Laxman and Zaheer steer India despite early hiccups
On a dicey pitch in Durban, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/VVS-Laxman-c2772 played one of his most fluent innings to enable India to take a considerable lead of 292 runs at lunch, on day two of the second Test match. In doing so, Laxman pushed India into a position of strength at Kingsmead,
amassing 212 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.
The first session of play hung in a balance as India lost three wickets, scoring 122 runs, in the process. Despite South Africa’s persistent bowling, India managed to score runs freely. It was an indifferent pitch, so the batsmen had to work hard for their
runs, however, the Indian late-order played aggressively in order to counter-attack the home side.
Laxman was in supreme touch as he remained unbeaten for his 86 runs. In his brilliant display with the bat, the Indian master played shots all around the park. He was particularly severe on anything that was aimed at his pads. His leg-side play was an absolute
delight to watch and his brilliant show in the second innings earned him eleven scintillating boundaries.
Moreover, Laxman mustered a resilient 70-run partnership with Zaheer Khan in order to rescue their team from early hiccups. Zaheer joined his senior partner on a score of 148 runs for the loss of seven wickets. A rescue was needed and the pair responded
to the situation in a defiant manner. The duo pushed India’s score to 218 runs.
Zaheer provided his partner with a valuable support and as a result of his valiant effort, the left-handed batsmen remained unbeaten on 27. The Indian pair will start the post-lunch session confidently and will look put the opposition under pressure by scoring
runs aggressively.
Earlier in the morning session, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 lost their first three wickets in a space of just 55 runs. Pujara, who is playing only his second Test match, failed to make an impression with the bat; he got out without adding a run to his overnight resistance of
10 runs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Morne-Morkel-c77722 was the chief destroyer with the ball for the home team as he accounted for two opposition dismissals. The tall fast bowler used his height to good effect and his pace was backed up by some steep bounce. Morne moved the ball off the pitch and,
in doing so, consistently troubled the opposition batsmen. His persistent line and length with the ball earned him significant returns, registering 3/47, in the second innings.
Lonwabo Tsotsobe was brilliant with his left-arm seam bowling, getting the ball to move away from the willowers. The left armer brought about the demise of Dhoni with a magnificent out-swinger which Dhoni edged straight into the hands of the Mark Boucher.
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