DURBAN: India beat South Africa by 37 runs to reach the semifinals of the Twenty20 cricket World Cup. A total of 153 in this slam-bang format may not look safe enough but Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he was confident of defending the total against South Africa, for he had enough trust in the ability of the never-say-die pace attack.

 India scored 153 for five in the do-or-die match and then restricted South Africa to 116 for nine to record a 37-run win that also opened the semifinal door for the side in the ongoing Twenty20 cricket World Cup. It was a sparkling display by the pace attack with RP Singh emerging as wrecker-in-chief with four for 13 while his pace colleague S Sreesanth claimed 2-23 to leave the hosts in tatters.

Dhoni insists the rather modest total did not bother him and his optimism stemmed from his trust in the ability of the pacers. "I think this is the way we need to play professional cricket. We never got the start but had just enough to defend the score. "We always knew our bowlers, how they troubled the South Africans in Ireland and here too.

"So we knew we can defend this total if we get a good start and provide support to bowlers with some good fielding," he said. And it was not his personal wishful thinking but a collective belief, he said. "We all believed we'll do it and that's what matters. If you believe you can do it." Dhoni opted to bat first despite the tinge of green on the track and the Indian captain felt his pacers exploited the conditions to the hilt.