South Africa strike back after Sehwag, Tendulkar stand by Jinu Sabastian

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Ground:	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Scorecard:	India v South Africa
Player:	V Sehwag, SR Tendulkar
Event:	South Africa in India 2009/10

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DateLine: 15th February 2010

 

If South Africa owned the Nagpur Test, the Indian side came back hard to take control of the second Test. First Sehwag and then Tendulkar notched up centuries of contrasting style as the South African bowlers wilted under the onslaught. But the visitors did not lose heart as they finally succeeded in removing the centurions Sehwag and Tendulkar before Steyn made a complete mess of Badrinath's timber. At the close of day's play the Indian side were 342 for 5 with Eden Gardens' favourite adopted son Laxman and Mishra at the crease.

 

At the start of the second day's play The Indian side needed four overs to remove the final wicket as Wayne Parnell (12, 32 balls, 2x4) and Morne Morkel (11 not out, 34 balls, 2x4) threw their bats around to collect 30 runs before Zaheer trapped Parnell leg before.

 

The Indian openers, Gambhir and Sehwag, set the tone for the reply as the two tore into the South African pacers. Gambhir who was troubled by Morkel's round the wicket strategy very cleverly took his guard on the off stump and that proved profitable as he was looking like the Gambhir of 2009. Sehwag on the other hand threw caution to the winds as he plummeted the South African pacers to submission. With no swing on offer for Steyn he was easily dealt with by the openers and Sehwag blistering away he was well on course to break the fastest Test half-century when disaster struck India. Gambhir (25, 38 balls, 3x4) who was looking good for huge score was run-out as he was stranded mid-pitch while responding to Sehwag's call for the second run. That dismissal seemed to rejuvenate the South African side as they caught their breath, reassessed the situation and then cam back hard.

 

Murali Vijay (7, 15 balls, 1x4) was greeted with a vicious bouncer from Morkel as his face was saved from disfigurement due to the umpire. But his stay was terminated as he edged behind of a fiery Morkel who recovered significantly after a brutal assault from Sehwag. Those two dismissals seemed to play on the mind of Sehwag as he reined in his aggressive stroke-play. Sehwag could have been dismissed on 47 when he edged Morkel to Duminy at first slip who grassed the catch. Tendulkar meanwhile looked in the middle as the pair took the Indian side to lunch without much trouble.

 

After lunch though both the batsmen opened up as they took the attack to the South African bowlers. While Tendulkar adhered to the usual Test match pace, Sehwag was in the one-day mode. Sehwag notched up his 19th Test century which was his fifth against South Africa. With runs being scored freely, Harris resorted to bowling the negative leg stump line. With no rough available for Harris to exploit it was evident that the line was negative and umpire Gould called wide. While Tendulkar padded up to the balls around leg stump, Sehwag employed the reverse sweep to unsettle Harris. The ball began to reverse-swing a bit but the South African pacers were unable to make full use of it.

 

After tea the South African bowlers, pace and spine alike, bowled a negative line to choke the Indian duo in the middle. It began to show as the run-rate which was hovering at five began to dip. Maidens were bowled as Sehwag and Tendulkar played the waiting game. But Sehwag soon broke loose with some gorgeous cover-drives as runs began to flow. Tendulkar brought up his 47th Test century before a rapturous Eden Gardens with delicate flick through square-leg as the South African shoulders dipped further. It was his fourth consecutive hundred in Test matches.

 

Sehwag (165, 172 balls, 23x4 2x6) finally fell to the part-time off-spin of Duminy as he was caught at mid-off by Prince. The pair added 249 in 57.4 overs to put the Indian side in the driver's seat. The fall of one wicket brought another wicket for the South Africans as Tendulkar (106, 206 balls, 12x4), who was looking solid in the middle, was lured to an airy off-drive by Harris who was operating from round the wicket but could only edge to Kallis at slip who swallowed the ball.

 

That brought in two new batsmen at the crease in the form of Laxman and Badrinath. Smith sensing an opportunity brought back his premier strike bowler Dale Steyn into the attack to get another wicket to which he responded by cleaning up Badrinath (1, 8 balls) with a vicious off-cutter to which the batsmen had no clue. That brought the game alive as the Indian lower order was just one wicket away from being exposed. Laxman (9 not out, 20 balls, 2x4) and Mishra (1, 1 ball) played put the final over before bad light brought an early end to another gripping day's play.