Share

Rampant Steyn rocks India

Kingsmead - Dale Steyn led the attack superbly from the front to give the Proteas’ Castle Test squad an almost perfect start to the opening day of the second Test at Sahara Stadium on Sunday.

Only 56 overs were possible through the intervention of rain and bad light but the Proteas still managed to reduce India to 183/6. Steyn took four of those wickets and Lonwabo Tsotsobe the other two.

In many ways the first day was a repeat of its counterpart in the first Test at SuperSport Park with Graeme Smith winning the toss under favourable bowling conditions and the Indian batsmen embroiled in a battle for survival thereafter. In fairness they batted far better than they had done first up at SuperSport Park.

It was never going to be easy for them either physically or mentally particularly after Virender Sehwag, so often the barometer of their batting fortunes, was struck on the hand first ball from Steyn.

Steyn finished the day with figures of 4/36 in 14 overs and troubled all the batsmen with his trademark combination of raw pace, late swing and loads of aggression. He has now taken 11 wickets in less than 56 overs in less than half of the series.

Just how difficult it was for the Indian batsmen to survive can be seen from a glance at the scorecard. Their entire top six got into double figures but nobody did better than VVS Laxman’s 38 off 73 balls with 4 fours and a six.

As had been the case at Melbourne earlier in the day all the wickets fell to catches behind the stumps with the exception of Laxman who was more than unlucky with a pull aimed wide of mid-on off Steyn. Tsotsobe, diving low to his right, took a superb one-handed catch with his weaker hand. It was a maiden Test match catch for the lanky seamer and he has set himself a standard to maintain.

It reduced the Indian batsman to sheer disbelief before he departed for the pavilion and Steyn was moved to indicate afterwards in a reference to the catch: “I only took 3 wickets today, that was Lopsy’s (Tsotsobe’s nickname).”

Tsotsobe’s form after being targeted predictably by the Indian batsmen at SuperSport Park was a heartening positive both for the Proteas and the player concerned.

After conceding 20 runs in his first 2.2 overs he came back strongly and had figures of 1/28 after 7 overs. That one wicket was the priceless one of Sachin Tendulkar who drove on the up and gave Jacques Kallis the second of his two catches at second slip.

Later he got rid of rookie Cheteshwar Pujara who only made his debut in the recent home series against Australia with an attempted hook that was comfortably skied to Mark Boucher.

It was one of three catches to go Boucher’s way on the day and enabled him to complete 50 Test match dismissals against India.

As was the case at SuperSport Park MS Dhoni will now have to rally what support he can from the tail. India are by no means out of the match. It is difficult to tell what will be a competitive total as batting conditions vary dramatically from day to day at this ground and a definitive answer will only be provided when the Proteas make their reply.

Total ticket sales for the first day were almost 19 000.

Teams

South Africa - Graeme Smith (capt), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher (wk), Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Dale Steyn, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel.

India - Murali Vijay, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.

Scoreboard

Virender Sehwag c Kallis b Steyn 25

Murali Vijay c Boucher b Steyn 19

Rahul Dravid c Boucher b Steyn 25

Sachin Tendulkar c Kallis b Tsotsobe 13

VVS Laxman c Tsotsobe b Steyn 38

Cheteshwar Pujara c Boucher b Tsotsobe 19

Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out 20

Harbhajan Singh not out 15

Extras: (1b, 2lb, 4w, 2nb) 9

TOTAL: (for six wickets) 183.

Overs: 56.

Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-48, 3-79, 4-117, 5-130, 6-156.

Still to bat: Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.

Bowling: Dale Steyn 14-3-36-4, Morne Morkel 15-2-60-0 (2nb), Lonwabo Tsotsobe 11-3-40-2 (1w), Jacques Kallis 8-2-18-0 (1w), Paul Harris 8-1-26-0.

South Africa: Graeme Smith, Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Toss: South Africa.

Series: South Africa leads 1-0 in three-match series.

Umpires: Asad Rauf, Pakistan, and Steve Davis, Australia.

TV umpire: Johan Cloete, South Africa. Match referee: Andy Pycroft, Zimbabwe.



 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1471 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE