Langeveldt
Soutie
Fair enough tbh, if the pitches aren't doing anything.. He'll get found out the moment any life appears
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***Official*** India in South Africa
- Thread starter James
- Start date
Dravid
International Captain
Still believe we should give Sachin a go too. He has broken partnership for us before, and he bowls pretty good leg breaks and googlys
Turbinator
Cricketer Of The Year
I say we ditch Kumble, and let Sachin and Sehwag bowl in tandem
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Pratters
Cricket, Lovely Cricket
End of day. The Indian seamers - Sreesanth, Zaheer and Munaf did get swing but all the three had different fallacies. Sreesanth was inconsistent with the line, Zaheer not testing enough and Munaf was possibly not 100% fit - seeing how he went off the field as soon as he finished his spell and didn't look comfortable from his body language while he was on the field. The pitch was not the best but it was not as if wickets could not have been extracted out of it, particularly as the South African line up isn't that strong.
The good thing was the team didn't let their shoulders drop. Kumble does need to try his hand from the other end tomorrow. The game isn't over yet as there is a lot of cricket to be played and from what was seen off a few deliveries which ruffled a lot of dust, the pitch can crumble quite a bit as the test progresses. Kumble could be dangerous then. On the other hand, we can have an Indian collapse in the second inning. In short, the match is far from over.
The good thing was the team didn't let their shoulders drop. Kumble does need to try his hand from the other end tomorrow. The game isn't over yet as there is a lot of cricket to be played and from what was seen off a few deliveries which ruffled a lot of dust, the pitch can crumble quite a bit as the test progresses. Kumble could be dangerous then. On the other hand, we can have an Indian collapse in the second inning. In short, the match is far from over.
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adharcric
International Coach
I say you both go to sleep.I say we ditch Kumble, and let Sachin and Sehwag bowl in tandem
Dravid
International Captain
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
South Africa now the favorites to win at 3.20. Draw still likelier but India move onto 6.50 for the win. The roles were reversed in the morning. Ridiculous turn around.
Ha, anything but. Brilliant day, great turnaround from SA, after losing yesterday pretty comprehensively they've fantastically turned this match on it's head.
By no stretch is the job done yet though, hopefully Amla & Smith can see out the first few hours tomorrow, if not bat the entire session, tomorrow's job is just to bat, bat & bat.
Ideal situation for me is if they both make big, big scores and we can have someone like Bouch striding in at 450 early on the 4th morning with a license to kill.
aussie
Hall of Fame Member
Tendulkar starts the year with a solid innings, good signs for the great man & for Indian team in what promises to be an exciting year of test cricket for them.
BTW whats up with Dippenaar?, don't think i've seen him all series. I hope he's not a victim of that quota system crap because he should definatel be in the SA ODI side ahead of bossman & test side ahead of Amla.
BTW whats up with Dippenaar?, don't think i've seen him all series. I hope he's not a victim of that quota system crap because he should definatel be in the SA ODI side ahead of bossman & test side ahead of Amla.
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
No victim of the quota system Aussie, Hendrik Human just had a poor Champions Trophy and has now found himself in the cold. However, South Africa’s current positive plan in one day cricket of filling the side with attack minded cricketers (with Kallis the glue at three) mean that Human’s chances of the going to the World Cup are pretty slim. Though his still in the South African fold in test cricket and will play against the Pakistani touring side for the Rest of South Africa later this week.
Jungle Jumbo
International Vice-Captain
Cricket Web report, a bit late.
After cocooning himself from abuse from all corners of the media – not to mention all corners of the first day Newlands crowd – Graeme Smith hit back at his detractors with a fistful of his staple currency: runs. Together with Hashim Amla, another batsman who has suffered his fair amount of flak in the past few weeks, the South African captain bit back in a second wicket stand of 130, to take his side to 144-1 at the close on day two, 270 adrift of India’s solid total.
Smith’s intentions were clear from the first delivery of the innings, when he top-edged an ambitious hook shot off Zaheer Khan for six, and before long he was clattering the ball against the offside advertisement hoardings with increasing frequency. Yesterday’s fears that the pitch would crumble quickly did not materialise, with Anil Kumble’s legspin offering little cause for concern for the home fans.
Amla, with his Test position under considerable threat for the upcoming Pakistan series, was understandably nervy early on, but a chunk of Smith’s ego appeared to rub off on him as he finished unbeaten with a second Test fifty to his name. Smith closed on 76, from 111 balls and with eleven fours and a six, and will surely be looking at a big hundred tomorrow.
Earlier, the overnight pairing of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman resumed on 253-3 for India and initially appeared to be well placed to rack up a huge score and place South Africa under considerable pressure. However, Dale Steyn produced an unplayable outswinger that pinned Laxman to the crease before flattening his off stump, and the home side were back in the match.
Laxman’s dismissal, for 13, announced the arrival of Sourav Ganguly, accompanied by a barrage of bouncers from the South African pace attack. Coming from his international exile on the slow, low Indian wickets, Ganguly has had to learn to walk again when dealing with the short delivery, and it certainly hasn’t been a comfortable journey. Here he attempted to duck and fend off unconvincingly before an offside punch put him on his way.
At the other end, Tendulkar revealed glimpses of the quality that used to underline every stay of his at the crease. The wristy glances to leg returned, particularly when steering Paul Harris’ left-arm spin out of the rough, but the shot of the day was a mouth-watering cover drive. Latching on to a full ball from Makhaya Ntini, Tendulkar lunged forward and effortlessly timed the ball to the fence – with no follow through as he held his pose cinematically. A series of sublime pushes back past the stumps followed, and it came as something as a shock when he edged Harris to slip for 64.
Virender Sehwag, in unusual territory at number seven, then reversed his run drought by thriving on the security of a strong position of 337-5. Where Tendulkar’s shots had been succulent, palatable even, Sehwag’s sizzled in the Cape Town sun. After hammering 40 from 49 balls, Sehwag was ideally placed to ram home India’s advantage, but a miscued slog-sweep off Harris only picked out Ntini in the deep. The tail for once gave little resistance, with the last four wickets tumbling for just 19 – three of which were to Pollock, including that of Ganguly, last man out for 66. Pollock ended with 4-75 from 29.1 overs, while debutant Harris finished with the encouraging figures of 37-3-129-4.
Tomorrow, it seems, is the pivotal day. With the series tied at one-all, it is unlikely either side will want to yield too much ground or take any real risks: South Africa will not contemplate a loss at home to India; the tourists will be unwilling to throw away the hard work of the last few weeks. Ultimately, the outcome of the match could come down to Smith’s performance – only he, one feels, has the determination and the gut to wrest anything from this match.
After cocooning himself from abuse from all corners of the media – not to mention all corners of the first day Newlands crowd – Graeme Smith hit back at his detractors with a fistful of his staple currency: runs. Together with Hashim Amla, another batsman who has suffered his fair amount of flak in the past few weeks, the South African captain bit back in a second wicket stand of 130, to take his side to 144-1 at the close on day two, 270 adrift of India’s solid total.
Smith’s intentions were clear from the first delivery of the innings, when he top-edged an ambitious hook shot off Zaheer Khan for six, and before long he was clattering the ball against the offside advertisement hoardings with increasing frequency. Yesterday’s fears that the pitch would crumble quickly did not materialise, with Anil Kumble’s legspin offering little cause for concern for the home fans.
Amla, with his Test position under considerable threat for the upcoming Pakistan series, was understandably nervy early on, but a chunk of Smith’s ego appeared to rub off on him as he finished unbeaten with a second Test fifty to his name. Smith closed on 76, from 111 balls and with eleven fours and a six, and will surely be looking at a big hundred tomorrow.
Earlier, the overnight pairing of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman resumed on 253-3 for India and initially appeared to be well placed to rack up a huge score and place South Africa under considerable pressure. However, Dale Steyn produced an unplayable outswinger that pinned Laxman to the crease before flattening his off stump, and the home side were back in the match.
Laxman’s dismissal, for 13, announced the arrival of Sourav Ganguly, accompanied by a barrage of bouncers from the South African pace attack. Coming from his international exile on the slow, low Indian wickets, Ganguly has had to learn to walk again when dealing with the short delivery, and it certainly hasn’t been a comfortable journey. Here he attempted to duck and fend off unconvincingly before an offside punch put him on his way.
At the other end, Tendulkar revealed glimpses of the quality that used to underline every stay of his at the crease. The wristy glances to leg returned, particularly when steering Paul Harris’ left-arm spin out of the rough, but the shot of the day was a mouth-watering cover drive. Latching on to a full ball from Makhaya Ntini, Tendulkar lunged forward and effortlessly timed the ball to the fence – with no follow through as he held his pose cinematically. A series of sublime pushes back past the stumps followed, and it came as something as a shock when he edged Harris to slip for 64.
Virender Sehwag, in unusual territory at number seven, then reversed his run drought by thriving on the security of a strong position of 337-5. Where Tendulkar’s shots had been succulent, palatable even, Sehwag’s sizzled in the Cape Town sun. After hammering 40 from 49 balls, Sehwag was ideally placed to ram home India’s advantage, but a miscued slog-sweep off Harris only picked out Ntini in the deep. The tail for once gave little resistance, with the last four wickets tumbling for just 19 – three of which were to Pollock, including that of Ganguly, last man out for 66. Pollock ended with 4-75 from 29.1 overs, while debutant Harris finished with the encouraging figures of 37-3-129-4.
Tomorrow, it seems, is the pivotal day. With the series tied at one-all, it is unlikely either side will want to yield too much ground or take any real risks: South Africa will not contemplate a loss at home to India; the tourists will be unwilling to throw away the hard work of the last few weeks. Ultimately, the outcome of the match could come down to Smith’s performance – only he, one feels, has the determination and the gut to wrest anything from this match.
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TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
Good retort by South Africans though tomorrow’s first session will be imperative and if they can ‘survive it’ then they have fantastic opportunity to cash in big style in the afternoon. Talk of a victory is still ridiculous premature because Kumble and co. could easily roll up tomorrow and bowl them out. Though, historically day three is the best day for batting and if they are still batting come day four then they have every chance to push for victory.
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
I do not trust India's batting in their second innings. I have no reason to. Therefore, they will collapse for less than 150 and SA to romp home with an eight wicket win.
Turbinator
Cricketer Of The Year
Doubt it, the wicket is better than India's ability to melt under pressure.
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
Doubt it, they already semi melted in the first innings against a South African slow bowler.
Turbinator
Cricketer Of The Year
Trust me, the pitch will save them. It's actually a battle between the wicket and RSA.
Goughy
Hall of Fame Member
As we all know, thats why Test cricket is so good.
silentstriker
The Wheel is Forever
Yup. Its either exhilarating or completely shattering depending on your side..and thats why its so great. The overnight gloating and bitching.
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
With Hashim Amla hitting the winning runs of Sreesanth…
Backed young Amla to score today, though I was pretty apprehensive I thought if the Indian top order could score runs why not Hashim and he was good value. Might sell in the morning however, don't fancy him against Kumble.
aussie
Hall of Fame Member
Even if thats the idea in the ODI, the CT was just one bad series vs Australia early last year he was brilliant. Does really make much sense when Bossman doesn't look great & Amla barring his current innings has struggled.