came down to the final deciding match of the series to establish the winner of the series, this after the Test series was also a drawn affair. However, the ODI was expected to deliver a winner and for the period before the rain break, it looked as if India had their work cut out for them. But that changed after the rain break.

Hashim Amla was once again sublime and emphatic, dominating the South African total setting efforts. After a ninety-seven run partnership for the second wicket with Morne van Wyk who himself made a half century before he delivered a caught and bowled for Yuvraj Singh, South Africa seemed on target to set a huge total to challenge India to steal the series in South Africa.

With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 the next clash, both teams would have been looking to go into the important tournament with series success under the belt. But if India were feeling bad that South Africa were 226 for three before the rain break at forty-two overs, they would have been feeling much better after the reduced forty-six over innings that saw South Africa lost six wickets with the addition of only nineteen runs.

South Africa's innings read 250 for nine by the end of their forty-six overs. But the Duckworth Lewis method stated that India needed 268 to win the fifth ODI and the series. Had South Africa managed to keep their sanity about them and not helping the otherwise accurate Munaf Patel to three wickets, the D/L method could have made it even harder for the visitors. Now it is time to switch bats.