South Africa-India Test at Durban enters interesting phase
In the second Test match of the Castle Test Series, The Indians shattered the South African first-innings ranks to defend their low score of 205 and snatch a small yet vital lead.
The pitch at the Kingsmead ground has already stunned spectators and players alike by the liveliness that has resulted in a very frequent fall of wickets. This was clear enough when India fell to the Proteas’ bowling attack rather
swiftly in their first innings. The visitors failed to impress on a damp track, but it later turned out that their meagre total was not all that indefensible. South Africa could not hold on to their wickets either, ending their first innings tally at a mere
131 runs.
Statistics indicate that the Kingsmead ground has not historically been a very lucky place for either team as far as Test matches are concerned. India have seen their batting line-up baffled by the dampness of the track previously
in 1996, when they made 100 in their first innings and only 66 runs in their second. The South Africans lost to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 by 175 runs in 2008-09, and to England by an innings and 98 runs last year. The current Test match is reminiscent of these failures for
both teams.
The situation was under control for some time before lunch, but the run-out of Jacques Kallis initiated the nightmare for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887 followed, out for a duck after nudging one through to the keeper. Hashim Amla,
who has been the backbone of the South African batting line-up, could not convert his form into a defining individual score, getting dismissed at 33 runs. This shattered any hopes the hosts had of posting a big first-innings response the way they did at SuperSport
Park.
Indian pace bowler Zaheer Khan made his presence felt, denting the opposition with a fiery spell. He bagged three wickets, giving away only 36 runs. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh joined the party, stealing four wickets.
After the South Africans were bowled out, India began playing their second innings. By stumps on day two of the Test, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 were 92-4 with their lead widened to 166 runs already.
The match has entered an interesting phase now, and some hard work will be required from the South Africans if they wish to turn things around. Considering the behaviour of the pitch, it is going to be difficult for the team batting
fourth to chase a score above 200.
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