Duminy, de Kock star as South Africa down hosts India by 4 runs

South Africa defeated hosts India by four runs in their World Twenty20 warm-up match in Mumbai yesterday.The Proteas won the toss and opted to bat, going on to make 196 for eight in their 20 overs at the western Indian city’s Wankhede Stadium. JP Duminy top-scored for South Africa, hitting 67 off 44 balls. His impressive knock included six fours and three sixes. Left-handed batsman Quinton de Kock stylishly played his way to 56 runs before retiring not out. Hardik Pandya was the pick of India’s bowlers, grabbing three wickets.  India’s run chase got off to a bad start with opener Rohit Sharma going for 10 and Virat Kohli managing just one before being caught off only his second ball. Shikhar Dhawan was India’s highest scorer with 73 while Suresh Raina notched 41 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni recorded 30 as the home side got into their groove. But in the end they fell just short on a total of 192 for three.  Dhawan looked in good touch as he kept on striking boundaries to not let the required run rate climb too high. Ajinkya Rahane (11), who came in after Kohli’s dismissal, was looking good but he too departed after being clean bowled off a googly by leg-spinner Imran Tahir and India were reduced to 48/3 in the seventh over.But incoming batsman Suresh Raina (41 retired not out) gave good company to Dhawan as the duo gathered a crucial 94-run partnership for the fourth wicket before both decided to retire not out. Dhoni (30 not out) and Yuvraj Singh (16 not out) tried their best with a cameo innings at the end but failed to take it over the line.Earlier, South Africa got off to a disappointing start losing opener Hashim Amla (5) in the third over itself. But the fall of wicket didn’t worry his opening partner de Kock as the left-handed batsman scored at a good pace to take the pressure away from the team.Skipper Faf du Plessis (12) after hitting three boundaries was caught by Ravindra Jadeja at point off the bowling off Mohamed Shami to have the Proteas at 33/2 in 3.5 overs. But from there on it was entirely a de Kock and Duminy show as the duo piled on some quickfire runs to score 50-run partnership for the third wicket in just 25 balls. The duo brought up team’s 100 in just 10.5 overs.Pandya (3-36), Shami (2-37) and Bumrah (2-51) were the pick of the bowlers for India.India play New Zealand on Tuesday in the first Super 10 group stage game of the tournament. England are in action against the West Indies on Wednesday before facing South Africa on Friday in the Proteas’ first match of the championship. Scotland beat Hong KongElsewhere, Scotland recorded their first win in 21 attempts at a major global tournament by beating Hong Kong in their final World Twenty20 group match in Nagpur yesterday.Chasing a revised Duckworth-Lewis target of 76 in 10 overs after rain, Scotland won by eight wickets with 12 balls to spare thanks to Matthew Cross’ quickfire 22. Mark Chapman made 40 in Hong Kong’s modest 127-7 with Matt Machan taking 2-26.Earlier on the same ground, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe to top the group and qualify for the Super 10s.Scotland’s win earned them third place in the group, with Hong Kong bottom after losing all three matches.Beaten by Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in their opening two games, Scotland’s sequence without a win at a major tournament stretched back to the 1999 World Cup.“It’s a great day for Scottish cricket,” said man-of-the-match Machan, who hit the winning runs to finish 15 not out off four balls. “We haven’t played our best cricket this week but we’ve got the monkey off our back and we’re very happy.”Scotland captain Preston Mommsen added: “It’s huge... it’s been a long time coming. The boys are absolutely chuffed to get on the board.”Scotland’s victory owed much to the discipline of their bowling attack, with slow left-armer Con de Lange and seamer Richie Berrington conceding fewer than five runs an over.Although Chapman helped Hong Kong recover from 33-3 alongside Anshuman Rath, they struggled to find the boundary until Nizakat Khan hit two sixes in his 17 off 10 balls late on.Scotland’s chase, delayed by a second rain delay lasting 45 minutes, was little more than a formality. Cross provided the early impetus, opener Kyle Coetzer made a patient unbeaten 20 and Machan wrapped up victory with a six over deep mid-wicket.Brief scores*  South Africa 196/8 in 20 overs (JP Duminy 67, Quinton de Kock 56 retired not out; Hardik Pandya 3-36, Mohamed Shami 2-37, Jasprit Bumrah 2-51) beat India 192/3 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 73 retired not out; Imran Tahir 1-25, Kyle Abbott 1-32, Dale Steyn 1-36) by 4 runs*  Hong Kong 127-7 in 20 overs (Mark Chapman 40; Matt Machan 2/26) lost to Scotland 78-2 (target 76) in 8 overs (Matthew Cross 22) by eight wickets (D/L method)