Atrocious running and a modern captaincy moment
ESPNcricinfo brings you the plays of the second day of the third Test between South Africa and India at Newlands
Sidharth Monga at Newlands
03-Jan-2011
No one was surprised when Rahul Dravid was eventually run out. It was waiting to happen through his stand with Gautam Gambhir • AFP
The leave
While waiting for his turn to bat, Morne Morkel must have seen a lot of well-judged but exaggerated leaves from Jacques Kallis. When he came out to bat, he went after the second ball he faced, and was duly beaten by Zaheer Khan. The Kallis moment came immediately. As he realised he had been beaten, he completed the follow through, shouldering arms in as exaggerated a fashion as Kallis'. Good recovery, but the replay on the big screen called his bluff.
While waiting for his turn to bat, Morne Morkel must have seen a lot of well-judged but exaggerated leaves from Jacques Kallis. When he came out to bat, he went after the second ball he faced, and was duly beaten by Zaheer Khan. The Kallis moment came immediately. As he realised he had been beaten, he completed the follow through, shouldering arms in as exaggerated a fashion as Kallis'. Good recovery, but the replay on the big screen called his bluff.
The running
Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid together was a run out waiting to happen. First Gambhir called Dravid for a run and sent him back; the latter was saved only by a missed direct-hit from substitute fielder JP Duminy. In the next over, Dravid hit square and set off, only to see - from half way down the wicket - that Gambhir hadn't moved. There was a single in there, but also it was Gambhir's call, so he could be given the benefit of the doubt here. Soon, though, Dravid made the final error, going for a run off a dropped catch. He had judged the single well, but took it too easy, and AB de Villiers' flashy work to hit the stumps direct caught him short. Lonwabo Tsotsobe's reaction was priceless. He was the bowler who had that wicket taken away from him, and was standing next to the stumps with hand on hips, but in an instant that emotion changed to joy as he knew before the third umpire that de Villiers had caught Dravid short.
Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid together was a run out waiting to happen. First Gambhir called Dravid for a run and sent him back; the latter was saved only by a missed direct-hit from substitute fielder JP Duminy. In the next over, Dravid hit square and set off, only to see - from half way down the wicket - that Gambhir hadn't moved. There was a single in there, but also it was Gambhir's call, so he could be given the benefit of the doubt here. Soon, though, Dravid made the final error, going for a run off a dropped catch. He had judged the single well, but took it too easy, and AB de Villiers' flashy work to hit the stumps direct caught him short. Lonwabo Tsotsobe's reaction was priceless. He was the bowler who had that wicket taken away from him, and was standing next to the stumps with hand on hips, but in an instant that emotion changed to joy as he knew before the third umpire that de Villiers had caught Dravid short.
The hold
If Zaheer Khan has been toying around with Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn has been having a pretty successful time against the opposition opener. Virender Sehwag showed remarkable restraint against the danger man, even playing out back-to-back maidens, but Steyn managed to make it seven Sehwag wickets out of the 15 innings he has bowled against him in. In this series, Steyn has got Sehwag in all three first innings, and that has had a big impact. However, the contest has been full of action from both sides: to go with the seven dismissals, 203 runs have come off the 234 balls that Sehwag has faced against Steyn. Sehwag's got 155 of those runs in India, off 156 balls, at an average of 51.67, while in South Africa, Steyn's been the boss, dismissing him four times for 48 runs.
If Zaheer Khan has been toying around with Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn has been having a pretty successful time against the opposition opener. Virender Sehwag showed remarkable restraint against the danger man, even playing out back-to-back maidens, but Steyn managed to make it seven Sehwag wickets out of the 15 innings he has bowled against him in. In this series, Steyn has got Sehwag in all three first innings, and that has had a big impact. However, the contest has been full of action from both sides: to go with the seven dismissals, 203 runs have come off the 234 balls that Sehwag has faced against Steyn. Sehwag's got 155 of those runs in India, off 156 balls, at an average of 51.67, while in South Africa, Steyn's been the boss, dismissing him four times for 48 runs.
The modern captaincy moment
This was so expected it didn't surprise anybody. Even though India had all the momentum with four wickets for 21 runs to reduce South Africa to 283 for 8, as a modern-day captain does, MS Dhoni spread the fields for Jacques Kallis, who enjoyed the state of affairs. He manoeuvred the strike well, giving India only a ball or two at the tailenders for most of the overs. And once India started deflating, Kallis started going for boundaries off the last two balls when the fields would come up. The last two wickets added 79, which could yet prove to be the difference in the final analysis.
This was so expected it didn't surprise anybody. Even though India had all the momentum with four wickets for 21 runs to reduce South Africa to 283 for 8, as a modern-day captain does, MS Dhoni spread the fields for Jacques Kallis, who enjoyed the state of affairs. He manoeuvred the strike well, giving India only a ball or two at the tailenders for most of the overs. And once India started deflating, Kallis started going for boundaries off the last two balls when the fields would come up. The last two wickets added 79, which could yet prove to be the difference in the final analysis.
The extra over that didn't work
In Durban, as India got off to a wicket-less start in the first 10 overs, Steyn pleaded with the captain for an extra over. He got that extra over, which brought him Sehwag's wicket, which got him another over, which in turn got him another wicket. Today, with Paul Harris ready to bowl the 16th over of India's innings, Steyn got himself an extra over. This time, though, the extra over went for six runs, including a lovely whip from Sachin Tendulkar, his first boundary.
In Durban, as India got off to a wicket-less start in the first 10 overs, Steyn pleaded with the captain for an extra over. He got that extra over, which brought him Sehwag's wicket, which got him another over, which in turn got him another wicket. Today, with Paul Harris ready to bowl the 16th over of India's innings, Steyn got himself an extra over. This time, though, the extra over went for six runs, including a lovely whip from Sachin Tendulkar, his first boundary.
The interruption
It was not clear whether he didn't like the way Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were batting, but in the 35th over of India's innings, a man chose to streak, skilfully dodging the security guards, who frankly seemed athletically inferior to him. As he passed Duminy at backward square leg, the fielder - perhaps in self-defence - made a mock charge towards the streaker. That hurried the man's departure off the field, but he ran himself pretty hard into the fence, a moment Paul Harris, standing in the slips, particularly enjoyed, expressing his pleasure by clapping and laughing. The almost naked man had his moment in the Cape Town sun, but won't quite enjoy what the authorities might do to him.
It was not clear whether he didn't like the way Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were batting, but in the 35th over of India's innings, a man chose to streak, skilfully dodging the security guards, who frankly seemed athletically inferior to him. As he passed Duminy at backward square leg, the fielder - perhaps in self-defence - made a mock charge towards the streaker. That hurried the man's departure off the field, but he ran himself pretty hard into the fence, a moment Paul Harris, standing in the slips, particularly enjoyed, expressing his pleasure by clapping and laughing. The almost naked man had his moment in the Cape Town sun, but won't quite enjoy what the authorities might do to him.
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at Cricinfo