The second day began with grey skies and a persistent rain that wiped
out the morning session but when play began, more than three hours
behind the scheduled start, it was in blazing sunshine with the fans
reaching for the sunblock. Dale Steyn's mood similarly brightened as he
ended an unprecedented 69.2-over wait for a wicket with a triple-strike
that brought South Africa right back after the first day was dominated
by India's
batsmen.
Virat Kohli resisted with another controlled innings, holding things together after that Steyn burst but he fell 10 minutes before the tea break to leave India at 271 for 5, and needing the Indian lower-middle order to come good.
M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, utterly in control all day yesterday, had a couple of nervy moments early on against Steyn, both edging past the staggered slip cordon. On the sixth over of the day, Steyn, who was in the middle of a terrific spell, broke through. After a bunch of short balls, Pujara only went half-forward to a pitched-up delivery one and nicked through to the keeper.
For Vijay, the early stumps yesterday came at the worst time, as he had a night to ruminate over a possible first century overseas. He spent 47 deliveries in the 90s - including that edge past slip for four - before a Steyn short ball had him gloving to the keeper, three short of a milestone to cherish. Vijay took the bottom hand off the bat as he fended at it, but the ball rose high enough to hit his left glove on its way to the keeper.
The next ball was one that will likely haunt Rohit Sharma for a while. With Steyn reversing the ball in, Rohit inexplicably decided to not offer a stroke and lost his middle stump. Cue Nohit jokes, a derisory nickname he'd thought he had left behind with the golden run back home leading up to this series.
A fired-up Steyn kept up the short-ball onslaught, hitting Ajinkya Rahane twice with the new ball, signalling to the batsman that he was keeping count. Kohli was less troubled by that strategy, authoritatively pulling Steyn to midwicket for four. Kohli was in the form that brought him a century and 96 in the Johannesburg Test, and he showed that off with a series of defensive pushes down the ground, several of which reached the rope.
With Vernon Philander getting nothing from the new ball, Rahane was settling in and the partnership grew to 66 and India were slowly asserting themselves again. Morne Morkel, though, changed that with a short ball that Kohli guided to AB de Villiers, who reacted quickly to collect that chance.
Rahane was still in the middle, with a chance to make his name on a track where batting isn't too challenging yet.
resourse by ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
batsmen.
Virat Kohli resisted with another controlled innings, holding things together after that Steyn burst but he fell 10 minutes before the tea break to leave India at 271 for 5, and needing the Indian lower-middle order to come good.
M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, utterly in control all day yesterday, had a couple of nervy moments early on against Steyn, both edging past the staggered slip cordon. On the sixth over of the day, Steyn, who was in the middle of a terrific spell, broke through. After a bunch of short balls, Pujara only went half-forward to a pitched-up delivery one and nicked through to the keeper.
For Vijay, the early stumps yesterday came at the worst time, as he had a night to ruminate over a possible first century overseas. He spent 47 deliveries in the 90s - including that edge past slip for four - before a Steyn short ball had him gloving to the keeper, three short of a milestone to cherish. Vijay took the bottom hand off the bat as he fended at it, but the ball rose high enough to hit his left glove on its way to the keeper.
The next ball was one that will likely haunt Rohit Sharma for a while. With Steyn reversing the ball in, Rohit inexplicably decided to not offer a stroke and lost his middle stump. Cue Nohit jokes, a derisory nickname he'd thought he had left behind with the golden run back home leading up to this series.
A fired-up Steyn kept up the short-ball onslaught, hitting Ajinkya Rahane twice with the new ball, signalling to the batsman that he was keeping count. Kohli was less troubled by that strategy, authoritatively pulling Steyn to midwicket for four. Kohli was in the form that brought him a century and 96 in the Johannesburg Test, and he showed that off with a series of defensive pushes down the ground, several of which reached the rope.
With Vernon Philander getting nothing from the new ball, Rahane was settling in and the partnership grew to 66 and India were slowly asserting themselves again. Morne Morkel, though, changed that with a short ball that Kohli guided to AB de Villiers, who reacted quickly to collect that chance.
Rahane was still in the middle, with a chance to make his name on a track where batting isn't too challenging yet.
resourse by ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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