India came back strongly after an innings defeat at Centurion to thrash South Africa by 87 runs in the second test match at Durban to level the series 1-1. The two sides now travel to Capetown for the decider. However the manner in which the tour has progressed is very much Indian- the team starts pretty slowly but picks up momentum rather quickly. India has now won matches in the most alien conditions (Headingley 2007, Perth 2008 and of course Durban, 2010) and also under circumstances of extreme pressure (the more recent ones when they were trailing in the series- Kolklata 2010 and Colombo 2010). No doubt this is one of the most feared teams in the world and hence the title….. Hud Hud Dabang Dabang
Dhoni’s luck with toss did not turn one bit as he lost another crucial toss. Smith could not stop smiling all the while but little did he know that things will change so quickly and he will end up on the losing side within 4 days. Indian team started off in a pretty decent manner but you cannot keep the likes of Dale Steyn and Mornie Morkel at bay for long when the pitch has some assistance for the fast bowlers and the opening batsmen are not known to exactly flourish in such conditions. However in the context of such a low scoring game, I must say that the openers did a decent job as India lost their first wicket (Sehwag) at 43. However, Murali Vijay did not last long either after Sehwag left as India limped to 48/2 from 43 for no loss at one stage. That set the stage for the two veterans- Sachin and Dravid for the repair job. As an Indian (or even a neutral) supporter you cannot ask for batsmen of better calibre and reputation than these two. However it was not exactly a pitch where you can play your strokes freely and Sachin fell to one such temptation as he was caught in slips immediately after lunch (Mr Kalia accounting for his dismissal). That brought together another illustrious pair to the crease- Laxman and Dravid who has served Indian cricket so wonderfully and its tales deserved to be told to the forthcoming generations. The duo provided some degree of stability but Dravid fell a little later to his RCB teammate, Dale Steyn and the score read 117/4L. Laxman continued to bat in his usual manner as he even hit Steyn for a six but he still was not at his fluent best (the pitch was not the easiest to bat on) and did survive a couple of close LBW calls against Paul Harris. Laxman eventually fell to a stunner of a catch by Mr Kalia for a well made 38 but things never looked pleasant for the Indian batting card. Pujara joined Dhoni and it looked as if the two will take India till the end of the day but that was not to be. Pujara again fell to Mr Kalia. At stumps on Day 1, India were precariously placed at 183/6 with Bhajji and Dhoni at crease. The highlight of the day for me was the venomous bowling display by Dale Steyn as he pocketed 4 wickets. Every time he ran into bowl, my heart skipped a beat. Awesome display of fast bowling, I must say.
When play began on Day 2, the obvious question was if Dhoni and co will manage to take the score somewhere close to 250. They did not but neither did they surprise many. When you have the likes of Morkel and Steyn running in after an overnight rest, even the best of the lot can feel a chill down their spine. India finished at 205, definitely an improvement over 136 in their previous match but 205 by no means looked adequate at that point.
When SA started their first innings, they must have discussed the presence of Zaheer Khan and strategies to tackle him. However, Zaheer is a really experienced campaigner, a world class bowler and someone who can plan dismissals in his mind before affecting the same on the field (Just as Bipasha Basu planned murders in her mind in Jism, bad example :)). Zaheer got rid of his bunny Smith to a beautiful delivery and that was it. India got off to a start they needed, something they so badly missed in Centurion and the morale was up. Zaheer kept things quite tidy even though neither Sreesanth nor Ishant complemented him very well initially. Zaheer also got rid of Peiterson (pardon me for the spellings, there are a couple of Peitersens with different spellings) and SA dressing room must have started to feel the heat. India also earned another huge bonus when a straight drive from Amla brushed Ishant’s fingers and caught Kallis short at the nonstriker’s end .And then Sreesanth had Devilliers caught behind off a beauty just at the stroke of the lunch. That must have been the best lunch Indian team had in SA since arriving there.
When play began in second session, the immediate target must have been to get rid of Amla and Bhajji did get rid of (Y)Amla Pagla Deewana (he really goes crazy when he sees Indian bowling line up) courtesy of a straighter one as Amla looked to sweep. SA lost half their side for 96 and then it was just a matter of time. Zaheer got rid of Prince who had struggled against him until then while Bhajji had the better of Steyn (wonderful catch by Dravid in slips to become the first test match cricketer with 200 catches against his name) and Harris (another alert catch by Pujara at short leg) in the same over. Morkel and Boucher tried to delay the inevitable but Morkel eventually fell to Ishant (again a fantastic catch in the deep by Bhajji) and Mr Kalia got out chipping to midwicket as India bundled SA for 131.
Indian bowling clicked in unison though Bhajji with 4 wickets and Zaks with 3 were the standout performers. But importantly, the team caught everything that came their way and this handed them a vital lead of 74 runs. Now 74 is not meagre by any standards but in a test match where the first two innings finish in less than 5 sessions, this lead very well turned out to the difference between a victory and a thrashing.
India started their second essay quite confidently as Sehwag looked in sublime touch and boundaries came pretty easily. But SA bowlers are no jokers as Mr Kalia had Sehwag caught behind when he chased a rather wide one. From 42 for no loss, India were 56/4 in no time as the wickets of Sehwag, Murali Vijay (he is a very loyal partner, does not feel like staying at wicket after Sehwag is gone :)), Dravid (chased another wide one and caught behind, very unlike Rahul Dravid) and Sachin Tendulkar (tried to be a bit too positive and was snapped in slips) and the teams were even stevens again. India finished the day at 92/4 with Laxman and Pujara holding fort but they were far from a position of safety. 18 wickets had fallen in one day and it was pretty evident that the match won’t last 5 days.
India lost Pujara very early on Day 3 as he got another unplayable delivery from Morkel. Dhoni came in and tried to play some shots (made a useful 21 too) but did not last too long. Neither did Harbhajan but Zaheer managed to stay somehow. He was involved in a 70 run stand with Laxman and that was easily the defining moment in the match. At one point it looked as if Laxman may not even get to his half century, but the company of Zaheer allowed him to move into eighties before Zaheer got out. By then, India had posted a healthy 280 odd lead against SA and it was always going to be tough. Things disintegrated pretty quickly after Zaheer’s dismissal as Ishant fell to Kallis. Laxman missed a well deserved century as he was the last man out for an individual score of 96. India set a target of 303 for SA and it would have taken a superhuman effort from SA to win the match, seal the series and snatch the #1 ranking from India.
Smith started very positively as he hit Zaheer for 5 fours in his first three overs. The intent obviously was there as there were plenty of things at stake (pride being one of them, but as I mentioned the series and the claim to be #1 Test team in the world). However, Smith was also involved in a duel with Sreesanth later on as the two exchanged words and some aggressive gestures were being made. Sreesanth eventually won the battle as he had Smith caught off a short ball which Smith tried to pull but only managed a top edge. What was heartening to see was the fact that there were no over-the-top celebrations by Sreesanth or send-offs. I believe Sreesanth must have said to himself that let us seal the match first, my antics can wait :). Bhajji had Petersen caught by Pujara as wickets started to tumble fast. However the big fish again came from Sreesanth as he had Amla out to a nothing shot, just poking at a wide delivery and being caught behind in the process. AB de Villiers and Kallis got together at crease and had a few nervous moments as the day ended albeit prematurely due to fading light. SA were placed at 111/3 and the equations was pretty straight- India needed 7 wickets while SA needed 192 runs at the close of play with 2 more days to go.
Day 4 promised to be a day full of action, twists and thrills but frankly speaking it never lived up to the expectations. India started pretty solidly and there were no loose balls on offer. After a few quiet overs, Sreesanth had Kallis caught in gully to an absolutely unplayable delivery with the score reading 123/4. de Villiers was the next to go as he was adjudged LBW to Bhajji (the decision was somewhat controversial) and Boucher’s short stay at the crease ended quite prematurely as he was LBW to Zaheer (another dodgy one). With SA 6 down for 143, the match was all but over for them. Steyn got out to Zaheer thereafter even though Prince (first with Harris and then with Morkel) tried to put up a stiff resistance. A brilliant piece of fielding from Pujara saw Mr Kalia run-out as Prince was left stranded at the other end. India won by 87 runs and as I mentioned earlier that on pitches where runs are so hard to come by, 87 runs is a huge margin and qualifies as a thrashing.
The return of Zaheer Khan bolstered the Indian bowling line-up tremendously and made them an attack capable of picking up 20 wickets quite quickly (even though Smith almost laughed at this fact before the match began). Zaheer also showed why he has such an important role to play in the scheme of things if the current team has to win more consistently especially abroad. It was also great to see Bhajji pick up wickets in the first innings and Sreesanth in the second. Ishant needs to do a bit more (control his no-balls first of all) to justify his selection but the overall bowling performance was very satisfactory. However, the batting was not up to the mark especially in the second innings and Dhoni did acknowledge that. More meaningful and substantial contributions especially from Dravid and Sachin will be required if India harbours plans of winning the next test match and the series, something they have never done before. From a South African perspective, they would have realised their mistakes and will come back harder for sure. It will be the perfect start to the year as the two teams will fight it out for the battle of supremacy and the #1 ranking in what has now become a one-off test. Before I finish, I would also like to mention the guy who has made all this possible- Dada. It was only under Sourav Ganguly that India started to win overseas. It was also only under Sourav Ganguly that Indian bowlers learned to be aggressive and realised the importance of getting under the skin of the opposition (Sreesanth and Zaheer did that wonderfully well in this match). Good luck to the Indian cricket team members for 2011 as they battle it out for the Test series, the subsequent ODIs and then the mega event- the World Cup. May the Gods be with them.
Scorecard available at: http://tinyurl.com/36g9jzg (courtesy Cricinfo)
