November 26, 2015
Brief Scorecard: South Africa 79 (Ashwin 5-32, Jadeja 4-33) and 32 for 2 need another 278 to beat India 215 (Vijay 40, Harmer 4-78, Morkel 3-35) and 173 (Dhawan 39, Tahir 5-38)
November 26, 2015
Brief Scorecard: South Africa 79 (Ashwin 5-32, Jadeja 4-33) and 32 for 2 need another 278 to beat India 215 (Vijay 40, Harmer 4-78, Morkel 3-35) and 173 (Dhawan 39, Tahir 5-38)
Imran Tahir walks back after Amit Mishra trapped him lbw, India v South Africa, 3rd Test, Nagpur, 2nd day, November 26, 2015 © BCCI
NAGPUR – The second day of the third Test match began with Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar at the crease, with South Africa on 11 for 2. When the players walked off the field, 90 overs later, it was Amla and Elgar in harness and South Africa 32 for 2. Before you think you’re suffering the effect of some powerful hallucinogens, look closer at the scorecard and you will find that a staggering 20 wickets fell between the two events.
On a pitch that continued to be in focus despite players from both sides doing their best to keep the attention on bat and ball, South Africa were reduced to 12 for 5 and shot out for only 79, their lowest score against India, shading the time they were bowled out for 84 in Johannesburg.
India’s response was robust for a time, but the inevitable collapse was triggered and they had to settle for 173, which gave them a lead of 309, setting South Africa a target that has never been successfully chased by a team visiting India.
Test cricket in India is so often about mountains of runs that the manner in which the spinners could pillage wickets, driving batsmen stir crazy by getting the ball to do different things despite landing in exactly the same spot, having been delivered at the same pace, was at once disconcerting and gripping.
R Ashwin was a master at this, using natural variations to such good effect that he only had to fall back on his own variety when a specific plan called for it. Ashwin began the procession of batsmen from the dressing-room to the middle and back when Elgar overeagerly looked to cut and dragged the ball back on. Hashim Amla’s horror run continued, a big sweep off Ashwin coming a touch too early as the ball stopped off the mottled pitch and lobbed to slip via arm, back of bat and the wicketkeeper’s shoulder.
If Amla made 1, the other batting pillar of the team, AB de Villiers, completed the binary code, popping a return catch to Ravindra Jadeja, who was just beginning the process of catching up with his senior spinning partner. At 12 for 5, South Africa had spontaneously combusted, the pitch certainly not playing enough tricks to justify such a feeble top-order effort.
If there was a sliver of hope, it came from JP Duminy, who used his feet well to the spinners and drove the ball in the vee, only resorting to cross-batted shots when he got a rank bad ball. And there weren’t too many of those on offer. Duminy (35) however, was singular in approach and success and wickets fell consistently at the other end. When you have only one partnership above 20 in an innings, the scoreline is not going to be pretty. Mishra disturbed the symmetry of the bowling card, picking up Duminy, but the other spinners once again returned dream figures. Jadeja, with 4 for 33, was overshadowed, not merely statistically but in pure beauty of bowling by Ashwin, who had figures of 16.1-6-32-5.
When India started their second dig, it was with a lead of 136, and even the fall of M Vijay early did not cause too many jitters. Shikhar Dhawan, looking to be positive, did his best not to think about the pitch or what it was doing, playing his shots with confidence. For a time it appeared as though India were batting on a different surface to the one South Africa had collapsed on, one 10-over block yielding 61 runs for the fall of only one wicket. Dhawan (39) and Pujara (31) appeared to calm the nerves, and at 97 for 2 India’s batsmen were doing a fine job of debunking the claim that this pitch was diabolical. But, before that thought could congeal fully, Imran Tahir made his presence felt. Strangely, South Africa chose not to press their main spinner into action until 24 overs had been bowled and India’s lead was already 218. When he did get the ball in hand, though, Tahir was successful, although he will be the first to admit that India’s batsmen played some adventurous shots. A reverse sweep (Shikhar Dhawan), a hole out to the deep trying to hit a six (Virat Kohli) and a wide half-volley being squeezed to point (Ajinkya Rahane) set the ball rolling. Amla’s decision not to give Tahir a bowl earlier looked all the more like a mistake when Tahir nailed the final Indian wicket on 173 to end with 5 for 38.
South Africa, looking at what might seem to be an impossibly distant target of 310, were two down in quick time, Ashwin snapping up Stiaan van Zyl for the fifth time in as many attempts in this series. The sense of déjà vu was overwhelming when Tahir was sent out once more as nightwatchman, the move having failed only 24 hours. South Africa were not second time lucky as Tahir was caught in front of the stumps by Amit Mishra. And then, like some strange illusion, the day ended as it had began, Amla and Elgar doing their bit to resist the Indians. The pair saw off 2.5 overs together, but they will know that there are 270 more of those to come, although clearly not that many will be needed before this game is decided.
Courtesy: Wisden India
