The Great Escape: India sneak home by one run

JAIPUR: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's gamble of going in with just three specialist bowlers somehow paid off as the hosts registered a thrilling one-run victory over South Africa in the first One-day International of the three-match series in Jaipur on Sunday.
With three runs needed off the last ball from Praveen Kumar, Wayne Parnell was run out going for the second run which would have tied the game and that meant India had successfully defended their total of 298 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.Praveen held his nerve in the tense finish as he got the wicket of Dale Steyn on the second ball of the final over to help India claw back in the humdinger.
The match seemed all but over after stand-in South African skipper Jacques Kallis was out for 89 (97b, 6x4, 1x6), leaving the visitors with the arduous task of scoring 74 off 42 balls, with just two wickets in hand. But Parnell (49; 47b, 4x4, 1x6) and Dale Steyn (35, 19b; 1x4, 3x6) rose to the occasion, putting on 65 runs for the ninth wicket off just 38 balls. The duo clobbered the Indian bowlers when it was least expected. It was evident by the fact that the last five overs conceded 60 runs.
Part-timers Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja rose to the occasion and complimented the pace trio of Praveen, Ashish Nehra and S Sreesanth wonderfully. After proving expensive in his opening spell, Nehra bounced back to end with one for 67, Albie Morkel being his lone victim. Sreesanth, who failed to bowl the right length when Parnell and Steyn were going great guns, took two for 74 from nine overs while Praveen had two for 46 to show for his excellent effort.
But it was the consistency of Jadeja and Yusuf which made the real difference with just 80 coming off their 20 overs. Jadeja, the pick of the bowlers and Man of the Match too, took two for 29 and Yusuf managed to take the wicket of Johan Botha in his spell of one for 51.
Jadeja kept the Proteas under check in his first spell after being introduced in the tenth over. He accounted for Herschelle Gibbs, when the opener failed to clear long-off and AB de Villiers with an arm ball, which skidded on.
Earlier, Suresh Raina made sure that the hosts reached close to the 300-mark with his 63-ball 58. Almost all the Indian batsmen got starts but failed to carry on. Virender Sehwag (46), Dinesh Karthik (44), Dhoni (26), Virat Kohli (31) - all chipped in but the highest partnership that India could muster was only 79, which was shared for the second wicket after the fall of Sachin Tendulkar, run out for four. Otherwise, India were looking at a total of about 320-330.
India's closest victories by runs in ODIs
RunsOpponentVenueDate1New ZealandWellingtonMarch 6, 19901Sri LankaColomboJuly 25, 19931South AfricaJaipurFebruary 21, 20102South AfricaKolkataNovember 24, 19933ZimbabweAdelaideJanuary 24, 20043Sri LankaRajkotDecember 15, 2009