India vs South Africa: Second Test, Day 2

There is something about Eden!

I am sure Eden will be raining “roshogolla” and “sondesh” today after two belligerent knocks by the original master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and his ardent follower Virendra Sehwag. It’s always special to get a Test Century, but to achieve it at Eden Gardens, with thousands giving you a standing ovation, the century becomes Extra Special.

Sehwag achieved his 19th, and amazingly 13 of them have been 150+. Sachin on the other hand, achieved his 47th, and thereby accumulated his 92nd International century overall. Looks a tall order? Well, then wait for there are a few more to come. And just when there were talks than a person from Down Under named Ricky Ponting was catching up on the little master – with only three or four centuries behind – Sachin marched ahead of his nearest rival by eight centuries. Now, that’s a tall order for Ponting in the near future, even after considering that Ponting will be playing more Test matches in 2010-2011. Sachin is such a phenomenon.

Just another reminder – this is Sachin’s fourth straight ton in consecutive Test matches.

Brief Scores:

South Africa (1st Innings): 296 (Petersen 100, Amla 114, Zaheer 4/90, Harbhajan 3/60)
India (1st Innings): 342/5 (Sehwag 165, Sachin 106)
India vs South Africa: Second Test, Day 2

There is something about Eden!

I am sure Eden will be raining “roshogolla” and “sondesh” today after two belligerent knocks by the original master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and his ardent follower Virendra Sehwag. It’s always special to get a Test Century, but to achieve it at Eden Gardens, with thousands giving you a standing ovation, the century becomes Extra Special.

Sehwag achieved his 19th, and amazingly 13 of them have been 150+. Sachin on the other hand, achieved his 47th, and thereby accumulated his 92nd International century overall. Looks a tall order? Well, then wait for there are a few more to come. And just when there were talks than a person from Down Under named Ricky Ponting was catching up on the little master – with only three or four centuries behind – Sachin marched ahead of his nearest rival by eight centuries. Now, that’s a tall order for Ponting in the near future, even after considering that Ponting will be playing more Test matches in 2010-2011. Sachin is such a phenomenon.

Just another reminder – this is Sachin’s fourth straight ton in consecutive Test matches.

The domination of bat over ball was a treat to watch at the Gardens executed to near perfection by Sachin – Viru duo. At one stage India was scoring at over 7 runs per over with the opening pair, and at the end of the day, when India had already lost five wickets, the initial momentum already carried India to a 4.5 runs per over average. Sehwag was merciless to say the least. His eyes sparkled seeing the ball falling short, his bat flowed with the rising ball, the willow talked when the ball was pitched up. No wonder, JP Duminy and make-shift wicket keeper de Villiers was having butterflies in their stomach after having missed the chances to send Sehwag back to the hut when he was still cheap. Sehwag only stopped at 165, but before that, Sachin, on the other side of the wicket, made Proteas’ skipper Graeme Smith hunt for covers on a sunny morning at Eden. The two toyed with the bowling with a 249 runs partnership for the third wicket.

The scoring spree was an undying necessity for MSD and India. Having gained the advantage bowling out the South Africans at 296, India needed to score past the target and establish the lead on Day 2 itself. The lesser time India takes in increasing the lead over the Proteas – perhaps 250 will be a healthy one – the faster India can exert the pressure on the visitors. The innings defeat at Nagpur was too hard to fathom and come tea time on Day 3, the vantage point of inflicting back will probably be the right time to drive home the point.

As I mentioned previously, let’s hope India doesn’t lose the advantage now. Three wickets fell fast during the end of Day 2, but lets hope Laxman relives his love affair with Eden again and takes India to a healthy lead.

Brief Scores:

South Africa (1st Innings): 296 (Petersen 100, Amla 114, Zaheer 4/90, Harbhajan 3/60)
India (1st Innings): 342/5 (Sehwag 165, Sachin 106)