Bowlers call the shots
CricInfo, undated
The Indian seam bowlers dominated the opening two sessions on the second day of the tour game against Rest of South Africa at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom. Sreesanth finished with 4 for 53, and VRV Singh had figures of 3 for 35 as Rest of South Africa were bowled out for a paltry 138, with only Vaughn van Jaarsveld's brilliant counterattacking 52 providing any resistance. Instead of enforcing the follow-on, the Indians decided for batting practice, and Mornantau Hayward struck two telling blows in the space of three balls as the Indian top order once again came unstuck. Having resumed after tea at 31 for 2, the Indians lost Tendulkar leg before, playing across the line, and Ganguly caught off the glove behind the stumps. On a day when the bowlers had excelled themselves, it was threatening to be another woeful batting display, and that too in far better conditions - the sun was beating down by mid-afternoon - than the Rest of South Africa had enjoyed.Wasim Jaffer, who came out to bat with Harbhajan Singh as runner after he was struck on the toe yesterday, once again failed to score, given out caught behind. It was hard to tell whether there was a thin edge, or whether it was bat hitting pad, but even though Morne van Wyk, the wicketkeeper, didn't appeal, the umpire lifted the index finger. Virender Sehwag cut Thomas for one four through the covers, but was then caught on the crease by a straight one. His form, or lack of it, is a major concern heading into the Tests. There will be few such worries over the bowling though, after a superb allround performance in helpful overcast conditions. India declared on their overnight total, and Sreesanth started the slide in the second over of the day, getting one to swing away from Jacques Rudolph's bat. The edge was comfortably taken by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. And it was soon twice as nice for the Indians, with the other opener, Alviro Peterson, edging Zaheer to third slip, where Gautam Gambhir - on the field for Jaffer - pouched the chance. Jean Paul Duminy struck a couple of gorgeous drives off an erratic Sreesanth, but it could have been much worse for Rest of South Africa if Harbhajan Singh hadn't spilt a chance at point after Van Jaarsveld, then on 1, had wafted at a Zaheer delivery. Zaheer, however, didn't allow that to dampen his spirits, trapping Duminy in front with a full-length delivery that the batsman missed completely. Van Jaarsveld kept the scoreboard moving with some superb shots, taking Irfan Pathan for four fours in an over that included some wonderfully timed drives through midwicket. But there was little support from the other end. Morne van Wyk made just six before Pathan trapped him leg before, and when the big-hitting Justin Kemp was sent back in similar fashion by VRV Singh, Rest of South Africa had slumped to 90 for 5.
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