Day2: Hayward runs through Indian BP XI batting
South Africa declared their innings closed overnight on a score of 293/6 there was everything to look forward to on the morning of the second day of the three day game. In contrast to the first day, there was a sprinkling of cloud cover that gave the stadium a cool air. It was not only the weather that was different from the previous day. The pitch that afforded no bounce on the first day was suddenly responsive as the powerful South African opening bowlers steamed in. Allan Donald and Nantie Hayward gunned for pace and bounce against Arun Kumar and Wasim Jaffer.
Donald was clearly bowling well within himself. Though he generated good lift off the wicket, Donald was appreciably slower than Hayward. Arun Kumar played a couple of handsome shots in Hayward's very first over, finding the boundary on both occasions. He assumed that batting against the South African quicks was not as difficult as it was cut out to be and paid the ultimate price. Arun Kumar was late on a straight full delivery and looked back to see his stump cartwheeling towards Mark Boucher.
Mohammed Kaif came in at one drop and his trial by fire began immediately. Hayward bowled at full tilt and got the ball to rise sharply to the youngster. Kaif took his eyes off the ball in the last minute and the bouncer struck him on the side of the helmet. Visibly disturbed by the blow, Kaif motioned to the dressing room and the helmet was given a fair bit of attention. In the end, Kaif seemed largely unhurt and continued.
Wasim Jaffer looked the part as an opener while he was at the crease. From the word go, he middled every ball he played. When the ball was even slightly out of reach he let the ball go, a sign of a batsman comfortable opening the innings. Jaffer settled down to a good rhythm and was not flustered by either the accuracy of Donald or the pace of Hayward. Donald's first spell of five overs cost him just three runs.
Having done all the hardwork in the initial stages Jaffer looked good for a long innings. However, the double change in the bowling, when Jacques Kallis and Lance Klusener came into the attack the Mumbai opener's rhythm was unsettled. Klusener kept the ball up to the bat and bowled fairly straight. He rapped Jaffer on the pads and went up in an enthusiastic appeal. However, he was hardly backed up by the fielders and the appeal was turned down. In the 18th over, a similar shout was upheld by the umpire. The ball was full, dead straight and Jaffer looked very adjacent. After making a patient 12 off 53 balls, Jaffer gave way to Mohammed Azharuddin.
Azhar walked out to hearty cheering from the Mumbai crowds and looked at ease at the wicket. Lance Klusener made things easier for Azhar to settle down by sending down a fair few leg stump deliveries. Azhar made easy work of these and kept the strike rotating.
Spin in the form of Clive Eksteen was introduced into the attack at the end of the 23rd over. With lunch drawing close, Azhar took no risks and played out the left arm spinner's overs.
Kaif's spirited resistance came to an end in disappointing fashion as he inside edged a Hayward delivery onto his pads and onto his stumps. Kaif looked back in dismay as the ball trickled onto the stumps and knocked a bail off. Kaif was at the wicket for over one hundred minutes in his innings of 23. What was equally indicative of the kind of innings he played was the fact that 20 of these 23 runs came in boundaries. At lunch, the Indian Board President's XI were precariously poised at 68/3.
A most interesting session immediately after lunch resulted in a flurry of events. The new man in, Ajay Jadeja looked less than convincing at the crease as Hayward squared him up time and time again with extra pace. It was only a matter of time before a ball pitched in the right spot made short work of the batsman. In Hayward's 12th over the expected happened. A short, rising delivery outside off stump clipped the outside edge and flew through to the waiting gloves of Mark Boucher. While this was the first dismissal after lunch, the drama had begun earlier.
Mohammed Azharuddin was struck on the gloves by a rising delivery from Hayward and seemed to be struggling. At the end of the over the physio came onto the field and examined Azhar. To the disappointment of the crowd, the former Indian captain walked off the field having made 9 runs.
Nayan Mongia replaced Azharuddin and found himself in the company of Murali Kartik after Jadeja was dismissed. Kartik had a couple of wild swishes at Hayward and was gone before he could trouble the scorers. He chased a full, wide delivery from Hayward and only managed to get a thick outside edge. The ball flew to the gap between second slip and gully. Clive Eksteen diving across from gully snatched the ball out of the air and sent Kartik on his way.
Allan Donald was brought back into the attack in the 37th over. Mongia struck the ball to wide mid off and set off for a single. Strydom picked up the ball and had a good angle to throw down the stumps with his natural left hand. If he hit the stumps it was always going to be close. As is more often than not the case with the South Africans, Strydom nailed the middle stump and caught Mongia well short of his crease. Umpire Murali was in motion trying to get to a good vantage position and declared the batsman not out. In disbelief, Donald walked across to Strydom and gesticulated that Mongia was at least a yard out of his ground. Television replays seemed to confirm that belief.
If the pacemen had done all the damage upto this point, it was Eksteen's turn to get into the act. He foxed tailender Kumaran off the wicket and had him easily caught by Cullinan in first slip.
Debashish Mohanty watched from the non striker's end as Harbhajan entertained the crowds with some clean hitting. Swing nicely through the line, Harbhajan chanced his arm against the spinners and fast bowlers alike. Using his wrists well, Harbhajan cleared the infield easily. The one time he mishit the ball, it ballooned high into the air above the slip cordon. Running back from first slip, Cullinan threw himself full length and got both hands to the ball. Falling hard on the Brabourne Stadium turf, Cullinan could not hold onto the ball.
Mohanty then tried to work Eksteen away and presented him with a tough return catch. Eksteen dived across the catch and plucked the ball out of the air. Having grassed a similar chance earlier on, Eksteen was ready for it the second time around.
The gala continued as Amit Bhandari took a page out of the Harbhajan Singh coaching manual and used the long handle to good effect. Having hit a couple of clean strikes, Bhandari's confidence grew. He came down the wicket and hit Eksteen into the stands over long off. Attempting to repeat the stroke Bhandari skied the ball into the deep. Nantie Hayward running in a couple of paces should have completed the catch with ease but dropped it at the last moment.
Bhandari and Harbhajan swatted the Indian Board President's XI past the follow on mark. Bhandari soon assumed the role of senior batsman and put the attack to the sword. Another huge six off Eksteen followed and Bhandari had made the top score of the Board President's XI innings. Soon after Harbhajan overtook him. Tea was taken when Harbhajan chopped a ball from Eksteen straight back to his hands. His entertaining innings of 38 included seven fours and came off just 44 balls. Bhandari was unbeaten on 30 off 28 balls. His innings included two fours and two huge sixes. At 172/9 the players left the field and it was learnt that Mohammed Azharuddin who was injured earlier in the day would not come out to bat. Azhar had sustained a bruise on the tip of the thumb of his left hand earlier in the day. X-Rays were taken and it was confirmed that there had been no fracutures. Nantie Hayward who knocked the stuffing out of the Indian batsmen was unlucky not to pick up five wickets and ended with 4/68 off his 17 overs.
After tea, in a strange sequence of events, Hansie Cronje walked out to the middle with Herschelle Gibbs. Daryll Cullinan retired hurt without offering any explanation. Sitting at the Press Box it was not possible to ascertain either nature or the seriousness of the injury that caused him to take this course of action. In the end it proved to be irrelevant.
Herschelle Gibbs had used the sweep shot to good effect against the spinners but attempted the shot once too many times and ended up being trapped LBW. He missed the line of a straight delivery completely and was struck on the full. The umpire lift his finger without hesitation and sent Gibbs on his way. Gibbs had made 28.
Pietr Stryom joined his captain at the crease and saw South Africa through to stumps without further loss. Cronje looked in good touch as he toyed with the spinners and helped himself to 29 runs including five boundaries. Strydom played second fiddle to the captain and for majority of the time just rotated the strike around. He ended the day unbeaten on 12. South Africa closed on 93/3 and from this stage on, it is extremely unlikely that a result is possible in this game.
Day3: Match ends in a tame draw
The third day's play opened up with the faint glimmer of hope that a result would be possible. If Hansie Cronje and Pieter Strydom had a dash at the bowling, then a declaration might follow. Even if a result was not on the cards, Hayward and Donald steaming down the wicket would infuse some enthusiasm in the match. Murali Kartik, recently selected as part of the Test squad was introduced into the attack. In a concerted attempt to demoralise the young spinner, both Cronje and Strydom went after him from the first ball. Even Strydom who had not played the spinners with and degree of felicity came down the track and flat batted the ball straight back over Kartik's head for four.
Soon after Kartik was hammered, he was removed from the attack and the pacemen were brought back on. Cronje got to his fifty early on, but it was of little importance given the situation of the game. He attempted to pull a short ball from Mohanty and was deceived by the lack of bounce. The ball kept low and rapped him on the pads. The umpire had no hesitation in sending him on his way.
Lance Klusener who made a duck in the first innings did not look his usual self in the second essay even. After middling the all regularly and not finding the gaps, Klusener pulled a Bhandari short ball straight to Kaif at mid wicket.
Strydom continued to motor on and about half an hour before lunch brought up his fifty with a huge six over long on off Harbhajan Singh. His fifty came off 102 balls and included three boundaries in addition to the six that brought up the landmark. There was very little left to play for before lunch for the Indian Board President's XI and Amit Bhandari used the opportunity to test out the batsmen with some short pitched bowling. Strydom was well up to the task as he waited for the right ball and pulled it away powerfully.
At lunch on the final day, South Africa had a lead of 328. Strydom was unbeaten on a well compiled 63. The roller came on at lunch and it was obvious that South Africa had declared their innings. This left the Indian Board President's XI with 63 overs to chase a tartget of 329.
Despite the steady stream of falling Indian Board President's XI wickets, the last session of play assumed proportions of extreme boredom. After all the excitement of Mohammed Azharuddin's recall and then his withdrawing due to injury, the actual cricket drifted into the background.
Wasim Jaffer was his usual solid defensive self and once again looked a worthwhile prospect as an opener. At the other end Arun Kumar did not last long, and was caught fending at a ball from Hayward after he had made just 2.
Mohammed Kaif made a frisky 33 but could not sustain the assault and was beaten by the turn of a flighted Eksteen delivery. He found himself stranded down the wicket as Boucher whipped the bails off.
There was very little determination in the rest of the Indian Board President's XI middle order. The total was far out of their reach and they never really went after it. Ajay Jadeja was given out caught close to the bat in a doubtful decision. The ball appeared to miss the bat and come off his shoulder.
Nayan Mongia came in to bat next as Azhar's injury ruled him out. In quirky circumstances Mongia was struck on the hand by a rising Hayward delivery and after much on field examination by the physio he too left the field rubbing his right thumb.
Kartik and Kumaran followed but had no answer to the South African bowlers. Neither reached double figures. Harbhajan Singh was once again at his entertaining best and swatted a few lusty blows off both the spinners and the pacemen. When Eksteen trapped Harbhajan LBW, it was very much against the run of play as Harbhajan looked very comfortable at the wicket.
Nayan Mongia came back to the wicket to join Debashish Mohanty and they both dug themselves into a mire of singles and dot balls. The last ten overs yielded just 10 runs. The South Africans persisted with their spinners and even Hansie Cronje rolled his arm over bowling off breaks.
There was an audible sigh of relief as the futile exercise came to a close at 5.16pm. Indian Board President's XI had made 181/8. The match was drawn and the South Africans promptly came back onto the field for a session of exercises.
