India vs South Africa 2010,Fiery Morne Morkel jolts India's top-order.

India vs South Africa

Bad Light

TEST at SuperSport Park, Centurion, , Thu 16 Dec 02:00 PM IST

  

South Africa won the toss & elected to field 

 

• Day 1, 1^st Innings - Session 3

• IND 136/9 in 38.1 Overs

• Current Run rate: 3.56
• Over(s) Remaining: 9.5

 

It lasted only three deliveries. After weeks of anticipation, and a four-and-a-half hour rain delay on the opening day, the hugely built-up clash between Dale Steyn and Virender Sehwag ended the moment the batsman touched the ball at SuperSport Park. Anti-climatic it may have been, but the South Africans were in rapture. With Sehwag, the shredder of attacks, gone, Steyn and Morne Morkel gave India a South African welcome - one that involved tenderizing gloves, bruising bodies and the smell of lacquer and leather - to pick up three wickets.

The first ball set the tone. Steyn hit Gautam Gambhir's back pad with one that seamed away from the left-hander and a close lbw shout was denied. The heat of this attack was several degrees more intense than India's previous test against New Zealand. Sehwag shouldered arms to his first two deliveries in Steyn's opening over, but in the bowler's second, he attempted to crash the ball through cover point. It moved away a fraction and flew off the edge to Hashim Amla at third man. Steyn 1, Sehwag 0, India 1 for 1 and stunned.

Gambhir was perhaps lucky not to be given out on 1, when a ripsnorter from Morkel rose from a length and sped towards his face. Gambhir began to sway and then fended helplessly. The ball appeared to kiss the glove and was pouched by Mark Boucher, but umpire Steve Davis ruled in favour of the batsman. Morkel had touched speeds of 150kmh during his first spell and, perhaps, was just too quick.

The reprieve cost South Africa only four runs. It was perhaps the hardest four runs Gambhir has ever made. Morkel pounded in from round the wicket, pounded the ball in short of a length, angled it into the left-hander, targeting the body, and sometimes the head. Pinned to the crease without room outside off, Gambhir ducked, swayed and fended awkwardly.

There was no respite against Steyn either. Following a brief exchange of words with Gambhir, Steyn let rip. Gambhir took his eyes off the bouncer and wore it on his back. The next ball was fuller, faster and moved away from the left-hander, beating the tentative poke outside off stump. The struggle ended soon, though, and it was the follow-up ball to the bouncer that got him. Having been pushed back into his crease by the short-pitched attack from Morkel, Gambhir drove at a fuller one with poor footwork, and edged to first slip.

Dravid had appeared the most comfortable in the testing conditions, relatively speaking, taking his bottom hand off the bat to fend two short deliveries through the slip cordon. He was careful to leave anything outside off, and compact while playing deliveries at his body. Morkel, having already scalped Gambhir in his second spell, then got one to jag sharply into Dravid from outside off. He was caught on the crease, hit on the pad and Morkel was celebrating his 100th Test wicket, having reduced India to 27 for 3 in the 15th over.

Sachin Tendulkar was given a warm reception from the smattering of spectators and he responded to the fiery challenge awaiting him by taking on the less-threatening Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Twice Tendulkar pulled him for four from outside off, and drove fluently through cover and guided to third man. For company he had Laxman, who began to play wristily against the left-arm spinner Paul Harris.

India weren't tested much by South Africa's support act, but they will have to deal with the lead actors once again after the break.