Graham Smith grinned like the Cheshire Cat and invited India to bat in overcast conditions. A glum Dhoni confirmed 3 changes, as Vijay, Pujara & Zaheer Khan came in for medically-unfit players, Gambhir (inflamed wrist), Raina (severe allergy to short balls) & Unadkat (masquerading as a pace bowler), respectively.
In the last couple of weeks we have seen, we have seen 4 sides batting in bowler-friendly conditions. England @the Waca, India @Centurion, Australia @the MCG, and now India @Durban. This was by far the most difficult of all in terms of batting, as the ball moved around like a yo-yo, bounced off the pitch alarmingly, and generally made opening batsmen wish they had taken up tennis like their mothers wanted them to. To provide some context, the MCG earlier today was a batting beauty in comparison, and Steyn and Morkel are the most hostile attack in world cricket today. However, as the day wore on, the pitch would flatten out, so staying on would be the key.
In much worse conditions than Centurion, the Indians did a lot better today. To be honest, they also had better luck -- in Centurion a lot of edges went to hand, and here they squirted into space, and mishits fell into gaps. And 3 of the batsmen don't have to hide their heads in shame. Vijay got the delivery of the day, the ball seaming away late to graze the edge, but had he gone full forward, he would have been OK. Dravid got worked over by Steyn by a wonderful spell of bowling, despite being well set, ws finally finished off by a lifter that kissed the glove. Laxman was batting well -- ominously so from South Africa's point of view -- and was both hitting the ball well and working Harris for singles at will. Steyn's last delivery of his second spell was short and Laxman crushed a pull -- the ball was past Tsotsobe at wide mid-on who caught an amazing reflex catch as the ball was past him. VVSL looked as stunned as he had at the Mark Waugh special that removed him at Chennai in 2001.
For the rest, it was stupidity. Sehwag was smacked on the wrist by an overpitched delivery, first ball up, and things only got worse from there. He could have been out 5 times, edging through the vacant fourth slip, short of point, lobbing one just short of mid-on, and being beaten a few more times. In between he flayed a couple of drives through the covers and midoff and carved one over point -- but his general body language suggested he'd be a lot happier, back napping in his hotel room. So his dismissal, flapping at an overpitched Steyn delivery on off straight to Kallis was no surprise. Conditions were difficult, but players like Gavaskar took on bowlers with more gumption, that too without any of the protective Armour today's players cart around.
Vijay too lived dangerously. But one a pitch like today, you needed a huge slice of luck to survive. Steyn produced 3 perfect outswingers that Vijay wasn't good enough to nick, and then nicked one to be dropped by first slip. But he seemed to be getting better, particularly letting a lot of balls sail outside off, and a couple over the stumps. He also was lucky a couple of times, playing the ball to point as he tried to pull out. But, in general, he was trying to hang in there.
Steyn had been somewhat of color, rarely touching 140kmph, but Sehwag's dismissal seemed to fire him up. In what would probably have been his last over, he kept flapping away to Vijay, and finally the lad aimed an airly drive at a fuller ball and edged for 4 (again through a vacant 4th slip). The next ball was the best Steyn had bowled all morning; starting on middle-and-leg and swinging away late, and this time Vijay nicked. But as he played from his crease -- the final dismissal seemed similar to Raina's -- Vijay gets some of the blame, and surely a small assist to Steyn's mouth.
Dravid and Tendulkar hung in there until lunch, Tendulkar in particular lucky to survive Morkel's last over, and much would rest on this pair. In Centurion, India went from 24/1 in the 12th over to 76/6 in the 24th after Dravid fell -- so India, at 74/2 at lunch, should have been well satisfied. Unfortunately, the first over after lunch, Tendulkar needlessly chased a wide delivery from Tsotsobe to edge to Kallis. At the best of times this would be stupid -- given the situation, it was wanton negligence.
Dravid and Laxman survived for an hour and hopes were beginning to rise when Steyn came back into the attack. Steyn's first over went for 13, including a pulled six from Laxman to follow a delicious straight punch for 4. But he too began to pull out all the stops. He then proceeded to work Dravid over -- an entire over was a clinic with ball after ball right in the corridor, and eventually Dravid gloved one to the keeper. The highest class bowling, showing just why Steyn can be so dangerous. But this situation was precisely why we had carried Dravid for the last few years -- to be the crisis man on a fast pitch away -- and he was found wanting. Still Steyn seemed to be short of the express pace he had shown at Centurion, and on the very last ball of his second spell, he got Laxman, or rather Tsotsobe got him as earlier described well against the run of play.
Pujara was looking quite assured -- at least against pace. The tame spin of Harris gave him fits as he almost edged to FSL or BSL a couple of times. Eventually, undaunted by the man on the square leg fence, he tried to hook an express ball from Morkel, only to edge it to directly to fine leg. A few over laters he tried the same shot against Tsotsobe, again with the man deep on the fence -- showing that the Pujaras should be known for their courage, not necessarily their intellect. It was completely needless as he and Dhoni were batting very comfortably -- and this time it went higher but not as deep as Boucher took an easy catch. This was a disater as the pitch was quite easy now, Steyn was off, and all the hard work had been done. Harbhajan and Dhoni saw India through, so much so, that when the umpires went to take the players off for light, these two were reluctant to leave.
The South Africans didn't bowl as well -- Morkel in particular -- as they had at Centurion. Steyn was superb without ever reaching the very high pace he had a few days ago. But at 74/2 the game was there for the Indians, and the middle-order collaborated to throw away the relatively decent platform. Yes, the toss was crucial to lose, and I'd suspect South Africa would have been similarly troubled had they batted first -- but this time India had the luck and didn't capitalize. Still, another 120 runs be a fighting total -- not a great one, but reasonable. Lot depends on Dhoni & Harbhajan, and quite possibly with the overnight rain, conditions will be just as hard in the morning. In reality, India are probably looking at on 0-2 hole going into Cape Town.
Bharat
No comments:
Post a Comment