World T20 cricket: South Africa v Zimbabwe as it happened

Off-spinner Stuart Matsikenyeri is the sixth Zimbabwe bowler used, Amla guides a single to allow Levi to reach his half century - which he does with a single to long-on, reaching the landmark off 43 balls. Amla is hit on the pad, nothing doing from the umpire, and a gentle single to long-on completes one of the more straightforward victories I've seen in T20 cricket.

That knock may be the reason Utseya's not bowling as Price returns to the attack with 15 needed from the final 10 overs. Levi hammers his sixth boundary through the covers, Utseya is in the wars again as his diving stop can't cut it off. Price spins down a legside wide, a Levi single takes the target down to single figures, and Amla fluently pushes a two to the cover sweeper. A single off the last ball takes him to 29 - six runs are needed from nine overs. That's not a misprint - six runs from nine overs.

More easy singles for Amla and Levi against Cremer, while Levi aims a firm slog-sweep but is denied a boundary by the tumbling Kyle Jarvis on the square leg boundary and they run two. Levi helps the last ball down the leg side for one, and Utseya seems to have taken a knock in the field.

Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers are sat in the SA dug-out, but they won't need to keep their pads on for much longer as after a single from Amla, Levi gives it plenty of bottom hand against Utseya, whacking him for four through cow corner. A single takes him to 36, Amla moves to 24 with another single, and a jogged two to long-off by Levi means Zimbabwe are 21 runs away from elimination. By comparison, at this stage Zimbabwe were 43-3.

Leg-spinner Graeme Cremer into the attack as captain Taylor shuffles his meagre bowling resources. Levi and Amla exchange singles before the big man tries to unleash a rather obviously telegraphed reverse sweep but can't connect. Two more singles and this match is only heading one way.

Off-spinner Prosper Utseya replaces Price but Amla and Levi are able to dab, guide and shovel their way to take four singles from the over. South Africa need 34 more. From 13 overs...

Amla and Levi continue to knock the singles around against Price, South Africa are picking off their neighbours here with consummate ease. Amla is hit on the pad as he tries to whip a quicker ball off his legs, but recovers in time to crash a looser delivery throught he covers for his third four.

Jarvis has changed ends, Amla flicks him for a single, Levi swipes and it flies off the edge for a single to third man. Amla takes a fresh guard via the Chanderpaul method of banging a bail into the crease, then there's a rare play-and-miss by the bearded right-hander. Taylor responds by bringing in a slip, and again Amla can't quite time the ball, eventually working a single off his legs. Levi whacks a first-bounce four over mid-on, and the Proteas are on cruise control. (Come to think of it, can you be on cruise control without being in top gear? Not a car expert, as you can tell).

Zimbabwe turn to the experience of left-arm spinner Ray Price, who made his international debut as far back as December 1999 in a Test against Sri Lanka in Harare. Amla and Levi manage to milk him for a couple of singles, Amla pushes one to square leg and nearly collides with the leaping Price as he dives to make his ground at the bowler's end. Levi rotates the strike well, Amla is beaten as he tries to force Price through the leg side but it evades keeper Brendan Taylor and they run three byes.

Brian Vitori was the only Zimbabwe player not to get a bat today, he's a left-arm seamer who's only playing his second T20 international, having taken 0-27 on his debut against Sri Lanka the other day. Levi punches a two, there's no slip in for Amla which is a little surprising - it's win or bust for Zimbabwe, and frankly they need to take wickets, and probably bowl South Africa out, to have any hope of winning. Amla prods a single, Levi has two men out for the hook but manages to hoist a short delivery past both of them for his first four. After another wide, the Proteas are off to a flier. Amla has nine, Levi has eight, extras have seven.

The burly Richard Levi tries to help the second ball of the innings down the leg side for four, it's leg byes off his thigh pad, but he's off the mark with a shovelled single to deep square leg. Hashim Amla seems to have been batting for most of the last three or four months after his heroics on tour in England, he's really stepping across his stumps to the off side to his first ball, but stays still for the second as Jarvis pings in a legside wide. Amla is off the mark as he slashes a four through extra cover, Jarvis is off a long run here but can't stop himself bowling another legside wide, and Amla top-edges the last ball for four over the solitary slip. So, with one over gone, South Africa are three or four times over the required run rate...

Last over then, Kallis to bowl, although for a time it looked as if Zimbabwe may have struggled to bat out the 20. Jarvis steps back and hoists Kallis over the infield, the cover sweeper runs round and they scamper a two. Kallis is a canny old campaigner, giving nothing away as Jarvis struggles to get a bat on him. When he does connect, they manage a single to extra cover, leaving Price to face the last ball of the innings, which he belts for four wide of mid-oiff to rather dent Kallis's figures. The big all-rounder finishes with 4-15 from his four overs, and South Africa need to score 94 to win.

Albie Morkel to finish his spell, a bouncer to Jarvis is called as a wide on height as Jarvis backs away. Jarvis then drives straight to mid-off, goes for a single but a direct hit leaves Steve Davis signalling for the third umpire... and he's just in. Despite not running his bat in. A well-run two by Price takes them past the magic 84 score, he tries to step to the off side to aim a "ramp" shot down the leg side but can't connect.

Zimbabwe may struggle here to beat their previous lowest T20 international score, which was 84 against New Zealand in 2010. New batsman Kyle Jarvis helps himself to a two, before nicking the strike with a single.

New batsman is veteran spinner Ray Price, at 36 one of the elder statesmen of the tournament, he survives his first ball from Steyn who finishes with 1-9 from his four overs.

And with three overs left in the innings, make sure you keep listening to TMS during the interval, as we'll be hearing from England captain Stuart Broad, as well as getting the thoughts of Neil Manthorp as he assesses South Africa's prospects over the next couple of weeks.

ABDV rotates his bowlers as Botha replaces Kallis. Ervine prods a single, and Botha's operating off the briefest of run-ups to Utseya, only skipping in off three or four paces. Three more singles by the becalmed seventh-wicket pair.

Steyn's off, Morne Morkel will be the first SA bowler to complete his spell. Proteas bowling coach Allan Donald looks on from the boundary, sporting a sun visor of the sort more associated with his golfing namesake Luke. Utseya is off the mark with a single, Morkel strays with a couple of wides, and Ervine adds a single to move to 29. Without his contribution, Zimbabwe really would be in the soup.

Prosper Utseya is the new man in, he's off the mark with a single but Ervine is the only Zimbabwe batsman who's been able to "live long" in this innings. Kallis has 3-3 from two overs.

Bit of a hold-up after one ball of the recalled Kallis's over as the ground staff come on to repair the bowler's footmarks.

Dirk Nannes on TMS thinks South Africa are "going for the jugular" by recalling Steyn in place of Kallis, who had bowled a none-to-shabby double-wicket maiden! And we have another task for third umpire Ian Gould as Cremer sends Ervine back, a direct throw hits the stumps at the bowler's end and after much deliberation... it's not out. Cremer pushes a single to leg, Ervine swings and misses, then is floored as he ducks a brute of a bouncer from Steyn and although the ground is mostly empty, there's a very boisterous band out there who are doing their best to make it sound fuller! One run from the over.

Ervine guides Albie Morkel for a single, Cremer is off the mark with a two off his legs, a quick single takes them to 55-5 but some smart work in the infield sends Ervine back when he tries to dab a quick single of his own. Ervine clips a single off his leg, comes back for a second and has to go for the full-length dive as ABDV takes the bails off, and umpire Davis sends it upstairs... Ervine's in by a few centimetres.

Graeme Cremer is the new batsman - Kallis on a hat-trick, it's Kallis versus Cremer for the hat-trick ball (rather than Cremer versus Cremer, wasn't that a Dustin Hoffman film?) but the dark-haired right-hander digs the ball out to mid-on.

Hot dog, jumping frog, Albie Morkel (as Prefab Sprout may have sung) is back into the attack after just one over of Peterson. Ervine and Matsikenyeri exchange singles, Morkel tries a slower-ball bouncer (of the sort perfected by England in the last World T20 in the West Indies) but it's too high and signalled as a wide. A legside bouncer is similarly signalled wide (in at least one if not two dimensions), Ervine keeps prodding the ones and twos before Matsikenyeri powers a baseball-style blast to mid-off, Botha's throw hits the stumps but Matsikenyeri's home for a quick single.

Ervine steers Botha for four through the covers, a single takes him to 21 from 16 balls, then the off-spinner screams an appeal for lbw as Masakadza tries to force the ball down the leg side but umpire Steve Davis signals a leg bye. And with no DRS in this tournament, screaming an appeal is about all Botha can do... Ervine adds a leg bye of his own, Matsikenyeri shovels a two to move to nine.

Slow left-armer Robin Peterson is South Africa's second spinner, though it's fair to say that he and Botha don't have quite the bag of tricks of Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis, who bamboozled Zimbabwe's batsmen in the opening game of the tournament, taking a record six wickets for eight runs. A single takes Matsikenyeri to five, then left-hander Ervine fluently reverse-sweeps for four. Matsikenyeri forces a two wide of mid-on, that's a better over from Zimbabwe. As Alison Mitchell reminds TMS listeners, if Zimbabwe lose today they're eliminated.

Our first sight of some spin as off-spinner Johan Botha replaces Albie Morkel. Matsikenyeri and Ervine, in rebuilding mode, plod along with some ones and twos - five off the over.

It's still The Morkel Show from the SA bowlers as Morne's into his third over, Ervine rotates the strike with a leg bye and Matsikenyeri is off the mark with a single off his legs. Two more singles, and that's it for the powerplay fielding restrictions.

Ervine adds a single, he's been joined by right-hander Stuart Matsikenyeri.

Not wanting to be pessimistic for Zimbabwe, but their projected score on the official tournament website is 68, and my colleague Alistair Watkins has dug out the lowest score in a World Twenty20 match which is Ireland's 68 against West Indies in 2010 when extras top-scored with 19 and the tournament hosts won by 70 runs. The next lowest total is Kenya's 73 against New Zealand in 2007.

Left-hander Craig Ervine is the new batsman, how Zimbabwe could do with the all-round skills of his elder brother Sean who was one of Hampshire's stars in that thrilling Lord's final win last Saturday. He's off the mark with a single, then Masakadza whacks the first boundary of the innings with a firm straight-driven four.

Taylor prods Steyn for a single, Masakadza tries to step back to give himself room but does it so early that Steyn is able to bowl one out of his reach. The opener can't get the rest of the over away, so just that one single from Steyn's over.

And re: the team lists earlier, I can confirm that Johan Botha is in the Proteas' XI and Wayne Parnell isn't. I blame ABDV, who didn't seem to know his own team at the toss.

Captain Brendan Taylor was Zimbabwe's hero when they beat Australia in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007 - he's got a big task on his hands, and gets the scoreboard ticking again by squirting a single to fine leg. Masakadza tries to pull a bouncer but misses and the ball sails through to AB de Villiers behind the timbers.

Dale Steyn takes the new ball for South Africa, while Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda are opening up for Zimbabwe. There's a hint of early swing for Steyn, who pings it in just outside off stump to Masakadza, who's sporting a red bandana under his dark green helmet. Unhurried by the fact that it's T20, he leaves the first four balls of the innings before dabbing a single into the off side. Sibanda swishes and missed at the last ball of the over.