South Africa take charge on second day at Centurion

On Friday evening, at the end of the first day of this non-Test, South Africa captain Shaun Pollock described it as a "practice match". A practice match, he could well have added, played under conditions closely approximating, but not quite replicating, the real thing.

With this in mind, South Africa reached the end of the second day at SuperSport Park, having outpractised India to the extent of a 29-run lead with six wickets still standing. The truth about all this is that while both sides are taking the cricket seriously, the Indians are taking it a little more seriously. As if it were, in fact, an official Test.

While Pollock was adamant that this was not a Test, and should not be reclassified as such in retrospect, India have taken the view that it is an official Test, no matter what the ICC says. Perhaps the strongest evidence for this argument is that the match has followed closely the pattern set during the first two Tests of the series with South Africa helping themselves to a comfortable first innings lead.

On this occasion South Africa ended day two at 261 for four in reply to India's 232. With the pitch quickening up and flattening out on the second day, the conditions were ideal for batting with all of the South Africans, with the exception of Jacques Rudolph who managed to get himself run out, getting themselves in.

Rudolph was a little unfortunate in his first innings for the senior South African team. He showed few signs of nerves, opening his account with a pair of boundaries off Harbhajan Singh and looked the part until he was slow in going for a second with Gary Kirsten and found himself well short.

The real significance of his innings, though, was that he batted at three with Jacques Kallis and Neil McKenzie dropping down a place each. This may well be an indication of how South Africa intend to play it in Australia next month (Rudolph, incidentally, was picked for this match before its official Test status withdrawn).

The more experienced South African batsmen all helped themselves to runs. Herschelle Gibbs played second fiddle to Gary Kirsten in a 135-run opening partnership, but still managed to make 59 before scooping Javagal Srinath down to Harbhajan Singh at long leg.

Kirsten, meanwhile, had been in spanking form. He has adjusted as he has matured into the side's senior pro and plays far straighter than during the early stages of his career and, as a consequence, is a far more effective player, perfectly capable of outscoring Gibbs when the mood takes him.

He looked, in fact, all set to make his first unofficial, five-day international friendly century when he was somewhat surprisingly dismissed, edging Ashish Nehra to first slip.

There was only one further successes for India on a day when their three seamers and two spinners all looked equally ineffective. Kallis (41 not out) and McKenzie (33) put on 66 for the fourth wicket before McKenzie was caught at slip off Sachin Tendulkar off the last ball of the day. By then, though, attention at Centurion was mostly focussed on the England-South Africa rugby match at Twickenham. That, at least, was an official Test match.