Centurion Test: SA 236/2 at tea time

December 17, 2010 20:32
Centurion Test: SA 236/2 at tea time

Centurion: South Africa entered tea time with a 100-run lead as the   scorecard read 236/2 with Amla Centurion Test,south africa, india ,236/2 at tea timeslamming his 19th Test fifty. The post   tea session saw the home team quickly go past the 250-run mark as   Kallis also got en route to his half-century. 

It was another session which saw the home team piling on the pressure   against a tired looking Indian attack. The seamers were largely   ineffective, with Sreesanth trying to bounce out the batsmen rather   than sticking to his strengths - which is trying to swing the ball. 

Scorecard: India Vs South Africa» 

Harbhajan got the lone wicket in the post lunch session, but he was   largely pedestrian. 

Harbhajan was in action for a second time in the day as he got the   second opener too. The badly needed wicket saw the back of Alviro   Petersen after he had taken the Proteas past the 150-run mark,   building on a lead for the already bamboozled Indian batsmen. 

The post lunch session saw Petersen slamming a stylish fifty to avert   any further hiccups in their superb start to the series. 

The first Proteas wicket fell in the form of Graeme Smith who was   claimed by Harbhajan at a score of 62 runs. The last over before lunch   provided some breathing space for the visitors as the scorecard read   111/1 at lunch on Day 2. 

South African openers Smith and Petersen had got their team off to a   solid start, avoiding any hiccups as they took the total past the   50-run mark in quick time. Smith slammed his 29th Test fifty, leading   his team from the front. 

A stark difference between the two approaches was that the Proteas   looked more at ease in scoring runs rather than the hurry shown by the   Indians that brought about ther fall in the day.\

 India started off the second day of their first Test against South   Africa at Centurion in continuation with the previous day’s woes as   skipper MS Dhoni awarded Morne Morkel his fifth wicket without adding   a single run to the scoreboard. The Indian innings was wrapped up at   an embarrassing 136 runs to give Proteas the upper hand. 

A nightmarish start to their numero uno Test status’ defence meant   extreme hard work for the Indian bowlers who were already under   pressure with Zaheer Khan’s hamstring injury on a wicket that would   have seen him flourish the most. 

None of the Indian batsmen could muster any resilience against the   home team on the rain-marred first day as the fabled batting line-up   of Gambhir (5), Sehwag (0), Dravid (14), Tendulkar (37), Laxman (7),   Raina (1) and quirky Test surprise Harbhajan (27) were seen wanting in   front of the South African pace battery of Morkel and Dale Steyn.

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