Sehwag, Sachin give India a blasting start against S. Africa

[1]

Sachin Tendulkar celebrates with batting partner Gautam Gambhir after he scores a century against South Africa

Openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar gave India a fiery start against South Africa in a key World Cup Group B match on Saturday.

In the first nine overs the duo amassed runs, firing the Proteas pacers all around the park beyond the boundaries, keeping the run rate close to nine per over.

Earlier, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to bat after winning the toss against South Africa, a clash that could see the hosts make the quarterfinals.

India made one change from the side that beat the Netherlands by five wickets in the previous match in Delhi, bringing in seamer Munaf Patel in place of leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.

South Africa replaced injured leg-spinner Imran Tahir with off-spinner Johan Botha for the only change from the team that lost to England by six runs in Chennai.

India currently top the seven-team group with seven points from four games, while South Africa have four points from three matches.

A win will guarantee a last-eight place for India.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Morne van Wyk.