South Africa enjoyed the best of yet another truncated day as they endedthe third day with a lead of 152
The Bulletin by Anand Vasu28-Dec-2006Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
‘de Villiers played and missed plenty, but crunched some robust drives through the off side toreach 31 when play was called off’ © Getty Images
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 inthe recent past. He took blows on the body, left alone what he could,played with assurance when he did, and placed the highest possible priceon his wicket. He kept one end sealed, remaining not out on an even50 even as wickets fell at the other end.When the day began, overcast and cooler than the previous two, there wasstill the hope that Sachin Tendulkar, who had played some special shots onthe second day, would go on and make a big one and lead India out of thewoods. And the beginning was good, as Tendulkar brought up his firsthalf-century of 2006 with a classy drive back past the bowler. MakhayaNtini was in for some more punishment as a Tendulkar punch through pointraced away to the boundary. But he had the last laugh, as a ball just keptcoming in to Tendulkar as he attempted to force the ball to third-man andonly managed a nick to the keeper. Tendulkar, who had made 63, was just not inthe best position to play the shot.Sourav Ganguly defended the first ball he faced to the off side withoutmuch trouble but the second one sent him packing. Ntini banged the ballin short and it was angled across the body, and Ganguly appeared to pickthe ball up late, if at all, as he fended awkwardly, and only managed tospoon a catch to point. Ganguly gone for a duck and India were in troubleat 125 for 5.Mahendra Singh Dhoni walked out to bat in no position to showcase histalent, and had to knuckle down alongside Laxman and help India inchtowards safety. Andre Nel, however, made the mistake of pitching the ballup a touch too far, and Dhoni picked off consecutive cracking boundaries,through point and mid-off, but that was the exception rather than therule. Morne Morkel was similarly picked off for a brace of boundaries inone 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 getthe new ball – made traditional misers look profligate as he rammed the ballthrough to the keeper with metronomic efficiency. In the whole innings,only four balls of his were scored off, and his bowling figuresscarcely did justice to the pressure he built up. Morkel, however,benefited, sending one down on a length that invited Dhoni to drive, andfound the edge, with AB de Villiers gobbling up the offering in the slipscordon. Dhoni had made 34 from only 39 balls with seven boundaries.Laxman, in the meantime, had batted more than three hours for a littlemore 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 aslightly wide ball from Morkel and edged to Boucher. The first wicket ondebut sent Morkel into celebration, but the second gave him timeto get used to the idea that he was playing for his country at the highestlevel.
VVS Laxman weathered a lot of short-pitched stuff to keep india in the reckoning © Getty Images
Sreesanth came out to bat with a steely look in his eyes and carved out 28in an invaluable 52-run partnership for the tenth wicket. He took a coupleof blows on the body, and initially played a couple of streaky shots tothe third-man region, but soon got into his groove and began to pound theball to all parts. He did not back away from the ball but managed to makegood contact with the straight bat and heaving across the line. He evenadvanced down the pitch to the fast bowlers, showing plenty of positiveintent.Laxman, after initially protecting Sreesanth, soon realised that therewere some useful runs to be had and rotated the strike. Laxman himself wassolid as a rock, and very little went past him as he resisted for as manyas 156 balls to be unbeaten on an even 50. Sreesanth’s merry swinging cameto an end when he played one shot too many and nicked to the keeper, andVRV Singh, after creaming one through cover, feathered Pollock to MarkBoucher behind the stumps.Having picked up a lead of 88 South Africa proceeded to ram the advantagehome as the openers, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers, weathered a probingearly spell to rack up an unbeaten opening stand of 64. Smith, who hasbeen short of form and runs, was given a thorough working over by ZaheerKhan early on, but managed to keep his wicket intact. de Villiers playedand missed plenty, but crunched some robust drives through the off side toreach 31 when play was called off. South Africa, on 64 for no loss, with alead of 152, were right in control at the end of the third day.Short cuts
Highlight of the day: Mornè Morkel had bowled nine overs withoutsuggesting that he was ready for the step-up to Test level. One ball canchange all that, and the first of his 10th over jagged away a teeny bitafter 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 Morkelcould celebrate the first of what will be many wickets.
VRV Singh certainly put some ‘shoulder’ into this one © Getty Images
Lowlight of the day: The power outage overshadowed poor shot selectionfrom some of the Indians. Soon after tea, one of the cables supplyingpower to several parts of the city suffered a glitch, and an alreadygloomy Kingsmead became even darker with the floodlights shutting down.Normal service resumed only 37 minutes later, but by the time the playersemerged, only eight more balls were deemed possible.Shot of the day: Sreesanth hit one pristine off-drive off Andrew Hall, andwas so impressed himself that he held the pose even as he was running downthe pitch. Bat manufacturers the world over have been alerted.Ball of the day: Makhaya Ntini produced a snorter to Sourav Ganguly. Shortof a length and directed at the pectorals, it had Ganguly fendinghaplessly to gully. After all the talk of chin music, here was one noteheard loud and clear.Catch of the day: de Villiers’s effort to send back Dhoni was competentrather than spectacular, but on a day where every other catch was agimmie, it takes the unfinished cake.Message of the day: VRV Singh’s first attempt at a scoring shot was theretreat to leg and the wild swings. Having clattered an entertaining 29 atthe Wanderers, his one-shot repertoire has clearly captured theimagination. “Put some more shoulder into it,” yelled one wag from thegrassy bank, and sure enough the next ball was thumped through the coversfor four.Off the park: Mark Benson was resting in hospital after being takenunwell, and the two men in the middle – Asad Rauf and Ian Howell, thereplacement – were due to pay their colleague a visit on Thursday evening.In the vicinity of the commentary box, some moaned about Durban’sunsuitability as a venue at this time of year. Hardly a match has beencompleted here without the weather intervening in some way.