Smith and de Villiers extend lead
South Africa enjoyed the best of yet another truncated day as they ended the third day with a lead of 152
The Bulletin by Anand Vasu
28-Dec-2006
Stumps South Africa 328 and 64 for 0 (Smith 31*, de Villers 28*) lead
India 240 (Tendulkar 63, Laxman 50*) by 152 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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South Africa enjoyed the best of yet another truncated day as they built up a lead of 152 but some of their advantage was cut back when bad light stopped play at a little over 4.30 pm local time, much to Graeme Smith's apparent displeasure. India were doubly fortunate because, had it not been for a rock-solid innings from VVS Laxman and some useful runs down the order from Sreesanth, they wouldn't have reached their eventual 240, being reduced first to 123 for 5 and then 183 for 8.
Laxman played the kind of innings that India have come to expect of him in
the recent past. He took blows on the body, left alone what he could,
played with assurance when he did, and placed the highest possible price
on his wicket. He kept one end sealed, remaining not out on an even
50 even as wickets fell at the other end.
When the day began, overcast and cooler than the previous two, there was
still the hope that Sachin Tendulkar, who had played some special shots on
the second day, would go on and make a big one and lead India out of the
woods. And the beginning was good, as Tendulkar brought up his first
half-century of 2006 with a classy drive back past the bowler. Makhaya
Ntini was in for some more punishment as a Tendulkar punch through point
raced away to the boundary. But he had the last laugh, as a ball just kept
coming in to Tendulkar as he attempted to force the ball to third-man and
only managed a nick to the keeper. Tendulkar, who had made 63, was just not in
the best position to play the shot.
Sourav Ganguly defended the first ball he faced to the off side without
much trouble but the second one sent him packing. Ntini banged the ball
in short and it was angled across the body, and Ganguly appeared to pick
the ball up late, if at all, as he fended awkwardly, and only managed to
spoon a catch to point. Ganguly gone for a duck and India were in trouble
at 125 for 5.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni walked out to bat in no position to showcase his
talent, and had to knuckle down alongside Laxman and help India inch
towards safety. Andre Nel, however, made the mistake of pitching the ball
up a touch too far, and Dhoni picked off consecutive cracking boundaries,
through point and mid-off, but that was the exception rather than the
rule. Morne Morkel was similarly picked off for a brace of boundaries in
one over, and all of a sudden Dhoni was scoring at a good pace.
Shaun Pollock - who for reasons known only to his captain did not get
the new ball - made traditional misers look profligate as he rammed the ball
through to the keeper with metronomic efficiency. In the whole innings,
only four balls of his were scored off, and his bowling figures
scarcely did justice to the pressure he built up. Morkel, however,
benefited, sending one down on a length that invited Dhoni to drive, and
found the edge, with AB de Villiers gobbling up the offering in the slips
cordon. Dhoni had made 34 from only 39 balls with seven boundaries.
Laxman, in the meantime, had batted more than three hours for a little
more than twenty runs, and he would have been aghast as Anil Kumble,
usually the most sensible of tail-end batsmen, had an expansive drive at a
slightly wide ball from Morkel and edged to Boucher. The first wicket on
debut sent Morkel into celebration, but the second gave him time
to get used to the idea that he was playing for his country at the highest
level.
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Sreesanth came out to bat with a steely look in his eyes and carved out 28
in an invaluable 52-run partnership for the tenth wicket. He took a couple
of blows on the body, and initially played a couple of streaky shots to
the third-man region, but soon got into his groove and began to pound the
ball to all parts. He did not back away from the ball but managed to make
good contact with the straight bat and heaving across the line. He even
advanced down the pitch to the fast bowlers, showing plenty of positive
intent.
Laxman, after initially protecting Sreesanth, soon realised that there
were some useful runs to be had and rotated the strike. Laxman himself was
solid as a rock, and very little went past him as he resisted for as many
as 156 balls to be unbeaten on an even 50. Sreesanth's merry swinging came
to an end when he played one shot too many and nicked to the keeper, and
VRV Singh, after creaming one through cover, feathered Pollock to Mark
Boucher behind the stumps.
Having picked up a lead of 88 South Africa proceeded to ram the advantage
home as the openers, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers, weathered a probing
early spell to rack up an unbeaten opening stand of 64. Smith, who has
been short of form and runs, was given a thorough working over by Zaheer
Khan early on, but managed to keep his wicket intact. de Villiers played
and missed plenty, but crunched some robust drives through the off side to
reach 31 when play was called off. South Africa, on 64 for no loss, with a
lead of 152, were right in control at the end of the third day.
Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Cricinfo
Short cuts
Dileep Premachandran at Durban
Dileep Premachandran at Durban
Highlight of the day: Mornè Morkel had bowled nine overs without
suggesting that he was ready for the step-up to Test level. One ball can
change all that, and the first of his 10th over jagged away a teeny bit
after pitching. Mahendra Singh Dhoni did his best with a flashing drive,
as did AB de Villiers with a good low catch at second slip, and Morkel
could celebrate the first of what will be many wickets.
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Lowlight of the day: The power outage overshadowed poor shot selection
from some of the Indians. Soon after tea, one of the cables supplying
power to several parts of the city suffered a glitch, and an already
gloomy Kingsmead became even darker with the floodlights shutting down.
Normal service resumed only 37 minutes later, but by the time the players
emerged, only eight more balls were deemed possible.
Shot of the day: Sreesanth hit one pristine off-drive off Andrew Hall, and
was so impressed himself that he held the pose even as he was running down
the pitch. Bat manufacturers the world over have been alerted.
Ball of the day: Makhaya Ntini produced a snorter to Sourav Ganguly. Short
of a length and directed at the pectorals, it had Ganguly fending
haplessly to gully. After all the talk of chin music, here was one note
heard loud and clear.
Catch of the day: de Villiers's effort to send back Dhoni was competent
rather than spectacular, but on a day where every other catch was a
gimmie, it takes the unfinished cake.
Message of the day: VRV Singh's first attempt at a scoring shot was the
retreat to leg and the wild swings. Having clattered an entertaining 29 at
the Wanderers, his one-shot repertoire has clearly captured the
imagination. "Put some more shoulder into it," yelled one wag from the
grassy bank, and sure enough the next ball was thumped through the covers
for four.
Off the park: Mark Benson was resting in hospital after being taken
unwell, and the two men in the middle - Asad Rauf and Ian Howell, the
replacement - were due to pay their colleague a visit on Thursday evening.
In the vicinity of the commentary box, some moaned about Durban's
unsuitability as a venue at this time of year. Hardly a match has been
completed here without the weather intervening in some way.
Dileep Premachandran is features editor of Cricinfo