England roared back from having been skittled out for just 171 to beat South Africa by six runs in thrilling fashion in their crucial World Cup Group B clash in Chennai.
It had looked to be all doom and gloom for Andrew Strauss's side as they were bowled out inside 46 overs for what looked to be a paltry total.
But England staged a dramatic and improbable comeback to clinch victory in the 48th over of the reply as the Proteas lost all 10 of their wickets for the cost of just 165 runs.
It is the latest in a string of pulsating matches for England in their rollercoaster World Cup campaign, and the victory keeps Strauss's side on course for progression to the quarter-finals.
Stuart Broad took the last two wickets to finish with four for 15 and barring Hashim Amla, who compiled 44, none of the South African batsmen could make an impact against the English bowlers who came up with a lion-hearted effort.
This was after South Africa's left-arm spinner Robin Peterson ended with three for 22 as he wrecked the England top order, claiming two wickets in his first over, while his in-form spin colleague Imran Tahir took four for 38 to scythe through the lower order.
"We didn't think 170 was as competitive as it should be but it's proved to be just that so we're delighted," said England spinner Graeme Swann.
"We knew there was a lot in the pitch for us. We knew it would turn, we knew it would keep low for the seamers and we knew how difficult it was to score from when we batted, especially at the end.
"As it turned out, their innings mirrored ours. We knew that pressure would build on the later batsmen and it was very hard to score runs at the end.
"It just goes to show that if you believe you can win any game... as we proved today."
The South African batting line-up, which shone in victories against West Indies and the Netherlands, showed similar vulnerability to slump to 127 for seven from a relatively comfortable 82 for two.
With South Africa losing five quick wickets, fresh life was injected into an otherwise dull match.
Things further spiced up when Faf du Plessis ran himself out for a brisk 17 and Michael Yardy removed Peterson to pave the way eventually for a memorable victory, made possible by Broad's late double strike.
In the morning, England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and decided to bat first but a nightmare unfolded before his eyes at the M A Chidambaram Stadium.
His South African counterpart Graeme Smith opened with Peterson, whose magical first four-over spell - three wickets for four runs from four overs - wrecked England's top order.
Peterson removed the scoreless Strauss with his third delivery and Kevin Pietersen with his sixth and was not done yet.
Having sent down a maiden over, he returned to catch Ian Bell off his own bowling to reduce England to 15 for three inside five overs.
The 99-run fourth wicket stand between Jonathan Trott, who scored a patient 52 and Ravi Bopara, who racked up a breezy 60, somewhat arrested the slide but England never got going and lost the last five wickets for just 23 runs.
However, their partnership proved to be vital as England won their second match of the tournament.
It had looked to be all doom and gloom for Andrew Strauss's side as they were bowled out inside 46 overs for what looked to be a paltry total.
But England staged a dramatic and improbable comeback to clinch victory in the 48th over of the reply as the Proteas lost all 10 of their wickets for the cost of just 165 runs.
It is the latest in a string of pulsating matches for England in their rollercoaster World Cup campaign, and the victory keeps Strauss's side on course for progression to the quarter-finals.
Stuart Broad took the last two wickets to finish with four for 15 and barring Hashim Amla, who compiled 44, none of the South African batsmen could make an impact against the English bowlers who came up with a lion-hearted effort.
This was after South Africa's left-arm spinner Robin Peterson ended with three for 22 as he wrecked the England top order, claiming two wickets in his first over, while his in-form spin colleague Imran Tahir took four for 38 to scythe through the lower order.
"We didn't think 170 was as competitive as it should be but it's proved to be just that so we're delighted," said England spinner Graeme Swann.
"We knew there was a lot in the pitch for us. We knew it would turn, we knew it would keep low for the seamers and we knew how difficult it was to score from when we batted, especially at the end.
"As it turned out, their innings mirrored ours. We knew that pressure would build on the later batsmen and it was very hard to score runs at the end.
"It just goes to show that if you believe you can win any game... as we proved today."
The South African batting line-up, which shone in victories against West Indies and the Netherlands, showed similar vulnerability to slump to 127 for seven from a relatively comfortable 82 for two.
With South Africa losing five quick wickets, fresh life was injected into an otherwise dull match.
Things further spiced up when Faf du Plessis ran himself out for a brisk 17 and Michael Yardy removed Peterson to pave the way eventually for a memorable victory, made possible by Broad's late double strike.
In the morning, England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and decided to bat first but a nightmare unfolded before his eyes at the M A Chidambaram Stadium.
His South African counterpart Graeme Smith opened with Peterson, whose magical first four-over spell - three wickets for four runs from four overs - wrecked England's top order.
Peterson removed the scoreless Strauss with his third delivery and Kevin Pietersen with his sixth and was not done yet.
Having sent down a maiden over, he returned to catch Ian Bell off his own bowling to reduce England to 15 for three inside five overs.
The 99-run fourth wicket stand between Jonathan Trott, who scored a patient 52 and Ravi Bopara, who racked up a breezy 60, somewhat arrested the slide but England never got going and lost the last five wickets for just 23 runs.
However, their partnership proved to be vital as England won their second match of the tournament.
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