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Steyn & Co. scythes through the Indian line-up

Nandita Sridhar

The host capitulates to its seventh lowest total ever and second lowest at home

— Photos: K.R. Deepak

FALLING LIKE NINE PINS: A combination of incisive pace bowling by the South Africans and wretched shot-selection from the Indians saw the host bundled out for a paltry total before lunch on day one. Here (from left) Virender Sehwag, V.V.S. Laxman and S. Sreesanth have their stumps rearranged.

Ahmedabad: The Indian batsmen collectively treated the pitch with reverence on the first day of the Ahmedabad Test. Threats from the pitch that should have slipped by unnoticed were brought into prominence by appalling shot-selection.

The Indians collapsed for 76, with Irfan Pathan’s unbeaten 21 lending it an acceptable level of ignominy. Needing a brief period of watchfulness before the pitch eased out, India failed to survive.

Dale Steyn finished with a five-wicket haul, his dismissal of Rahul Dravid offering just reward for quality. The South Africans made it an expensive Indian lapse, with half-centuries by Jacques Kallis and A.B. de Villiers taking them to 223 for four at close.

Dismissed before lunch

This was the first time India was dismissed before lunch on the first day of a Test. It was the team’s seventh lowest total in history and its second lowest at home.

Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer walked on to a greenish-looking wicket, with the grass retained to preserve the top soil. Steyn and Makhaya Ntini, eager to make amends for Chennai, gave themselves the best possible chance for wickets.

Ntini strove towards getting the ball in, while Steyn was quick. Jaffer’s discomfort was ominous for the opening partnership, with the backfoot effort through covers a decoy. Ntini’s delivery made its way towards Jaffer in the manner of most of his deliveries. Jaffer was forced into the insubstantial poke that found the edge.

Sehwag was at it at the other end, settling into his mode of accumulation. The flick that fetched him a boundary assured most that the wicket would have little bearing on his mind-set. Steyn sent one that was wide enough for Sehwag to attempt a drive, but quick enough for the inside edge to go on to the stumps.

Shouldering arms

V.V.S. Laxman walked in where Sachin Tendulkar normally would have. Ntini’s delivery was pitched outside off-stump and moved into Laxman, which the latter left for the bounce to take its natural course.

The grass misled most into exaggerating the bounce on the wicket, which as one saw with Mark Boucher’s low takes wasn’t threatening. The ball kept lower than expected and Laxman was bowled.

Sourav Ganguly, usually just a few centimetres between grace and technical impurity, made a half-hearted, half-baked show of offside decisiveness and watched transfixed as Ntini’s delivery found the stumps. Rahul Dravid and M.S. Dhoni put on what faintly resembled resistance. Dhoni took Ntini on the rise to despatch for a four before becoming the first to reach double figures.

Of the day’s first delivery that merited a wicket, Steyn put the ball through the dual task that was required to get past Dravid. The ball swung in at a furious pace, and just when Dravid’s defence was readied for response, changed course to deceive him.

Dhoni’s unorthodoxy

Dhoni moved across to leave deliveries, with his unorthodoxy proving a blessing amidst the carnage. Save for the short delivery from Morkel that he handled poorly, he looked more at ease than the rest. Uncomfortable in the skin of judiciousness, he swung a reckless bat at Morkel.

The shot carried irresponsibility, ugliness and technical frailty, to plunge India into doom. After Kumble’s dismissal, Harbhajan faced two deliveries that had Boucher diving to his left. Steyn’s next delivery was quick and full, finding Harbhajan Singh’s pad an easy target. R.P. Singh and Sreesanth fell quickly.

Pathan, who made it in place of Tendulkar, batted with the ease that had deserted his more-acclaimed colleagues. To add insult to India’s embarrassment, South Africa was allowed an over to bat before lunch, which went past with no casualties.

Post-lunch, Sreesanth bowled a beautiful spell. Having watched Ganguly let go of a chance at short-leg, he willed a delivery that pitched on leg to strike Smith on the off-stump. Backing his intent, umpire Tony Hill conceded.

Harbhajan strikes back

Yet again, Harbhajan Singh took it upon himself to trap South Africa in defence. Deliveries that would have consumed them had they not intervened, left them sceptical towards attack.

Neil McKenzie had made a similar start to what he did in Chennai, when Harbhajan’s quick delivery left him attempting an awkward shot of doubt. A thick edge was collected by Dravid. Hashim Amla’s stay ended when an intended run on the on-side found the short-leg fielder, while Ashwell Prince’s bat failed to back his defensive intent with speed.

The Indian bowlers were admirably persistent for most part of the two sessions. Kumble probed, Harbhajan teased and Sreesanth threatened. But Kallis and de Villiers eased their way to half-centuries. Kallis took Harbhajan on for the only six of the innings, with the rest of it composed with the luxury of time. The situation was tailored for Kallis.

De Villiers’s touch promised a successful second day. The South African batting was good, but the day clearly belonged to their bowling, and India’s wretched batting.

INDIA’S Lowest totals

42, England, Lord’s, 1974; 58, Australia, Brisbane, 1947; 58, England, Manchester, 1952; 66, South Africa, Durban, 1996; 67, Australia, Melbourne, 1948; 75, West Indies, Delhi, 1987; 76, South Africa, Ahmedabad, 2008. (read under score, opposition, venue, year).

SCOREBOARD

India — 1st innings: W. Jaffer c Smith b Ntini 9, V. Sehwag b Steyn 6, R. Dravid b Steyn 3, V.V.S. Laxman b Ntini 3, S. Ganguly b Ntini 0, M.S. Dhoni c Boucher b Morkel 14, I. Pathan (not out) 21, A. Kumble b Morkel 0, Harbhajan lbw b Steyn 1, R.P. Singh c Smith b Steyn 0, S. Sreesanth b Steyn 0, Extras (b-4, lb-11, nb-2, w-2) 19, Total (in 20 overs) 76.

Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Jaffer), 2-24 (Sehwag), 3-30 (Laxman), 4-30 (Ganguly), 5-53 (Dravid), 6-55 (Dhoni), 7-55 (Kumble), 8-56 (Harbhajan), 9-76 (R.P. Singh).

South Africa bowling: Steyn 8-3-23-5, Ntini 6-1-18-3, Morkel 6-1-20-2.

South Africa — 1st innings: G. Smith lbw b Sreesanth 34, N. McKenzie c Dravid b Harbhajan 42, H. Amla c Jaffer b Harbhajan 16, J. Kallis (batting) 60, A. Prince lbw b Harbhajan 2, A.B. de Villiers (batting) 59, Extras (b-1, lb-7, w-2) 10, Total (for four wkts. in 64 overs) 223.

Fall of wickets: 1-78 (Smith), 2-100 (McKenzie), 3-101 (Amla), 4-117 (Prince).

India bowling: Sreesanth 15-3-53-1, R.P. Singh 13-1-49-0, Pathan 8-1-37-0, Harbhajan 16-3-49-3, Kumble 12-0-27-0.

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