Favourites South Africa condemned India to a winless spell in the Super Eights of the Twenty20 World Cup, when they prevailed over the dethroned champions by 12 runs yesterday.

South Africa typically bowled steadily and fielded alertly to successfully defend a target of 131 in the 12th and final Super Eight match at Trent Bridge.

Off-spinner Johan Botha captured three wickets for 16 runs from four overs and Dale Steyn took two for 25 from three overs to lead South Africa's bowling.

A few of India's batsmen got starts without carrying on - Rohit Sharma led the way with 29, Yuvraj Singh made 25 and Gautam Gambhir got 21.

Earlier, Abraham de Villiers smacked seven fours in a top score of 63 from 51 balls for South Africa and earned the Man-of-the-Match award. But South Africa, who had already qualified for the semi-finals, struggled in the middle to late overs to increase the tempo.

South Africa finished on top of Group E ahead of the West Indies and will now face Pakistan in the first semi-final tomorrow at the same venue.

West Indies will meet Sri Lanka - a side that beat them in the group stage - in the second semi-final on Friday at The Oval.

Meanwhile, in the first match of the double-header, spinner Ajantha Mendis snared three wickets cheaply and steered Sri Lanka to a 48-run victory over New Zealand and into the semi-finals as group winners.

Electing to bat, Sri Lanka scored 158 for eight off their 20 overs and New Zealand plunged to 110 all out off 17 overs in the Super Eight Group F match at Trent Bridge.

The result ensured Sri Lanka kept their 100 per cent win record in the tournament so far. Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scored for Sri Lanka with 48 off 37 balls with five boundaries, and former captain Mahela Jayawardene contributed a 29-ball 41 not out with six fours and one six.