3rd Match: South Africa v India at Centurion, 10 Oct 2001 CricInfo Live Report

3rd Match: South Africa v India at Centurion, 10 Oct 2001
Peter Robinson

India innings: 15 overs, 30 overs, Innings,
Pre-game: Toss,
South Africa innings: 15 overs, 30 overs,

ANIL KUMBLE AND HARBHAJAN SINGH SENDS SOUTH AFRICA INTO A TAILSPIN

Indian spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh broke through the South African middle order to give the tourists a strong scent of victory in the Standard Bank One-Day International series at Supersport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

The South Africans had been rocked back to 72 for three at the 15 over mark and were in much deeper trouble 15 overs later as Harbhajan, in particular, wreaked havoc in the middle of the innings. After 30 overs South Africa were 133 for seven with Lance Klusener on 14 and Mark Boucher 13.

Jonty Rhodes was the fourth South African wicket to fall, making only 8 before he drove at Kumble and edged a catch to Rahul Dravid at slip.

South Africa were 76 for four and nine runs later Harbhajan claimed his first wicket and the prized scalp of Jacques Kallis with a beautiful piece of bowling, drawing the batsman out of his crease for Deep Dasgupta to effect a simple stumping. Kallis had faced 35 balls for his 29, which included four boundaries.

Nicky Boje failed to make a great impression on his return to international cricket, but he made a painful dent on the back of SS Das's head, fiercely pulling a short one from Kumble onto the back of the short leg's helmet.

Boje raised the South African 100 with a scratchy sweep of Harbhjan and the shot was to prove his undoing, Ian Howell awarding a leg before decision to the bowler at 101 for six, Boje having made 9.

Shaun Pollock also went lbw to Harbhajan for 15 as he played back at 106 for seven and the South African innings was now in particularly bad repair.

SOUTH AFRICA IN DEEP TROUBLE AS INDIA STRIKE BACK

India broke through quickly with the wickets of dangerous opening bats Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs as South Africa chased a winning target of 234 in the Standard Bank One-Day International at Supersport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

The early damage checked the South Africans, but Jacques Kallis and Neil McKenzie restored the momentum of the innings before Anil Kumble accounted for McKenzie. After 15 overs the home side were 72 for three with Kallis on 28 and Jonty Rhodes on 4.

The first wicket, though, came in the second over of the innings when Gibbs was taken at second slip by Verinder Shewag off Ajit Agarkar for 1 with the score on 5.

Kallis came to the wicket to take 14 off an over from Agarkar which included three boundaries through the off side, but Javagal Srinath struck a second blow for India in thje ninth over, bowling Kirsten off a bottom edge for 13 with the score on 38.

McKenzie then took up the cudgels for South Africa, thrashing Srinath through the covers for four, lifting a slower ball over extra cover for another four and then pulling a low six over square leg as 16 were taken from the 11th over.

McKenzie looked in splendid form until he swept at Kumble and the faintest bottom edge carried the ball onto the stumps. McKenzie had made 21 with the third wicket falling at 66.

FIVE FOR POLLOCK AS INDIA ARE BOWLED OUT FOR 233

With one or two contentious decisions going against them, India could manage only 233 off their 50 overs as South African captain Shaun Pollock took five for 37 in the Standard Bank One-Day International at Supersport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

Although the pitch played a little slower than usual, it looked a total the Indians might be hard pressed to defend, but they could point with, it seemed, some justification that two of their senior batsmen, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, had both lost their wickets to umpiring mistakes.

Dravid’s dismissal, for 54 off 79 balls, again raised the need for two neutral umpires, if only to squash any suggestion of home-town bias. Dravid pulled Pollock low to midwicket where Lance Klusener claimed the catch. Umpire Brian Jerling glanced towards Ian Howell at square leg for confirmation that the catch had been taken cleanly and, after a nod, raised his finger.

It did not help matters that Pollock also raised a finger as he looked backwards and forwards between the two officials and Dravid clearly believed that he deserved at least a referral to the third umpire.

Doubts had already been raised about the dismissal of Ganguly earlier in the innings when Jacques Kallis also claimed a low catch. Jerling had given Ganguly out without referring to the third umpire, but as the innings progressed television replays suggested strongly that there had been contact between ball and grass. Quite clearly, the present dispensation, which provides for both home umpires and TV referrals for catches, is unsatisfactory, frequently raising more questions than it answers.

Dravid went at 165 for four and two runs later Yuvraj Singh was on his way, comprehensively bowled by Makhaya Ntini for 42 as he played all around a straight one.

Dravid and Yuvraj had put on 90 for the fourth wicket, but the loss of these two wickets again left the innings waiting for someone to take charge of it.

But then Virender Sehwag briefly rose to the occasion as Indian moved into their last 10 overs, lifting Nicky Boje over long on for six and then chopping the spinner away behind point for four off the next ball.

Again, though, South Africa fought back with a wicket, Deep Dasgupta caught behind off an outside edge off Klusener for 8 at 204 for six.

Sehwag followed soon after for 33, lifting a drive off Andre Nel to Ntini at mid off at 208 for seven and Ajit Agarkar went for 1 at the same score, caught Boucher, bowled Klusener.

Anil Kumble had a let off on 3 when Klusener allowed a straightforward chance at slip off Pollock to slip through his hands. Pollock claimed his fourth wicket, though, in the penultimate over of the innings when Harbhajan Singh wandered in front of his stumps and was palpably lbw for 15 trying to work it to leg.

And Pollock’s fifth wicket, the 200th of his ODI career, came when Javagal Srinath scooped the fifth ball of the over tamely to Kallis at midwicket to end the innings.

MISSED CHANCES REPRIEVE DRAVID AND INDIA AT CENTURION

South Africa’s usually adept fielding let them down twice within a matter of balls as India’s Rahul Dravid was given two lives in the Standard Bank One-Day International at Supersport Park in Centurion on Wednesday. The reprieves enabled Dravid to move on to 36 as India reached 136 for three after 30 overs. Yuvraj Singh was with him on 30.

India had had an early charged checked when Shaun Pollock grabbed the wickets of Sourav Ganguly and SS Das to be 64 for two after 15 overs and the South Africans made a further breakthrough in the 20th over of the innings when they claimed the prize wicket of Sachin Tendulkar.

As had been the case on Friday, Tendulkar had been happy to play second fiddle to Ganguly during the early part of the innings. The Little Master had had a let off on 2 when he was caught by Nicky Boje off a Pollock no ball, and he seemed about to shift into top gear when he contrived to get himself out.

In attempting to uppercut Makhaya Ntini over the solitary slip and down to third man, Tendulkar picked out the only fielder in the region, Andre Nel, who pouched what turned out to be a straightforward catch. Tendulkar had made 38 off 57 deliveries with five fours and the third Indian wicket had fallen at 75in the 20th over.

At this point South Africa might have felt themselves to be ahead on points, but two mistakes prevented them forcing home the advantage.

On 13 Dravid was missed by Herschelle Gibbs at mid-on as he miscued a pull against Ntini and, in the next over, with Dravid on 14, Lance Klusener missed a difficult left-handed catch at slip off Jacques Kallis.

Thus reprieved, India moved to their 100 in the 26th over when Yuvraj Singh slashed Ntini high over backward point for four.

Dravid moved to 5 000 runs in limited over cricket with a two off Ntini before Nicky Boje, a little belatedly perhaps, was brought into the attack in the 28th over.

As ever more comfortable against the quicker bowlers, Yuvraj brought up the 50 partnership with a fierce pull through wide mid-on off Klusener for four.

POLLOCK STOPS INDIA IN THEIR TRACKS

Shaun Pollock grabbed the wickets of Sourav Ganguly and SS Das to check a threatening India run spree as the third match in the Standard Bank one-day series got underway at Supersport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

At the end of the 15th over India were 64 for two with Sachin Tendulkar on 33 and Rahul Dravid on three.

Just as Ganguly was threatening to cut loose, with a pair of sixes thrashed over point in the seventh over of the innings, Pollock struck when he had the Indian captain superbly caught by Jacques Kallis at second slip, the fielder clutch at a low catch with both hands.

Ganguly, who made a wonderful century in the first game of the series at the Wanderers last Friday, had his innings checked at 24 off 27 balls with those two sixes and a four, also struck off Pollock in the same region.

Pollock struck again in his next over, the 11th of the innings when SS Das was also caught at slip, this time by Lance Klusener at first slip for two and the South Africans, for the moment anyway, had stopped the Indians dead in their tracks at 52 for two.

INDIA BAT FIRST AT SUPERSPORT PARK

For the second time in the Standard Bank one-day series Indian captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and asked South Africa to bowl at a sunny Supersport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

India batted first in the opening game of the series at the Wanderers last Friday, scoring 279 for five in a match won by six wickets by South Africa.

As expected, there was one change to the Indian team that lost at the Wanderers. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh comes in for opening bowler Venkatesh Prasad, giving the tourists two seamers, two spinners and a fifth bowler likely to be made up of Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar.

In the South African team, Nicky Boje was brought back into the team for the first time since returning home early from the Caribbean after the fourth Test against the West Indies in April for knee and shoulder surgery.

Boje takes the place of Claude Henderson in the only change to the team that beat Kenya by seven wickets in Benoni on Sunday.

South Africa are the only unbeaten team in the series.

Teams

South Africa: Shaun Pollock (Capt), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Jonty Rhodes, Lance Klusener, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini.

India: Sourav Ganguly (Capt), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, SS Das, Deep Dasgupta, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh.