Cape Town, Jan 6 (IANS) India could offer little resistance as South Africa went on to beat the visitors with five wickets in hand on the fifth day of the third and final Test here Saturday, clinching the series 2-1.

Captain Graeme Smith made a solid 55 as the hosts achieved the target of 211 runs comfortably after rains threatened to play spoilsport earlier in the day at the Newlands stadium.

India made 414 in the first innings after opting to bat first and in reply South Africa piled up 373. But in the second innings the Indian batting order failed to live up to its reputation and folded up for just 169 runs giving the home team an easy target.

South Africa resumed on their overnight score of 55 for two, with Smith and Shaun Pollock (37) adding 55 runs in the first 10 overs when the rain came down heavily and halted the play for three hours and 10 minutes.

The home team were 111 for two when rain stopped play in the 11th over of the day. No further play was possible before lunch.

And only rain could have saved India the blushes but that too stopped and the sun came out as South Africa raced to win the match and pocket the series.

After the game resumed the hosts lost two quick wickets. Smith was the first to depart when he edged Zaheer Khan to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik with 127 runs on board. Khan struck again to dismiss Pollock caught by Laxman.

The two quick wickets gave India a chance to claw back into the game but they had very few runs on the board to defend. Perhaps the visitors fell short by 70-80 runs - otherwise they could have become the first-ever team to win a Test series on South African soil.

Jacques Kallis (32) and Ashwell Prince unbeaten on 38 put up a crucial 77-partnership for the fifth wicket to steer South Africa to home.

With just two runs needed to win, Kallis seemed to be in a hurry and in an attempt to pull Khan spooned it high up in the air and ended up in the safe hands of captain Rahul Dravid. But it was too late as nothing could have starved South Africa from a deserving victory.

Smith was adjudged the Man of the Match while Pollock was awarded the Man of the Series prize.

India won the first Test by 123 runs in Johannesburg before South Africa levelled the series, winning by 174 runs in Durban.

With the World Cup just round the corner, the good news for India was the return to form by former captain Sourav Ganguly, who emerged as the top Indian scorer with 214 runs, and the emergence of young guns like Sreesanth and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.

But the concern for India will be the slump in the form of Virender Sehwag and inconsistence performance by key players like Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

SCOREBOARD

3rd Test, Day 5, India vs. South Africa, Newlands, Cape Town, Jan 6

India (1st innings): 414
South Africa (1st innings): 373

India (2nd innings): 169

South Africa (2nd innings):
A.B. de Villiers c Karthik b Khan 22
Graeme Smith c Karthik b Khan 55
Hashim Amla lbw b Kumble 10
Shaun Pollock c Laxman b Khan 37
Jacques Kallis c Dravid b Khan 32
Ashwell Prince not out 38
Herschelle Gibbs not out 0

Extras: (b 11, lb 1, nb 5) 17
Total: (for five wickets in 64.1 overs) 211

Fall of wickets: 1-36 (de Villiers, 9.2 overs), 2-55 (Amla, 16.2), 3-127 (Smith, 31.1), 4-132 (Pollock, 35.3), 5-209 (Kallis, 63.2)

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan 21-2-62-4 (3nb)
Sreesanth 13-2-50-0 (1nb)
Anil Kumble 25-4-74-1
Munaf Patel 1-0-2-0
Virender Sehwag 1-0-8-0 (1nb)
Sachin Tendulkar 3.1-2-3-0

Result: South Africa win Test by five wickets and win series 2-1
Man of the Match: Graeme Smith (South Africa)
Man of the Series: Shaun Pollock (South Africa)
Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and Daryl Harper (Australia)
Third umpire: Marias Erasmus (South Africa)
Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka)