India beat South Africa by 6 wickets in 3rd ODI,claim series 2-1

Belfast ,July 1 (UNI) Yuvraj Singh struck amature indecent 61 to leave India to a series-clinching,6 wicket win over South Africa in the rain truncated third and final ODI here.

Set to score 149 from 31 overs,India surpassed the target with 4 balls to spare and Yuvraj hitting 28th ODI 50 and remaining not out 61 from 82 balls with the help of 5*4 and 1*6.

Giving Yuvraj company till the end was wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 14 from 11 balls which was studded with two well struck boundaries.

The highlights of the Indian innings was the crucial fourth wicket stained of 70 runs from 96 deliveries between Yuvraj and the skipper Rahul Dravid who contributed 36 from 49 balls.

Yuvraj singh and Dhoni than carried India to victory ,sharing an unbroken 36 runs partnership from 49 balls.

India won the series 2-1. Yuvraj was declared man of the match and Sachin Tendulkar man of the series.

Earlier Ajit Agarkar,Saurabh Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar took three wickets each to help India restrict South Africa to 148 for 7 in their allotted 31 overs.

Agarkar(2 for 21) was pick of the Indian bowler, claiming the wickets of last match top scorer Morne van Wyk and Captain Jacques Kallis from his six overs. Ganguly(2 for 24) and Tendulkar(2 for 10) chiped in with their slow medium pace, while new bowl bowler Zaheer Khan scalped the remaining wickets.

For South Africa Kemp top scored with 61 while experience Herschelle Gibbs contributed 56 and the duo shared a 95 ball 99 run stand for the 5th wicket to revive the South African innings after Agarkar reduced the proteas to eight for two in the fourth over.

Kemp displayed his batting skills by scoring a run a ball 61, studed with five hits to the boundary and two over it, while Gibbs played a mature innings of 56 in 67 balls which included three fours and two hits over the boundary.

Earlier, Rahul Dravid won the toss and inserted South Africa in after overnight rain delayed the match by more than five hours and reducing it to 31 hours a side.

UNI