da 888： South Africa rode on a controlled unbeaten 119 by Jacques Kallis and somefiery bowling from their seamers to crush India by 157 runs in the secondone-day international of the five-match series at Durban
The Bulletin by S Rajesh22-Nov-2006South Africa 248 for 8 (Kallis 119*) beat India 91 (Tendulkar 35, Nel 4-13, Kallis 3-3, Pollock 2-17) by 157 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Makhaya Ntini got some disconcerting bounce in his first spell and set the pattern for India’s undoing © Getty Images
South Africa rode on a controlled unbeaten 119 by Jacques Kallis and somefiery bowling from their seamers to crush India by 157 runs in the secondone-day international of the five-match series at Durban. Kallis’s century- his 14th in ODIs, but his first against India – lifted South Africa to acompetitive 248 for 8, before their fast bowlers exposed the frailties ofthe Indian line-up once again, bundling them out for an embarrassing 91,their lowest ODI total in South Africa.A target of 249 wasn’t a huge one, but at the innings break Kallis wasconfident his team would win, and justified his curiously slow approach inthe second half of his innings by saying South Africa had enough runs onthe board. The events later in the evening completely justified hisconfidence.The pitch was a lively one, offering bounce and some seam movement, andexcept for Sachin Tendulkar, who made a fluent 35, none of the otherbatsmen were equipped to deal with either. Shaun Pollock homed in aroundoff like he always does, Makhaya Ntini got it to bounce significantly fromjust short of a length, while Andre Nel enjoyed himself the most, nailingTendulkar, and finally finishing with 4 for 13, while Kallis completed agreat day at office with incredible figures of 3 for 3 from 4.1 overs.The slide started early, when Wasim Jaffer, making his ODI debut, lastedjust three ball, chopping one back on to his stumps. Mohammad Kaif madejust 8, but while he was around India added 39, with Tendulkar – who became the most capped ODI player with 371 games – showing hisclass. Getting into line and crisply timing his punches through the offside, Tendulkar got the huge Indian contingent at Kingsmead going withsome vintage strokeplay as India progressed to 55 for 2 after 15, withRahul Dravid offering him good support.Two overs after the drinks break changed the complexion completely, asDravid and Tendulkar fell in the space of three balls. Dravid fell first,beaten comprehensively by a sharp indipper from Charl Langeveldt, whileTendulkar followed soon after, inside-edging one off Nel, who has made ahabit of nailing the biggest opposition batsman – he has dismissed BrianLara 11 times in international cricket.From there, it was one quick procession back to the pavilion, as none ofthe batsmen had any clue as to how to handle the bounce and pace. SureshRaina and Dinesh Mongia edged to the slip cordon, Mahendra Singh Dhonicouldn’t get his gloves out of the way, while the tail was simply no matchfor the fiery bowling.
Jacques Kallis’s 19th ODI century – his first against India – helped South Africa set India a competitive target of 249 © AFP
The batsmen might have done well to pick a few tips on batting fromKallis, who batted quite magnificently in the early stages of his inningswhen the Indian attack was on top. He came to the crease in the secondover, after Graeme Smith was trapped plumb by comeback-man Zaheer Khan,and immediately got into his stride, showing impeccable technique indefence and attack. Quick to capitalize on even marginal errors in length,he stroked sumptuous drives through cover and point off either foot. Thedismissals of Loots Bosman and Herschelle Gibbs gave the Indians hope,but that was quickly shut out by Kallis’s 87-run stand with AB deVilliers, who contributed a spunky 41.The highlight of de Villiers’s innings was the manner in which hedismantled Harbhajan Singh, employing the sweep shot quite superbly. Hewas particularly destructive in Harbhajan’s fifth over, sweeping him finefor four, then tonking him over midwicket for six and rattling Harbhajanso much that he fired his next ball down the leg and conceded five wides.That onslaught meant the runs kept coming at a fast clip even thoughKallis slowed down significantly – after getting 54 off his first 71balls, he only added 51 in his next 80. Kallis’s sluggish approach forcedthe other batsmen to take more risks and prompted a rush of wickets asIndia fought back in the middle overs, with Tendulkar – none for 33 fromnine overs – doing a sterling job and making up for the lack of aspecialist fifth bowler.Mark Boucher, Justin Kemp and Pollock all failed as South Africa slumpedto 209 for 7, but they had their man for their moment in Nel, who hada blast with the bat as well, crashing 22 from 12 balls. Kallis uppedthe tempo too, allowing South Africa to get up to nearly 250. As it turnedout later in the evening, they could have done with much lesser than that.