The Hindu : Sport : Gibbs, Kemp lead SA recovery

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Monday, Jul 02, 2007
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Gibbs, Kemp lead SA recovery

Ted Corbett

Indian bowlers fail to capitalise on dream start

Photo: AFP

HAVING FUN: With rain delaying the start of the third ODI, R.P. Singh (left) and Yuvraj Singh try their hand at football

BELFAST: For the second time in three days India was able to take advantage of a lively pitch by winning the toss and putting South Africa in. This third match of the series settled the result of the Future Cup and the 1,000 or so, mostly Indian, spectators who had waited for more than five hours and paid £35 each greeted every wicket as if it had won the World Cup. The game was reduced to 31 overs a side but it was packed with more incident than the recent World Cup although that is not difficult.

Controversial incident

They reserved their loudest row for the most controversial incident of an action-filled two hours when A. B. deVilliers declined to leave the wicket even though he was as clearly out as if his middle stump lay on the ground. It is difficult enough to try to assess what the umpire Aleem Dar was thinking about when he turned down an appeal for a catch at second slip but if DeVilliers thought he was not out he should find alternative ways of making a living.

I wonder how else he imagined the ball had arrived in Sachin Tendulkar’s hands. We are left with two choices: he has the reactions of a dinosaur and has not yet realised he hit the ball or he has the acting ability of Leonardo di Caprio.

Agarkar’s double blow

Ajit Agarkar, recovered from his illness, took the new ball and made a South African victory unlikely in his first two overs. His first success came as Morne Van Wyk groped for a seaming ball and got a pad in the way; his second followed a ball that ripped past the outside edge of Jacques Kalliss bat to knock out his off stump.

At 28 DeVilliers edged a ball on to his pad and was caught by Dhoni running round to the leg-side standing up to Sourav Ganguly and next ball Jean-Paul Duminy was lbw to a ball which pitched outside the leg stump and swung further. The South Africans, 28 for four in the 13th over, were having a nightmare and it looked as if Aleem Dar had a headache.

Fightback

Herschelle Gibbs led the fightback but Justin Kemp, a batsman with a thump in every shot, backed him up effectively. He might have been caught at cover on ten and Gibbs should have been run out on 44 but it was a stand that turned the game and in this shortened innings their runs were invaluable.

Kemp reached fifty with a drive that looped over the slips for four; Gibbs pulled a ball from Agarkar one-handed; they put on 99 in 15 overs before Gibbs was bowled when Zaheer came back and, as usual, hit line and length immediately.

Now, with three overs remaining at 127 for five, the game was India’s if it could keep a grip on the initiative. For reasons too obscure to debate Rahul Dravid called up Tendulkar to bowl the last over. It is time he left this loopy mixture behind I suggested on Saturday and when the first ball was sent for six by Kemp I nodded sagely.

But the second bowled him his legs. Off the last ball of the innings Andrew Hall was caught at deep long on; two for ten; sorry Tendulkar can I change my mind on that one.

Once again the side sent into bat had put up a fight so that 148 was going to be competitive in 31 overs but at least the spectators were getting some recompense for the outrageous amount they were asked to pay.

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