De Villiers smashed 12 fours and a six in his 98-ball innings

South Africa surged to a crushing nine-wicket win over India to complete a 4-0 triumph in the one-day series.

Chasing 201, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers blasted 173 from only 28 overs, before the skipper was caught at long-on for 79, containing four sixes.

De Villiers, dropped on nine, finished on his highest one-day score of 92, as victory came with 18.4 overs to spare.

Sachin Tendulkar hit 55 for India in a paltry total of 200-9, as the tourists fell to a sixth successive ODI defeat.

They have won only two of their last 12 completed one-day games, with pressure growing on coach Greg Chappell.

It could have been a different story had substitute Mohammad Kaif not fumbled a straightforward chance to dismiss De Villiers at point off Shanthakumaran Sreesanth in the fourth over.

De Villiers compounded India's misfortune by bringing up the fifty in the eighth over with three successive fours off Irfan Pathan.

We need some good batting in the practice matches which I hope we will then take into the Tests Virender Sehwag India reaction South Africa reaction

Smith skipped down the wicket to launch Harbhajan Singh back over his head for the first six of the innings, but De Villiers was first to his half century, from 50 balls with nine fours.

Skipper Smith, with only one run to his name from three previous innings in the series, was in confident mood throughout, and highlighted it by stepping down the wicket again to paceman Pathan for another towering six.

When Smith fell, Shaun Pollock was promoted and promptly swiped three fours in an over from the hapless Pathan.

The match ended in bizarre fashion when de Villiers fended off a brutal head high beamer from the combative Sreesanth that umpire Billy Doctrove called a no-ball.

Earlier, Tendulkar was unusually reserved in compiling his 74th one-day international half century, scoring only four runs from his opening 40 deliveries.

His innings was crucial after the events of the seventh over, when the miserly Pollock (2-17) had the destructive Sehwag and VVS Laxman caught behind and at first slip off successive balls.

Tendulkar hit his first boundary in the 16th over and went on to share 85 in 149 balls with Dinesh Mongia before he was caught by a diving de Villiers in the covers.

Mahendra Dhoni carved two sixes and two fours in his enterprising 44 from 49 balls before he was brilliantly caught at long-off in the 48th over, the second of three late wickets for Makhaya Ntini.