Dhoni bemoans hapless India's batting woes

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted his highly-regarded batsmen had flopped after the defending champions lost their third successive World Twenty20 Super Eights match on Tuesday.

India, already out of contention for the semi-finals, were defeated by 12 runs by South Africa despite chasing just 131 to win on a slow Trent Bridge wicket.

"The team was up for it right from the warm-up," said Dhoni.

"But the batting really hasn't been up to the mark. Hopefully, when we come back to England it will be different and improve."

"I don't think condition was the issue here. Form of some of the players, including me, was the major factor (behind the defeat)," said a dejected Dhoni.

"We played with six frontline batsmen and the seventh is an all-rounder. When three of them don't click in a match like this, it becomes really very hard. Throughout the tournament I think we bowled well, wherever we played but we lacked a few things when it came to the batting," he added.

Asked about the crowd support, Dhoni said,"The kind of support we get when we play in England. But we have to win games, else we will get booed at the end of the game." Dhoni was not ready to believe that the Indian team had turned bad overnight and felt they just could not click on those particular days.

"In this format, it's not about what kind of side you are but what you do on that particular day. In all three department. It's a game where you have to be there throughout the 40 overs," Dhoni explained.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith, whose team will face Pakistan in the semi-finals here on Thursday, praised his team's ability to adapt to all surfaces and conditions.

"I think 130 on that wicket was a good total. The wicket was slow and the way we defended the total was excellent," he said.

"We have adapted to all surfaces and we have showed how far we have come in terms of our thinking and our options.

"Our fielding was great. It was a great wicket for our slow bowlers. We needed them to take responsibility and they did just that.

"Facing Pakistan will be a great day and we'll need to play our best cricket. We are excited about the semi-finals."

Man of the match AB de Villiers, who hit 63 off 51 deliveries, said patience was key to building runs.

"It wasn't the fanciest knock of my life," he said. "The trick is to have a good foundation for the first 20 balls and then express yourself."