Kallis bats South Africa into winning position in Second Test

Never a batsman prone to wild abandon, Jacques Kallis slowly, steadily but ever so surely dragged the second Castle Lager/MTN Test match away from India on the third day at St George's Park on Sunday.

When an offer of bad light was offered to the South African batsmen with 14 overs still to be bowled (and with the floodlights on), Kallis's contribution to the South African second innings score of 211 for five was 84 not out.

Leaving aside for the moment the puzzle of why the home batsmen, well on top at that stage, should have taken the light, the significance of the South African total is that it gives the home team a lead of 372 with two days remaining.

The significance of Kallis's effort, meanwhile, is that he has now scored 585 runs in four Test matches this summer at an average of 290.25. This is a quite remarkable statistic, but it does go some way to underlining the strengths of Kallis as a batsman. He seldom, if ever, gives his wicket away, no matter the circumstances and his powers of concentration rival those currently in the game.

He has been criticised at times for being one-paced, but there are moments and occasions when his value to his side lies mainly in him simply being at the crease. This was one of those occasions after South Africa had tumbled to 26 for three in their second innings after bowling India out for 201.

At this point Javagal Srinath was bowling quite beautifully once again. He had nipped out Gary Kirsten and Neil McKenzie in an opening burst of 8-6-4-2 and with Ajit Agarkar bowling Herschelle Gibbs, South Africa were creaking ominously. The first innings lead was 161, but another wicket or two at that stage would have brought India right back into the match.

Kallis, though, put down roots. He shared a fourth wicket partnership with Boeta Dippenaar which brought South Africa 65, a stand of 48 with Lance Klusener for the fifth wicket and the sixth wicket has so far produced 72 for South Africa, with Shaun Pollock's share 38.

Just as South Africa batted around Gibbs in their first innings, so they batted around Kallis on Sunday. He was not without fortune. On 21 he hooked at Agarkar, but the ball sailed between the hands of Srinath at fine leg to go for six. On 51 VVS Laxman snatched at, but could not hold, an edge off, again, Agarkar. But good players ride their luck and Kallis has placed South Africa, as Pollock put it, "into a good position at this stage".

It should be a position from which only one of two results are possible - a South African win, which seems the most likely, or a draw. Both of these options, of course, could be dependent on the Port Elizabeth weather over the next two days.

South Africa, then, have done much to get themselves into a position where they can almost smell a series win. They were also helped on Sunday, though, by some bewildering captaincy from Sourav Ganguly.

As always seems to be the case, an Indian captain away from home finds himself under enormous pressure. This is the time when rumours and whispers start to surface and it is no different this time around.

The word at St George's Park was that Ganguly changed his team-sheet moments before the toss, scribbling in Anil Kumble and scratching out Ashish Nehra. Whether this is true or not is anyone's guess. What is more certain, however, is that Ganguly let the South Africans off the hook after lunch when he started with himself and Sachin Tendulkar.

South Africa were 47 for three at the interval and another wicket just after the break, if nothing else, would have made the Indians believe they were still in the game. Srinath, admittedly, already had eight overs under his belt, but India needed to strike and they needed to strike quickly.

Instead, Kallis and Dippenaar were allowed to play themselves in again and it was 40 minutes before Srinath was brought back for his second spell. Kumble, too, was ignored until the 51st over when he bowled the last over before tea.

For all that India have been handicapped by having to field unbalanced teams in both Test matches, they have also allowed South Africa off the hook several times. If the positions had been reversed, it is a safe bet that Pollock would have started the new session with himself and Nantie Hayward.

If the guiding principle is always to do what your opponents like least, then India have missed more than a few tricks during this series.