You're in my way Mr Umpire

Brothers in arms
A sibling rivalry - in good spirit or not - is an extremely effective motivator. The older one is generally under greater pressure for it's not pleasant to be outdone by the kid. The brothers Morkel - Albie and Morne - shared the new ball at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Albie, three years older than Morne, got hit by Virender Sehwag for three fours in his first over. Morne, on the other hand, began with a maiden. Albie was the first to take a wicket when he bowled MS Dhoni with a yorker but Morne ended the day with the scalps of the Mohammads - Yousuf and Rafique. Bigger isn't always better.

Insignificant for most, but not Botha
It's difficult to take the Afro-Asian Cup seriously. The number of last-minute withdrawals, because of injuries or just plain whims and fancies, is a clear indication that the players don't either. But for Johan Botha it was a rather big deal for he was playing his first international game since the tour of Australia in 2005-06 when he was reported for a suspect action. He had an encouraging start with a close shout for lbw against Sourav Ganguly with his second ball. Thereafter the only moments of excitement in his spell was when MS Dhoni got stuck into him for two sixes, one of saw the ball land on the roof.

You're in my way Mr Umpire
If a team-mate somehow stops you from getting a wicket, you could be forgiven for venting your spleen (in a respectable manner) on the field. But what do you do if it's an umpire? Ask AB de Villiers. Rafique pushed the ball towards mid-off and charged for a single, de Villiers sprinted across from cover, picked up, took aim and fired at the stumps. Had he hit, Rafique would have been out by a long way. He didn't hit, because umpire Tony Hill, instead of running towards the leg side, ran between de Villiers and the stumps and promptly intercepted the throw. Imagine if this had happened in the 1999 World Cup semi-final.

AB gets his man
The umpire might have saved Rafique once but he would have had to out-run de Villiers to do it again. Rafique slashed at a wide ball from Morne Morkel and got a top edge high and far over the infield. de Villiers sprinted after it from cover, reached the ball just in time and, with arms outstretched, took the catch while running at full tilt. He tumbled to the ground as soon as the catch was taken but the ball was as safe as the snitch in Harry Potter's hand.

Deja-vu?
In the first ODI at Bangalore, de Villiers began Africa's pursuit of 318 with a four off Mohammad Asif but lost his off stump the very next ball when he shouldered arms to one that cut back in. Today, chasing 338, de Villiers hit his first boundary off Asif - a powerful golf-swing over cover. The next ball was pitched on a good length on middle stump, seamed away from de Villiers, squared him up and took the outside edge. Dhoni, who was initially moving the wrong way, dived low and to his right to take a stunning catch inches above the ground. Remember to be careful after you hit Asif for four on Sunday AB.

Sweet chin music
The last thing you expect on a flat batting pitch is to see a ball that is potentially life-threatening. Vusi Sibanda, having cruised to 35 off 37 balls, was batting with minimum fuss. In the 13th over, Fernando jolted him out of his comfort zone with a brute of a delivery. It was short-pitched on leg stump and it rose so sharply that Sibanda, in his hurry to get his head out of the way, arched backwards, lost his balance and hit the turf. He was shaken no doubt, and when Fernando let him have another short one next ball, Sibanda top-edged the pull and was comfortably caught by Dhoni.