GOTCHA! Sachin Tendulkar takes a well-judged catch to dismiss South Africa skipper Graeme Smith in the second Test at Durban on Tuesday. — Photos: Agencies

Durban: Crucial strikes at the beginning and towards the end of the first day saw India seize the initiative in the second Castle Test at Kingsmead.

From a healthy 222 for four, South Africa slipped to 257 for eight when Ashwell Prince (98 batting, 181b, 13x4) and debutant Morne Morkel decided to accept the offer of light.

Tuesday's final moments were dramatic. Shaun Pollock's reckless slash off paceman V.R.V. Singh was brilliantly held by Virender Sehwag at point. Then, Anil Kumble struck, trapping Andrew Hall leg-before with a googly and breaching Andre Nel's defence. The Indians had fought back.

South Africa had lost three wickets for a run. It had also lost the advantage of batting first on a Kingsmead pitch that did not prove as pacy and bouncy as some expected. This is a surface where the pacemen will have to use their shoulder.

Crucial partnerships

The host's innings revolved around the tenacious Prince after the top-order crumbled again. The left-hander with a fine temperament constructed two crucial partnerships with Herschelle Gibbs and Mark Boucher. Prince played within his limitations and was careful with his stroke selection.

The session between lunch and tea was not lacking in action either. Gibbs, after scoring a quick-fire 63 (88b, 13x4), attempted to pull Sreesanth but only managed an edge through to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who pulled off a spectacular catch. The fourth-wicket pair added 94 in 22.5 overs.

After Gibbs' departure, Prince and Boucher got together. V.R.V. Singh could have consumed Prince on 41, but Sachin Tendulkar spilled a regulation catch at first slip. Tendulkar also hurt his right thumb in the process; the X-ray ruled out a fracture.

V.R.V. Singh bowled a blistering spell before tea — he consistently generated speeds above 140 kmph and extracted bounce — but with little luck. The host was 165 for four at tea.

Boucher (53, 91b, 7x4) was fortunate when umpire Asad Rauf gave him the benefit of doubt after the batsman missed a full, straight delivery. With Rahul Dravid setting attacking fields, Boucher collected a lot of runs from the vacant third man area.

Sreesanth and Boucher were involved in an engrossing duel after tea. There was an exchange of words too and umpire Mark Benson spoke to the paceman and skipper Dravid. Sreesanth had the last laugh with a pacey off-cutter.

Earlier, the host entered the Test match without key man Jacques Kallis, ruled out of the Test with a sore lower thoracic spine. A line-up searching for form had lost its technically most accomplished batsman.

Horror run continues

The sun shone bright, but Smith's horror run with the willow continued. He top-edged a pull off Zaheer Khan and Tendulkar, running back from the slips, closed in on the offering.

This was a surface with a greenish tinge. However, the pacemen were not able to gain appreciable lateral movement.

Zaheer once again exposed the technical limitations of Hashim Amla at No. 3 — the right-hander's bat travels down from second slip — by getting a delivery to straighten from around leg-stump.

Zaheer's opening burst was all about precision, while Sreesanth strived for rhythm from the far end.

Smart move

Dravid, cleverly, switched Sreesanth's ends. The skipper also set a field where the margin for error was little. There were just two fielders on the leg-side, at mid-on and fine-leg. Apart from forcing his bowler to operate in the corridor, Dravid, by keeping vast open spaces on the on-side, was inviting the batsmen to play across the line.

There was also little cover for the pacemen in case they erred in length; there was no deep point or a deep square-leg. The bowlers were forced to adopt a fuller length. Sreesanth bowled with zest in his second spell. He also produced a lovely delivery that swerved away from Abraham de Villiers to produce the fatal edge.

De Villiers had not made a difference after his move up the order. The other part of the batting swap, Herschelle Gibbs, lived a charmed existence, initially. South Africa was tottering at 28 for three when Ashwell Prince joined Gibbs.

It was an association of contrasts. The right-handed Gibbs is flamboyant. Prince is industrious. Gibbs needed runs to rescue his Test place. He was tentative in the beginning, edging V.R.V. Singh just short of fourth slip.

The gifted batsman gradually gained in confidence. His cover drive off Sreesanth was gorgeous. Gibbs' feet movement and the extension of his arms were just perfect.

At the other end, Prince was all steel and determination. He nudged and pushed the ball into the empty spaces, punched hard square off the wicket. Prince deserves a hundred on Wednesday.

South Africa — 1st innings: G. Smith c Tendulkar b Zaheer 5, AB. de Villiers c Tendulkar b Sreesanth 9, H. Amla lbw b Zaheer 1; H. Gibbs c Dhoni b Sreesanth 63, A. Prince (batting) 98, M. Boucher b Sreesanth 53, S. Pollock c Sehwag b V.R.V. Singh 11, A. Hall lbw b Kumble 0, A. Nel b Kumble 0, A. Morkel (batting) 0; Extras (lb-3, w-1, nb-13) 17; Total (for eight wkts. in 73 overs): 257.

Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Smith), 2-13 (Amla), 3-28 (de Villiers), 4-122 (Gibbs), 5-222 (Boucher), 6-256 (Pollock), 7-257 (Hall), 8-257 (Nel).

India bowling: Zaheer 18-6-61-2; Sreesanth 17-3-74-3; V.R.V. Singh 13-1-60-1; Kumble 22-1-48-2; Ganguly 3-1-11-0.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail