Pathan, key to India's win: Smith

Greame Smith said the difference between the two teams was Pathan's blitzkreig.

His 59 off 50 balls proved to be a matchwinning one. It put SA under tremendous pressure. Pathan hammered the SA bowlers to all parts of the field.

"Yousuf's knock made the difference " said Smith. The pitch was very two paced and also up and down. It was not the best one day wicket I have ever played, but it made for an exciting game".

"It is terrific to see a guy like him come in. He had a good domestic season and just to carry that on here is good. He has prepared well, I have watched him in training. He will bring a lot to the squad, I think."

"It was great to see him and play that well. Especially under pressure. We were under pressure when he came in. I think he has something special, which is good," he added.

The third powerplay robbed SA of a good score and they fell short by 20 runs, he felt.

"I think 220 gave us a chance. The wicket was very difficult to bat on, had sort of plates on it, and its two-paced nature made strokes very difficult. It also had up and down bounce," he said.

"We were really hoping for 240. I think 240 would have been a really good total there. JP Duminy and debutant Faff du Plessis played well together to take us to a decent total. Our Powerplay was poor again, we lost JP and Faff within two overs, and we only got 19 overs in our last six overs.

"I really felt if we got 240 we were in with a real good chance of winning the game. We came real close, we missed two crucial chances at the back end, but I can't fault the guys' commitment tonight, their intensity and the effort they gave," he added.

"I think it's always important to keep doing the right things at training," he said.

"Keep reiterating the same point. The margins have been so small in the last two games, we could easily be 2-1 up or 3-0 up. Just got to keep training hard and keep doing the right things and hopefully the things will kick into place.

"The World Cup squad comes out tonight, that will ease a lot of minds and stress on players. Hopefully free up a lot of players, and make them play with sort of freedom in the next few games," he added.

Dhoni said that with experience Pathan will be a great match winning finishing batsman.

" I just played my natural game " said Man of the Match, Pathan.

"It's a good win for us. I was just looking to hit the balls which were in my areas," he said.