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The Indians have the last laugh

Nandita Sridhar

The South Africans collapse like a pack of cards; Harbhajan, Sehwag strike

— Photo: S. Subramanium

CRUCIAL BLOW: Graeme Smith looks back to see the bails go flying as Virender Sehwag and teammates celebrate.

Kanpur: Faced with malicious spin and bounce, South Africa’s batsmen were trapped in defence as they collapsed for 121 on what turned out to be the final day of the Kanpur Test. Needing 62 for a much-needed win, India cruised home in 13.1 overs to clinch the last Test and level the series 1-1.

After the happenings at Ahmedabad, the win here helped India preserve its unbeaten home series record since 2004. Sourav Ganguly was deservedly named Man-of-the-Match for his 87 in the first innings, while Harbhajan Singh’s consistent performance in the three matches earned him the Man-of-the-Series award.

M.S. Dhoni’s success in his maiden Test as captain came through smart bowling changes on the final day. With India having gained a lead of 60 courtesy some delightful tail-end hitting, he chose to open with Harbhajan.

There was short-leg and silly point in position. Openers Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie were squeamish, with Harbhajan and Sreesanth getting plenty from the wicket. The bounce, the biggest threat on this wicket, consumed McKenzie. Sreesanth bowled short, McKenzie pulled as any batsman would, but the bounce betrayed him in height. The ball found the pad instead and Sreesanth had his 50th Test wicket.

Good spell

Hashim Amla walked in, with the weight of his runs in the series called upon to rescue his side. Harbhajan was getting purchase from the wicket. He bowled a reasonably quick one on off that Amla surveyed a good deal before resorting to a half-baked backfoot defence.

On a wicket that had regressed to a thick layer of dust, Amla’s move failed. The ball found Jaffer at short-leg off the batsman’s glove.

Faced with a huge challenge, Smith and Jacques Kallis struggled to wangle out of trouble, each escape more suspect than the previous. Umpire Billy Doctrove, consumed by the vagaries of the pitch, settled into a pattern of refusal. Piyush Chawla had Kallis defend in vain. The ball was due to meet the stumps, but Doctrove thought otherwise.

Captain Smith took 67 balls for his first boundary, but freedom was sought through a sedate sweep off Chawla. The second one was quicker, when Chawla invited a drive through mid-off. Smith managed just three boundaries, but stood assiduously with Kallis. The pair could have proved dangerous for India.

Magical move

In a habitual move sought for magic, Dhoni brought on Virender Sehwag. His very first ball was quick, to which Kallis went back and moved across. The ball climbed unannounced, giving Kallis no time to keep it down. Jaffer was offered his second catch of the innings.

Smith’s ambition was limited to strokelessness and each escape was a relief. But it didn’t last long enough. Sehwag, having just removed Kallis, got one to sneak around the left-handed Smith’s legs that had shuffled in preparedness. The ball was full and Smith was bowled.

Ahmedabad double century-maker A.B. de Villiers lobbed one from Harbhajan to Laxman, after which Mark Boucher’s instincts chose dismissal over injury against a virulent Ishant delivery that bounced and cut in sharply. Again Dhoni’s decision to bring Ishant on worked.

Each member of the South African tail departed in a web of spin, bounce and cut. Though second best to what India achieved on day one at Ahmedabad, the collapse was remarkable in its context. On such a track, batsmen are not just beaten, but left embarrassed and smarting.

Purposeful batting

In response to the 62 needed for a win, Sehwag and Jaffer batted with a purpose, which was not to protract this to a fourth day. Jaffer executed delectable boundaries, while Sehwag gestured India’s intent with two successive sixes off Paul Harris.

With the halfway mark reached in quick time, they departed. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid chose commonsense to guide India home.

Considering what Harris and Morne Morkel managed in the brief Indian second innings, Sreesanth and Ishant’s 10th-wicket partnership for 46 runs in the first innings would go down as invaluable. They put on 37 runs on Sunday, and frustrated South Africa in the manner of most last-wicket partnerships. Their strokes were as precarious as they were thrilling. The more risks involved, the better the rewards. Edges fell short, wide or weren’t collected. The South African bowlers appealed vociferously, but the partnership, the sheer cheek with which runs were obtained, hinted that the day would belong to the Indians.

SCOREBOARD

South Africa — 1st innings: 265.

India — 1st innings: W. Jaffer lbw b Morkel 15, V. Sehwag lbw b Steyn 8, R. Dravid c de Villiers b Morkel 29, V.V.S. Laxman b Morkel 50, S. Ganguly c Amla b Steyn 87, Yuvraj c de Villiers b Harris 32, M.S. Dhoni st. Boucher b Harris 32, Harbhajan lbw b Steyn 6, P. Chawla c Smith b Ntini 4, S. Sreesanth c Prince b Harris 29, Ishant Sharma (not out) 14, Extras (b-8, lb-6, w-1, nb-4) 19; Total (in 99.4 overs) 325.

Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Sehwag), 2-35 (Jaffer), 3-113 (Dravid), 4-123 (Laxman), 5-188 (Yuvraj), 6-248 (Dhoni), 7-268 (Harbhajan), 8-279 (Chawla), 9-279 (Ganguly).

South Africa bowling: Steyn 20-1-71-3, Ntini 21-7-47-1, M. Morkel 15-2-63-3, Harris 32.4-8-101-3, Kallis 9-1-23-0, Amla 2-0-6-0.

South Africa — 2nd innings: N. McKenzie lbw b Sreesanth 14, G. Smith b Sehwag 35, H. Amla c Jaffer b Harbhajan 0, J. Kallis c Jaffer b Sehwag 15, A. Prince (not out) 22, A.B. de Villiers c Laxman b Harbhajan 7, M. Boucher c Dhoni b Ishant 5, M. Morkel b Ishant 0, P. Harris c Dravid b Harbhajan 0, D. Steyn b Harbhajan 7, M. Ntini c Ganguly b Sehwag 0, Extras (b-12, lb-1, w-1, nb-2) 16; Total (in 55.5 overs) 121.

Fall of wickets: 1-26 (McKenzie), 2-27 (Amla), 3-65 (Kallis), 4-72 (Smith), 5-90 (de Villiers), 6-101 (Boucher), 7-101 (Morkel), 8-102 (Harris), 9-114 (Steyn).

India bowling: Harbhajan 23-7-44-4, Ishant 10-2-18-2, Sreesanth 9-4-9-1, Chawla 4-0-18-0, Sehwag 8.5-2-12-3, Yuvraj 1-0-7-0.

India — 2nd innings: W. Jaffer lbw b Morkel 10, V. Sehwag c Prince b Harris 22, S. Ganguly (not out) 13, R. Dravid (not out) 18, Extras (nb-1) 1; Total (for two wkts. in 13.1 overs) 64.

Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Sehwag), 2-32 (Jaffer).

South Africa bowling: Steyn 2-0-15-0, Ntini 1-0-5-0, Harris 5.1-0-36-1, Morkel 5-1-8-1.

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