Graeme Smith cracked a blistering unbeaten 134 as a ruthless South Africa kept themselves on course for their first one-day series win on Indian soil with a resounding ten-wicketvictory against India in the fourth one-dayer today.
After skittling out the hosts for a paltry 188 in 45.5 overs on a green-tinged track, captain Smith unleashed his batting artistry to notch up his fifth ODI century and steer his team home for an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
The hosts were thoroughly outplayed in all departments of the game as the Proteas first produced a clinical bowling display and then overhauled the target with 14.1 overs to spare, turning the crucial floodlit encounter at the Eden Gardens into a totally lop-sided affair.
Smith gave a fine exhibition of stroke play as he seemed to be no trouble at all during his 124-ball knock to put on 189 runs with Andrew Hall (48 not out) for the opening partnership.
The Indians were a pale shadow of themselves as the famed batting line-up failed to last out the 50 overs after Shaun Pollock(3-25) had caused the early jolts with a devastating opening spell which saw three wickets fall inside sevenovers.
Hall also chipped in with three wickets, including the prized scalps of Virender Sehwag and M S Dhoni.
It was only the fourth time India were losing a one-dayer by 10 wickets, and the first time at home.
The home team could have been in a far more embarrassing position had it not been for a defiant 81-run sixth wicket partnership between Yuvraj Singh (53) and Mohammad Kaif (46) which provided a semblance of respectability to the total.
The two teams will now travel to Mumbai for the fifth and last one-dayer to be held under floodlights on November 28, a game which India has to win to level the series.
It turned out to be a poor day for the Indians who failed to live up to expectations in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Eden which at times showed that it has still not come to terms with the sacking of local heroSaurav Ganguly from the one-day outfit.
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A section of the crowd chanted slogans against coach Greg Chappell and held aloft posters and banners calling for the recall of Ganguly.
Put into bat on a track which favoured the pace bowlers, the Indians never really recovered from the early blows as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals.
The seasoned Pollock wrecked the top order to reduce the hosts to a precarious 71 for five before Yuvraj and Kaif salvaged the innings to some extent with a face-saving partnership.
After Yuvraj's 78-ball knock was brought to end by spinner Johan Botha, the Indians suffered another dramatic collapse losing their last five wickets for just 36 runs.
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Exploiting the favourable conditions on the greenish track, something unprecedented in the history of one-dayers at the venue, Pollock destroyed the Indian top order to record an impressive first spell reading 8-3-21-3.
Tendulkar, who became the highest capped player in one-day history today with 357 scalps, failed to halt his run of poor scores. The master batsman has managed just 77 in his last seven one-day innings.
Indian coach Greg Chappell, whose experiments with the batting order has mostly clicked of late, tried to add another surprise element by sendingIrfan Pathan as an opener along with Gautam Gambhir, but for once his trick did not work.
Pathan departed off only the third delivery of the match, as he dragged on to his stump a Pollock delivery pitched wide outside the off stump.
The former South African skipper made good use of the seamer-friendly conditions as he got the ball moving, putting the Indian batsmen in all sorts of difficulty.
Gambhir, however, looked comfortable, cover driving Andre Nel and then slashing Pollock, but a big wicket fell at the other end.
Tendulkar, who came out to a standing ovation from the 70,000-odd crowd, became Pollock's second victim in the bowler's third over.
Pollock again struck in his next over, as Gambhir edged to Smith at first slip, as India were reduced to 23 for three.
Undeterred, vice captain Sehwag made his aggressive intentions clear, hitting some scintillating shots.
A cover drive off Pollock and a slash off the same bowler were the high points of his 20-ball stay, that was embellished with six boundaries.
PTI
