Dhoni must have hoped to push the first innings total to 250, but 205 was the best India could manage. As the innings ended the sun came out, and script seemed identical to Centurion. Put in India in bowler-friendly conditions and shoot them out for a paltry score, and then bat on for a couple of days. Steyn would scarcely have imagined that he would have batted on D2, let alone bowled as he walked off with a superb 6/50 haul. Swinging the ball at sustained hostile pace showed why he is the #1 bowler in the world, though a chink may have appeared in that mighty armour as his achy groin may preclude him bowling long spells, and that could yet be crucial in this game.
Identical to Centurion but with one difference. Zaheer Khan was playing, and I had feared it would take him some time to get back his rhythm. But there was no reason to fear, though he clearly wasn't going flat out. India bowled very well indeed, though those seeing the highlights package may think that all the wickets fell to straightforward deliveries. It was the *sequence* that set up many wickets, and in some case there were plans that surely Team India had put in place. The other key was removing the openers early that allowed pressure to be built on the middle order.
First over itself Zaheer had Petersen edging to vacant 4th slip (more on this later), but the working over he gave his personal bunny, Graham Smith, was of the highest class. He beat him at least once in each of the first 3 overs with balls that moved away late (Zak's stock ball typically comes into the left hander) including on the ball right before he fell, where he had Smith reaching uncertainly for one that swung late and seamed away. The delivery that got him was closer to the body so when Smith prodded hesitantly and the ball held its line, a simple edge to Dhoni resulted -- Zaheer using the cross wind to great effect.
At the other end, unfortunately, Sreesanth was complete crap, wasting the new ball and doing his best to release the pressure that was being built up at the other end. Somehow that didn't stop his mouth from moto as Amla & Peterson took a liking to his offerings that alternated between short and wide and pitched up on the leg stump. Tellingly, Sharma came on and bowled a maiden immediately increasing the pressure, and the next over Petersen departed, bowled by Zak.
After Petersen had edged Zaheer through 4th slip in the first over, he made a conscious effort to get across early and get on or even outside off stump. So it was a clever ploy to bowl an overpitched ball on the leg stump and try and bend it back to hit the stumps -- a bit of bad luck for Petersen that even after it hit the pad and then stumps, but I suspect Zaheer bowled that ball precisely because Alviro had moved across prematurely on many previous occasions, and left his leg stump exposed. (In fact, Zak had tried that a couple of times in his second over itself from over the stumps to get an lbw but pitched outside leg.)
Then South Africa's two best batsmen, Amla & Kallis began to bat well, and Indian hopes wilted as the deficit dwindled below 150. In the meantime Sreesanth replaced Zaheer and it seemed like more of the same as he overstepped and bowled a wide, but from this end his line was better -- Kallis had been leaving the ball well, but slashed at one and missed. India needed a big break and got it. I had mentioned in an earlier report that India was a lot luckier on D1 (edges not going to hand, and pop ups landing in gaps) and that continued with Kallis's freak dismissal backing up as a first struck Amla straight drive brushed Sharma's fingers enroute to the stumps.
Amla continued to take apart anything fractionally off in length or line, ending with a glorious ondrive against Sharma. deVilliers was the man in form, but early on even the best are vulnerable, especially when you have just one over to negotiate before lunch. Mainly I was fearing some dross from Sreesanth to help him ease his nerves. First two balls bounced up on off, pushing deVilliers back. Next ball was further up and bounced, similar to the Steyn snorter that got Dravid, although at a lower pace; deVilliers helplessly edging to Dhoni, and that was a tough ball to get early in the innings. 74/4 and India were right back in.
Still, *THE* danger man was there -- Amla was batting on serenely. He had been beaten once early on in his innings once (huge appeal for caught behind, correctly not given my Rauf), but seemed to be batting on a different ground. Also the sun was peeking out and conditions were a lot easier. And if India go on to win this match, and dare I say, this series *THIS* was the turning point. The much-maligned Harbhajan came on soon after lunch, and his second over bowled the toppie which Amla didn't pick -- tried to sweep and was out lbw. Frankly, this is the first time in -- well ever -- that I can recall Harbhajan getting a wicket this way...
Amla played that same sweep many many many times at Centurion for at least a quarter of his runs. I suspect this may have been an actual plan to get Amla -- surely the only chink he had shown. You may recall from the first Test at least half a dozen hapless Harbhajan appeals to balls spinning past leg stump harmlessly. This was the well err... bowled straighter one and he got the line bang on. The ball jumped enough to beat the bat, and that was that. Amla was perhaps guilty of sweeping a delivery whose line was too close to the stumps, but he had done so successfully many times. I will give the Indian brain trust kudos for this.
A word on Prince's dismissal; Zaheer beat his outside edge several times, and his dismissal playing on tentatively with a huge gap between bat and pad, had more to do the the previous 2 overs, than the delivery that finally got him. Stupendous catching by Team India got 3 more wickets, and a Tsotsobe flail later, India had run through the last 6 wickets of the South African linup, for an extraordinary 35 runs.
A 74 run lead was huge in the context of this game, though because the pitch would ease up, this was the time to score. Batting conditions were perfected. Sadly, some undisciplined Indian batting -- both Sehwag & Dravid fell to atrocious shots -- has left the Test well poised. Sehwag can be excused as the ball was there to be hit, but Dravid seems to have forgotten where his offstump is. The first new ball South Africa got didn't swing or bounce much, so when they got a change (in the 10th over), the other cherry was a lot more lively. Vijay fell to an absolute snorter from Morkel, though he should have gone back to the short ball rather than playing it from the crease -- a technical flaw that will need to be corrected. But all that was needed was to play time until the ball lost its bounce and swing, and that makes Dravid's dismissal all the more negligent. Tendulkar gone a fine delivery right in the corridor from Steyn which he edged -- again playing with soft hand would have been better, but the delivery was very good, and at 140kmph you don't have much time against Steyn. Pujara & Laxman hung on until close, Laxman not as fluent in the first innings, but still looking very good. Pujara had admitted in an interview that his atrocious pull was a huge brain cramp, so hopefully he has learned.
At 90/4 India are effectively 166/4, and at this point I would say that South Africa are slight favorites....
Bharat
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