India vs South Africa: Second Test, Day 4

Let it rain on Eden Gardens! But only after 4.35pm!

Any drops before that, it would be a severe heartbreak for the Men in Blue and the whole of India.

Like it did, today. Nearly half of day’s play was lost as bad weather and intermittent rains came to the rescue of the South Africans. Mishra and Harbhajan extracted the juice from the wicket and are giving their cricketing acumen a test while picking up the three South African wickets to fall today. But it could have been easily five down, had MS Dhoni been more attacking in the morning and had Murli Vijay held on to a sharp one during the end.

Still, all is not lost. 3/115, seven to go with a deficit of 232 runs and the wicket is cracking up. Only the clouds need not crack!

Brief Scores:
South Africa (1st Innings): 296
India (1st Innings): 643/6 d (Sehwag 165, Sachin 106, Laxman 143*, Dhoni 132)
South Africa (2nd Innings): 115/3 (Amit Mishra 2/15, Amla 49*)

India vs South Africa: Second Test, Day 4

Let it rain on Eden Gardens! But only after 4.35pm!

Any drops before that, it would be a severe heartbreak for the Men in Blue and the whole of India.

Like it did, today. Nearly half of day’s play was lost as bad weather and intermittent rains came to the rescue of the South Africans. Mishra and Harbhajan extracted the juice from the wicket and are giving their cricketing acumen a test while picking up the three South African wickets to fall today. But it could have been easily five down, had MS Dhoni been more attacking in the morning and had Murli Vijay held on to a sharp one during the end.

Still, all is not lost. 3/115, seven to go with a deficit of 232 runs and the wicket is cracking up. Only the clouds need not crack!

The Proteas were extremely cautious in the morning session as the wicket was still playing true, while occasionally helping the bowling side. But it is still a beauty to bat on, and that was exactly what Smith and Petersen were doing, blocking anything onto the wicket and leaving the rest. However, it isn’t that easy when one has to face Zaheer. He wrote the script to induce Petersen to edge to the vacant third slip.

It wasn’t what exactly what Zaheer had in mind, I thought. Now when one has a lead of over 340 runs, why would one play with only two slips instead of three when the wicket at Eden is known to help the seamers in the morning. Had Dhoni attacked more in the morning, the pressures would have tantamount to wickets in the first hour itself.

Instead it had to be a beauty from leggie Mishra to catch Smith plumb in front and draw first blood. Always a welcome gesture to get amongst the wickets, but Mishra perhaps is bowling his best in this series. Add Harbhajan in that list two. As a result, Smith, Petersen and Kallis having returned to the hut, it’s now the prize wicket of Hashim Amla that will haunt Dhoni. He would have gone too, had Vijay held on a sharp catch during the dying moments of the day.

The morning session on the last day would be crucial again and lets hope Dhoni would be more aggressive with his field placement and the old ball listens to Zaheer’s reverse swings.

And then, let it rain. We need to see the rainbow after the win!

Brief Scores:

South Africa (1st Innings): 296
India (1st Innings): 643/6 d (Sehwag 165, Sachin 106, Laxman 143*, Dhoni 132)
South Africa (2nd Innings): 115/3 (Amit Mishra 2/15, Amla 49*)