Close South Africa 261 for 4 (Kirsten 90, Gibbs 59) lead India 232 (Hayward 4-74) by 29 runs
Scorecard

A superb innings from Gary Kirsten, who hit a fluent 90, provided the impetus as South Africa comfortably overhauled India's modest first-innings total on the second day of the unofficial Test match at Centurion Park. There was a fifty too for Herschelle Gibbs as the South Africans got some runs under their belts with one eye on the forthcoming Australian series.

With thunder clouds hovering menacingly overhead and Harbhajan Singh bowling a tight spell, South Africa slowed to a crawl in the final hour. Jacques Kallis and Neil McKenzie had made light of Kirsten's dismissal just after tea with an array of attacking strokes. But the apparently imminent storm and their hesitancy against quality spin meant the brakes were applied. The introduction of Sachin Tendulkar at the tail-end of the day provided India with some late cheer. McKenzie, who had bludgeoned and tapped his way to 33, prodded forward and the edge was brilliantly taken by VVS Laxman, who stuck out his left hand at ankle height to cling on. But it was still very much South Africa's day. They dominated the morning session with their openers making light work of India's 232. Kirsten and Gibbs were both largely untroubled and they set about the Indian attack with relish. Kirsten, who turned 34 yesterday, showed that he intends the final phase of his career to be an Indian summer, cutting and driving with ease as the Indian new-ball bowlers faltered. Javagal Srinath was hampered by his fractured left hand and Ashish Nehra looked like a rusty old car just wheeled out of the garage. Kirsten played one glorious stroke down the ground off Srinath and also picked up boundaries past point and through midwicket. Gibbs, who doesn't usually play second fiddle to anyone, settled for that in the morning, though two boundaries smashed past point and an imperious pull through midwicket off Nehra was an indication that he had plenty left in the tank. Venkatesh Prasad's return to the Test-match fold didn't deliver much and when the spinners were brought on, Gibbs responded by driving Anil Kumble through the covers with considerable panache. With Nehra and Prasad well below their best, South Africa were off and flying soon after lunch. Gibbs square-cut powerfully and drove elegantly past cover while Kirsten worked anything overpitched past the off-side field for boundaries. As both men sauntered past fifty, the outlook was very bleak for India. Gibbs was the one to give stand-in captain Rahul Dravid some breathing space. After a superb cover-drive off Srinath, he went for the pull next up, but a top-edge flew to Harbhajan at deep square leg. That cleared the stage for the hugely impressive Jacques Rudolph, who looked a class act during his brief cameo. A magnificent on-drive off Harbhajan got him off the mark and two splendidly executed late-cuts – one each off Kumble and Harbhajan – gave us a glimpse of confidence and composure that should take him a long way. It took a bad call from Kirsten to cut short his innings. Kirsten played the ball to square leg and set off for two. Ajit Agarkar, on as a substitute, scampered back to retrieve the ball and his throw to Kumble caught Rudolph (21) well short. The confidence with which Rudolph played the spinners - and the fact that he's left-handed - suggested he could well have a crucial role to play against Shane Warne. Kirsten assuaged his guilt to a certain extent with a huge six straight down the ground off Harbhajan and a century was well within his sights when Nehra sent him back. A pitched-up delivery caught Kirsten glued to the crease, and his forward prod resulted in a thick edge which was comfortably taken by Dravid at first slip. Earlier it took South Africa half an hour to put out the last embers of Indian resistance with the bat. Nehra and Prasad rode their luck to add another 11 runs before Nantie Hayward played party-pooper. He pitched one on off stump and Nehra's tentative jab ballooned up to Nicky Boje at first slip. Nehra was out for 4, and with Srinath nursing broken fingers in the dressing-room, India's innings was finally over. But for once, the tail actually wagged. Teams
India 1 Shiv Sunder Das, 2 Connor Williams, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Rahul Dravid (capt), 6 Deep Dasgupta (wk), 7 Anil Kumble, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Javagal Srinath, 10 Venkatesh Prasad, 11 Ashish Nehra.

South Africa 1 Gary Kirsten, 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Neil McKenzie, 5 Jacques Rudolph, 6 Lance Klusener, 7 Shaun Pollock (capt), 8 Mark Boucher (wk), 9 Nicky Boje, 10 Nantie Hayward, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com, India.

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