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[nahia]

NEW DELHI: South Africa lost openers Graeme Smith (7) and Hashim Amla (18) before 10 overs against Ireland in their World Cup Group B match at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.

Scorecard | Photos

Brilliant direct hit by fielder John Mooney in the tenth over send Proteas skipper back to the pavilion after he laboured for his seven runs off 18 balls.

Amla hit a six and a four in his 17-ball innings before he was caught at the third man by George Dockrell off Boyd Rankin in the fifth over.

Earlier, Ireland skipper William Porterfield won the toss and decided to field against the Proteas.

Ireland called up their in-form paceman Trent Johnston, who suffered a knee injury against India, for the tie in place of Andre Botha.

Johnston, who missed the last match, is his team's second-highest wicket-taker with six in three games.

Whereas, South Africa have rested their in-form batsman AB de Villiers and gave Collin Ingrams his place in the side against the Irish.

South Africa, with six points from four games, will be assured of a place in the last eight with a victory while Ireland, with two points from four matches, only have a slim chance of qualifying.

The momentum is currently with South Africa who bounced back strongly to defeat India by three wickets in a tense finish in Nagpur on Saturday after losing a close match to England.

South Africa have shown they have depth in both bowling and batting. Their spinners, Imran Tahir, Robin Peterson and Johan Botha, were superbly backed by pacemen Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in previous games.

South Africa's batting looked solid against India, especially after Jacques Kallis's return to form with a 69 in Nagpur after contributing just 21 in the first three matches.

Ireland not only made India battle for victory with their gritty display, but also gave a scare or two to the West Indies before losing by 44 runs in Mohali.

Teams:

South Africa: Graeme Smith (Capt.), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Morne van Wyk (wk).

Ireland: William Porterfield (Capt.), Alex Cusack, Niall O'Brien, Kevin O'Brien, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, John Mooney, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson, Ed Joyce.

Pitch conditions: Batsmen are likely to dominate the proceedings at the Eden Gardens as the pitch offers even bounce. There will be something in it for the bowlers as the match progresses but they need to keep a tidy line and length.

[aanish]

South Africa could have got another one early had Morkel no dropped Paul Stirling in the third over. But, the joy was short-lived for the Irish team as in the very next over Morkel made amends and got the better of Stirling with Jacques Kallis performing the final rites. Stirling fell for 10 and South Africa lost their second wicket on 19/2.