The Hindu : Sport : Ishant, Harbhajan revel on a deteriorating pitch

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 12, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport

Ishant, Harbhajan revel on a deteriorating pitch

Nandita Sridhar

South Africa dismissed for 265 but India cannot celebrate just yet

— Photo: S. Subramanium

TIMBER! Paceman Ishant Sharma joined the party on a pitch which was expected to assist spinners. Here he castles Paul Harris on his way to snapping up three wickets on day one.

Kanpur: The first day of the Kanpur Test was oddly eventful. South African wickets fell regularly as the pitch failed to rein itself in. At close South Africa was dismissed for 265. By then the wicket, having deteriorated beyond recognition, had acquired the look of ash. The Indian bowlers did well to bowl at the stumps, leaving the rest to the mangy surface.

Captain Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla made half-centuries, but the rest looked ill at ease on the wicket. Strong winds took portions of the wicket with it. One fears a quick and not entirely a high-quality finish to the final Test.

Considering the nature of the surface, Smith wasted no time in deciding to bat. Anil Kumble’s unavailability due to his groin injury made M.S. Dhoni India’s first wicket-keeper Test captain and the 25th overall in Tests. India made three changes from Ahmedabad.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was included in Kumble’s place, Ishant Sharma in R.P. Singh’s and Yuvraj Singh in Irfan Pathan’s.

Modest beginnings

Sreesanth and Ishant’s beginnings were modest. Turn was in the offing, but the pitch was slow and the bounce minimal. The ball ventured into Dhoni’s gloves in all serenity. One knew spin would beckon in due course.

Smith and Neil McKenzie were untroubled in dealing with the two. The outfield, its lightning speed scoffing at the pitch’s relative tardiness, ensured rewards. Ishant’s line demanded punitive measures and Smith eased his way through mid-wicket.

Piyush Chawla, in his first over on his home ground, bowled a length perfect for McKenzie to steer through mid-on. Chawla’s follow-up delivery deserved deference but was instead met with haste. McKenzie failed to gauge the flight and charged down making no contact. Dhoni completed the stumping.

The Indian fielding evened itself out. There were brilliant stops at cover and mid-wicket but offset by amateurism near the boundary. Smith and Amla benefited and put on 91 runs.

Smith compiled his half-century, mixing patience with calculated attack. The pitch revealed its inner vile after lunch, leading to the captain choosing the sweep as his least perilous alternative. A heave over long-on for the innings’ first six gave him his half-century, but the effort was largely removed from risk.

Yuvraj delivers

Yuvraj, whose throwing arm was a misnomer for the same, was brought in to bowl ahead of Virender Sehwag. Yuvraj refrained from risking his arm while fielding, which made the decision to bowl him contentious. He took his time, but delivered.

His very first ball had Smith in doubt, but umpire Billy Doctrove was unmoved. Yuvraj and Sehwag briefly bowled in tandem giving Smith and Amla time and room to settle. Amla prospered by playing as late as the wicket would permit. Mid-wicket was where he profited largely.

Yuvraj couldn’t manage the suitable line till his wicket-taking delivery to Smith. The ball was quick and bounced awkwardly. Smith’s defence wasn’t readied in time for safety and the ball popped off the glove for Wasim Jaffer to collect.

While the spinners thrived, Dhoni’s decision to bring Ishant on for his second spell was admirable. Amla struggled to dispel doubts against Ishant. A yorker was denied the woodwork but the end was nearing. The next delivery came in towards Amla, which the latter failed to meet with confidence. The ball clipped the bail.

Dhoni gets it right

Dhoni got it right by immediately getting Harbhajan on at the other end, with the wicket’s quirkiness having entirely surfaced.

Harbhajan had made use of the bounce, whatever was on offer thus far, and went a step further with Jacques Kallis. Kallis tried defending one that was pitched on off but found it bounce off his thigh to the stumps.

Chawla was helped to his second wicket by A.B. de Villiers, after a reckless sweep found the top-edge. Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher, the last recognised pair in the line-up, studiously avoided risk. But their discomfort was plain. Prince’s decision to defend on the backfoot was superseded by Sehwag’s quicker delivery. He was sent back lbw.

Ishant returned for the day’s final spell. Once Boucher went the South African tail punched above its weight, but not for long. The variation in bounce had made him nearly unplayable at the end of day one.

Ishant laid out how effective a quick bowler could be on this surface. The bounce, consistently low or varied, however it turns out on day two, will be tricky business. India cannot celebrate just yet.

scoreboard

South Africa — 1st innings: N. McKenzie st. Dhoni b Chawla 36, G. Smith c Jaffer b Yuvraj 69, H. Amla b Ishant 51, J. Kallis b Harbhajan 1, A. Prince lbw b Sehwag 16, A.B. de Villiers c Ganguly b Chawla 25, M. Boucher b Ishant 29, M. Morkel c Dravid b Harbhajan 17, P. Harris b Ishant 12, D. Steyn c sub b Harbhajan 0, M. Ntini (not out) 0; Extras: (lb-3, nb-4, w-2) 9; Total: (in 87.3 overs) 265.

Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-152, 3-160, 4-161, 5-199, 6-215, 7-241, 8-264, 9-265.

India bowling: Sreesanth 11-0-32-0, Ishant 12.3-1-55-3, Harbhajan 31-9-52-3, Chawla 16-3-66-2, Yuvraj 11-1-39-1, Sehwag 6-2-18-1.

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

Sport