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Proteas face uphill battle

Durban - South Africa were set a total of 303 runs to win the second Test and clinch the series when India were bowled out for 228 on the third day of the second Test at Kingsmead on Tuesday.

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VVS Laxman made 96, the highest innings of the match, before he was last man out, caught behind off Dale Steyn as he tried to keep the strike.

India lost their last three wickets for 10 runs in 8.5 overs after lunch.

South African hopes of chasing a relatively small target rose when Morne Morkel bowled Cheteshwar Pujara with the sixth ball of the day, but Laxman remained unruffled and shared stands of 48 for the sixth wicket with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (21) and 70 for the eighth wicket with Zaheer Khan (27).

In a low-scoring match, Laxman's score was more than double the previous highest - his own 38 in the first innings.

The stands with Dhoni and Khan were also the best of the match, with the pitch playing easier than on the first two days.

Laxman batted for 280 minutes, faced 171 balls and hit 12 fours.

Boucher's catch off Laxman's edged drive was his ninth of the match, equalling the South African record set by Dave Richardson and equalled twice by Boucher previously.

Only one run had been added to the overnight 92 for four when Pujara fended a sharply lifting delivery from Morkel into his stumps.

Dhoni batted aggressively before he was caught behind off Lonwabo Tsotsobe, while Harbhajan Singh made only four before he was caught at second slip off Morkel.

Khan, who was out for nought in the first innings, missed wild swings against both Tsotsobe and Morkel before settling down to provide valuable support to Laxman.

Khan was lucky to survive an lbw appeal by Dale Steyn when he had 10 and the total was on 181, with umpire Steve Davis ruling the ball had hit his bat, a decision which was contradicted by television replays. No umpire review system is in place for the series, however.

Tsotsobe took three for 43, while Morkel took three for 47.

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

India 1st Innings: 205 all out

South Africa 1st Innings: 131 all out

India 2nd Innings:

Virender Sehwag c Boucher b Tsotsobe 32

Murali Vijay c Amla b Morkel 9

Rahul Dravid c Boucher b Tsotsobe 2

Sachin Tendulkar c de Villiers b Steyn 6

VVS Laxman c Boucher b Steyn 96

Cheteshwar Pujara b Morkel 10

Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Boucher b Tsotsobe 21

Harbhajan Singh c Kallis b Morkel 4

Zaheer Khan c de Villiers b Harris 27

Ishant Sharma c Amla b Kallis 0

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth not out 0

Extras: (8b, 4lb, 9w) 21

TOTAL: (all out) 228.

Overs: 70.5

Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-44, 3-48, 4-56, 5-93, 6-141, 7-148, 8-218, 9-223, 10-228.

Bowling: Dale Steyn 15.5-1-60-2 (2w), Morne Morkel 15-1-47-3 (4w), Lonwabo Tsotsobe 13-3-43-3 (1w), Jacques Kallis 13-2-30-1 (1w), Paul Harris 14-2-36-1.

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.

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