3rd day of 2nd test match spoiled by rain

The third day of the second Test at Kingsmead are going to bump up the performance of the team . Hosts South Africa's batsmen scored heavily on the one hand , spinner Ravindra Jadeja on the other, led by 5 wickets in India . The third day's play ended early due to rain

 

By stumps, South Africa scored 299 for the loss of 5 wickets. Jacques Kallis on 78 and Dale Steyn   not out

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India all-out on 334, Dale Steyn takes 6 wicket

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.

India vs south africa first test match draw

South Africa scored 450 runs at the loss of seven wickets in the 2nd innings against India. Either side didn't deserve to lose such an epic Test. It was an epic game, let me tell you. What a final day as well. Test cricket at it's very best. Both teams have played the game in the right spirit and there is healthy respect among the sides as they shake hands with a smile on their faces.

 Good to see after the ugly scenes in the Ashes series. So what one can say about the final day of this game! India picked up Petersen early on and then got Kallis - they were a bit fortunate it must be said, for the great man got a big inside edge onto the pads. Then it was the AB-Faf show, they put on a 205-run stand to put their side on course for a world record chase. They didn't put a foot wrong and when they were going, it looked like South Africa would cruise to victory.

India eight wickets from victory

South Africa are not an easy side to defeat as a record of just three Test losses in nearly four years testifies. India are finding that out first hand in Johannesburg, as the home side put up a stubborn resistance on the fourth day. India remain on top, more so after having squeezed out two major wickets, but another day of intense combat awaits them on Sunday. 

India lost wickets regularly on the fourth day but that didn't alter the match situation much as Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli had already put the visitors in a dominant position yesterday. By the time India were bowled out midway through the second session, the target had reached never-chased-before proportions of 458.

South Africa's redoubtable batting line-up is stacked with players who have stellar second-innings records, and grinding out five-and-a-half sessions isn't a task beyond them. It wasn't Jacques Kallis (second innings avg 56.06) or Hashim Amla (53.51) or even opener Graeme Smith (48.06) who led the resistance early on. Instead, it was Alviro Petersen, possibly playing for his place in the side after a lean run in recent months, who soaked up much of the bowling and led a sprightly start.

India's bowlers didn't get alarming movement with the new ball and though there were edges and beatens aplenty, the only chance that came their way was a tough overhead catch for Virat Kohli on the first ball Smith faced off Zaheer Khan. It came off the middle of the bat, and though Kohli managed to get a hand on the ball, he couldn't hold on and it popped too far for him to get a second chance.

South Africa's openers were never really at home - the leading edge or the ball that squared them up was never too far - but they went for their strokes and the runs came along briskly. Petersen played a gorgeous straight drive early on, and accumulated the bulk of his runs through whips towards midwicket. Smith, as usual, specialised in survival, besides muscling the ball frequently to the leg side.

It was only when the openers have been together for nearly two hours that Smith seemed to be getting fluent, and the openers put together their first 100-run stand in more than a year.

India desperately needed something to go their way, and it did. Smith has never been the nimblest runner between the wickets, and in 196 previous Test innings he had been run out only twice. Today, with his team still needing an enormous effort to save the game, he was caught short attempting a sharp, needless single. The throw from the mid-on fielder, Ajinkya Rahane, arrowed in on the base of the non-striker's stump to catch Smith short. Perhaps Smith was convinced into going for the run as he played the shot from well outside his crease, but for a man who prides himself on his ability to thrive in high-pressure situations, this was a tame way to go.

When India won the Durban Test on their previous tour, the defining delivery was the one from Sreesanth that leapt at Kallis' throat and led to his dismissal. If India do go on to complete a famous win tomorrow, the defining deliveries could well be the ones to dismiss Amla in each innings. Opponents will consider Amla getting bowled without offering a stroke once as a bonus, but twice in a match is a bonus of the size investment bankers dream of.

While Amla shouldering arms to a typical incoming Ishant Sharma delivery in the first innings was inexplicable, he was less culpable in the second innings. He saw Mohammed Shami drop it short and ducked, but the ball stayed low, so low that it crashed into the top of off. Amla had said after the first innings, "there are two types of leaves - a good leave and a bad leave." You can't classify this as a bad leave, but it cost Amla his wicket, and he trudged off after staring at where the ball bounced.

While there has been plenty of intensity right through this game, there was also time for MS Dhoni to bowl a couple of overs when the light was fading towards close, making this the first time both teams' wicketkeepers have bowled in a Test.

India will hope they can take the remaining eight wickets tomorrow morning with the haste with which South Africa got them today. Pujara went on to his fourth 150-plus score of his short Test career before nicking behind off Kallis. Kohliclosing in on joining greats Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid as the only Indians to make a century in each innings of a Test. He couldn't get there though, edging JP Duminy to the keeper on 96.

Dhoni holed out for a typically busy 29, but it wasn't as action-packed as Zaheer Khan's cameo - french cuts and wild heaves were mixed in with a couple of cleanly struck sixes, all of which had the Indian dressing room laughing gleefully. Zaheer's hitting meant India added 37 for the final two wickets, and pushed the target beyond 450.

India set 458-run target, to the south africa

The third and fourth days are star Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli 153 runs, 96 runs helped India have tended big target.
Kallis take the wicket of pujara.In response to India's ambitious target of 458 runs,South African team is playing very carefully. Written by news openers of SA added sixty runs. Alviro Petersen completed his fifty.
In terms of performance for the year Pujara is extremely good year.

 First Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai respectively 269, 102 and 113 innings of play Pujara scored 306 not out against West Indies and South Africa in October, against a 137-run innings played in August.
Hero of first innings virat kohali out on 96 by Duminy

India in strong position, 100 of Pujara

After the attack of Ishant and Zaheer, India in strong position by Puzara's century in first test match
with South Africa. End third day of first test match Team India has scored 284 for the loss of two wickets.
Pujara on 135 and Kohli is not out on 77 runs. With a lead of 36 runs in the first innings helped India now has a total lead of 320 runs and eight wickets remaining.

South Africa have bad news 

South African team the bad news came from the hospital. Rushed to hospital after ankle injury during fielding Morne Morkel turned serious injury. Bowling match will not happen again. Must satisfy at least ten days.

South Africa All out on 244

Earlier, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma took four wickets each as India bundled out South Africa for 244 runs in their first innings.

South Africa lost their last four wickets on Day 3 scoring just 31 runs as India took a 36-run lead.

Zaheer claimed his fourth wicket when he clean bowled Morne Morkel with a full delivery.

Zaheer took his third wicket when he had Faf du Plessis (20) caught behind by Indian captain MS Dhoni.

Ishant took the second wicket of the day when he had Dale Steyn caught by Rohit Sharma at second slip.

Zaheer had Vernon Philander caught by R Ashwin at first slip in the fourth over of the day.

Philander (59) had brought up his half-century by hitting the first delivery of the day by Ishant for four.

The day's play started with Faf du Plessis and Philander resuming the South African first innings.

On Day 2, South Africa bowled brilliantly in the morning to dismiss India for 280. They then lost Alviro Petersen early to Ishant Sharma.

Ishant bowled a superb length, getting the ball to cut back off the seam to dismiss Peterson leg before wicket.

Captain Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla added 93 runs for the second wicket but India then roared back into the game with the three pacers blowing away the middle order taking 5 wickets for 16 runs.

In a six-over spell after tea, the Indian pace attack of Ishant, Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami took five top-order South African wickets to change the course of the game. Chasing India's first innings total of 280, South Africa, from being 130/1, were reduced to 146/6.

The Wanderers pitch has a bit of the WACA bounce, but what did the job for Ishant was the length. He hit the right length and got the ball to dart back, something that used to be his strength when he started off and was rewarded with the wickets of Amla and Jacques Kallis off successive deliveries.

Getting Amla to shoulder arms and knock his stump over is a rarity and trapping Kallis leg before wicket for a first ball duck was the icing on the cake.

Ishant and Zaheer gave Smith a torrid time, just that the South African captain survived despite getting those inside and outside edges before falling leg before wicket to Zaheer.

Shami, too, made the ball talk in that phase, inducing an edge off JP Duminy to be caught at slips. AB de Villiers' wicket was the real big one - he too failed to counter the swing of Shami and was trapped in front.  Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara put on a fifty-run partnership for the second wicket and extended India's lead over 100 runs against South Africa in the post-lunch session on the third day of the first Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Friday.

Vijay and Pujara negotiated first hour of the second session of the day confidently as they make sure India did not lose any wickets immediately after the break.

The duo took India over 50-run mark in the session as they thwarted the famed Proteas pace attack with ease.

India went in for the lunch break at 31/1, extending their lead over South Africa to 67 runs.

South African pacer Vernon Philander took his 100th Test wicket when he had Shikhar Dhawan (15) caught by Jacques Kallis at second slip. 

Indian bowlers get back on the attack

India and South Africa at wanderers Stadium Johannesburg. between the two-match test series first test match is being played.

Himself in the match while Indian bowlers had six batsmen returned to the pavilion after the tea break by ishant Sharma. Hashim AMLA (36) India first success. then eats the same over by Jacques Kallis, Sharma not opening.

After having frozen captain Graeme Smith to the crease Zaheer Khan has 68 personal scores provide the way India pavilion at the fourth success.
After falling to a four-wicket return in the match came in the form of the Indian bowlers and Mohammed shami a overs JP dumini (2) and AB delivers (13) moves into strong position by India.
Second day of first test match India's first innings 280 runs on exit after playing in his first innings South Africa News written by 46.1 overs over the loss of six wickets for 147 runs. crease vernan philendar (0) and visit places (1).

Johannesburg Test: Indian innings ended on 280 runs

Johannesburg Test against South Africa on the second day of India 255/5 of the score began to play . Yesterday batsman Ajinkya Rahane and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 's unbeaten streak extended innings , but his five batsmen back to pavilion and the entire team were all out for 280 runs .
 At the beginning of the second day of the South African bowlers on the Indian innings pushed completely beatific and each successive wickets in case 255/5 Indian innings despite having finished only 280 runs on the second day of India's five games. yane wickets adding only 25 runs out.

 Felender four wickets for 61 runs by South Africa , while Morkel took three for 34 runs . 

 On the second day 's play starts Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not last too long at the crease and edging behind on Morni Morkel . Dhoni scored 19 runs during his 104 -minute batting . Rahane in the next over , playing only his second Test on his first half was very close to coming out . In an effort to play the ball being out of Filender Rhne on individual score of 47 runs out. Then Zaheer Khan ( 0 ) and Ishant Sharma ( 0 ) in the Felender entangled balls . Play today 255 runs ahead with five wickets at the expense of the Indian team lost by 25 runs .

Both opener out of team India, Virat came on No. 4

Johannesburg . The Indian team on the grounds of the historic Wanderers at the loss of 2 wickets for 42 runs amenities. There are Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli at the crease 

 Morne Morkel in the 16th over of India's second opener Murali Vijay walked . Victory six runs on 42 balls sitting handed catch to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers 

 Interesting Fact - out before 7 runs for the second wicket with Vijay Pujara . 7 runs off 37 balls to add only two batters he faced . In South Africa, by far the slowest of the Indians for the second wicket partnership . The duo created in 2011 by Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir 's poor record 26 balls back. A total of 9 runs in 26 balls with Gambhir, Dravid

The first shock came in the 9 th over India. Dale Steyn first hit the opener Shikhar Dhawan out on individual score of 13 runs. The filmmaker wanted to pull off Sortpic shot of Stan, but his timing was not good. Taking the ball to the fine leg positioned on the upper edge of his bat left in the hands of Imran Tahir. Stan fiercely celebrate the wicket.

Smith braces for another Zaheer tussle

The South Africa captain has had his troubles against Zaheer - and other left-arm quicks - and his attempts to sort them out will be tested in the India series

Zaheer Khan may think, albeit somewhat cheekily, that he only needs to turn up to get Graeme Smith out and he would be surprised to learn the South African captain will probably be brushing off the brashness as nothing too serious. "I can tell you now, Graeme doesn't think about Zaheer Khan at all," Jimmy Cook, Smith's former coach and long-time mentor, told ESPNcricinfo. "Mentally, he is one of the strongest cricketers I've ever worked with so he won't be bothered by what Zaheer said. And when he faces him, he won't think 'that's Zaheer Khan I am up against, I should be worried." He'll think 'Zaheer Khan, you're going to have a tough day because you're bowling to Graeme Smith.'" This kind of playful trash talk is usually reserved for the boxing ring, not least because when it emerges in cricket, there's every chance it will earn the utterer a fine. As a result, press engagements can lapse into the predictable and it takes experienced and confident campaigners, like Zaheer, to spice them up The leader of India's attack will be the involved in what could turn out to the battle of the series. Between Zaheer and Smith - opening bowler to opening batsman, both of whom have returned from injuries looking leaner, fitter and stronger than before - the tone will be set. Zaheer knows that if India are to make South Africa dance to their tune in the two Tests, he will have to be the man to compose the first notes by making his advantage over Smith count for something. Cook believes Zaheer won't be able to get that right this time, despite the numbers. Only Chris Martin has dismissed Smith more times in Test cricket than Zaheer - eight compared to six - and Martin has played two more Tests against South Africa. James Anderson has also accounted for Smith six times but that came in 17 Tests. Of all bowlers currently playing, Zaheer is the one with the most success against Smith, underlined by when he gets him out as well as how. All but one of his dismissals - Cape Town 2007 - have come in the opening spell of the first innings which has meant Zaheer has often struck early blows against South Africa. Using the left-armers angle, Zaheer has troubled Smith by moving the ball away from him for a period of time and then bringing one back into him. He discovered Smith's soft spot in the 2006 Boxing Day Test, although he only used it years later. That time, Zaheer's first three deliveries went away from Smith and the fourth moved in. Smith was squared up and Zaheer induced the outside edge which saw the ball squirt past cover. Zaheer seemed to remember that for a later date. In the third over of that innings, Smith fetched a short wide ball outside the offstump, tried to pull and top-edged. In the next match of the series, the New Years' Test in Cape Town, Smith had the better of the Indian attack. He scored 94 in the first innings and 55 in the second before Zaheer got one to shape away late and Smith's prod handed the wicket-keeper a catch. It was only in 2010 that Zaheer began asserting himself over Smith, using what he saw four years earlier. He accounted for Smith in the first innings in both Nagpur and Kolkata. Both times, the ball came into Smith and seemed to catch him unawares. He didn't move his feet enough, looked to play down the leg side but misjudged and was bowled. "Graeme was playing the ball too early. When he did that, he would close the face of the bat and leave a gap between bat and pad. That's why he could get out," Cook explained. The dismissals above illustrate that perfectly. Both times, the ball snuck through the space Smith had left to clatter into his stumps. It appeared Smith had a problem facing left-handed bowlers, with Mitchell Johnson also enjoying success against him in the same way. Johnson has dismissed Smith five times in eight matches and broken his hand twice. Johnson has also foxed Smith by first swinging the ball away from him and then bringing it back in. Even right-arm bowlers could exploit that angle, creating a similar one by bowling from around the wicket. That was one of the reasons for Martin's success against him. By the time the teams met again in the 2010-11 summer, Smith had worked enough with Cook to have closed the gap. But it didn't entirely solve the problem. In Durban, he reacted quickly enough to the one that came into him by bringing the bat across the pad but got an outside edge off Zaheer in the fifth over. In Cape Town, the first delivery Zaheer got to move into Smith, at the start of his fourth over, was met with a perfect defensive push. The next one moved away and Smith could leave alone but the third one caught the South African captain in two minds. Without being sure if the ball was moving away or in, he left the same gap to be struck on the pad and was out lbw. Since then, Smith has been similarly troubled by Junaid Khan - who he tried to counter by moving across his offstump but was found out when the Pakistan left-armer bowled one down the leg side in the ODI series in March - and Mitchell McClenaghan, but not seriously so. Perhaps the best indication that Smith has overcome his problem was seen in the double-hundred he scored in Dubai this October. Against a Pakistan attack led by two left-armers in Junaid and Mohammad Irfan, Smith was confident and collected a surprising number of runs straight down the ground in addition to his favoured leg-side area. That's why Cook believes Zaheer will not be able to have the same effect on Smith in the upcoming series. "He has sorted out that issue. He has done a lot of work on picking which shots he is good at playing and which deliveries he can target while also understanding which shots he is not so good at and what to do," Cook said. "There's no chance Zaheer will be able to do the same thing this time." So far, Smith has not had the opportunity to add his voice to the chorus surrounding what will be one of the most closely observed subplots of the series. After being released from the one-day squad Smith busied himself with organising a sixes tournament for charity. He would have given equal, if not more, attention to Test match preparation, which was cited as the official reason he was sent home from the fifty-over squad. Smith may not admit it publicly but Zaheer, and how to overcome him, would surely have been on his mind then.

Zaheer, Ashwin promise fight in Tests

Two of India's most experienced bowlers, Zaheer Khan and R Ashwin, have promised a better fight in the upcoming Tests after India were blanked 2-0 in the ODIs. Zaheer, one of the few in this Indian team not shy to have a word, has begun to stir up the opposition. Ashwin, meanwhile, has said he will not throw in the towel just yet. When asked to respond to South Africa players' comments that they have scarred a few of the visitors, Zaheer made his feelings known. "You know, talk is talk," Zaheer said. "You can talk as much as you like outside. Once you go on to the field, it's all about doing. And I think this Indian team will do the needful. Whatever it's going to take to win this series." Zaheer is a bowler who plays mind games well. Once he spots a weakness in a batsman, he goes all the way with it. He has done that to South Africa's Test captain, Graeme Smith, successfully in the past. This in itself, many Indian pundits felt, was reason enough to bring Zaheer to South Africa. And he is no mood to let Smith forget that he has dismissed him 13 times in 396 balls in all international cricket. Asked if he had any new plans to get Smith out, Zaheer said, "I just have to turn up." Just so he didn't sound too obnoxious, though, Zaheer added, "Having said that, Graeme Smith has got a terrific record in Test matches. He's a good leader. It's good to have that advantage. When you go into a match and have that edge over someone who has been a good opener and [has] been scoring consistently at the highest level." Ashwin is part of the ODI side that has taken a hammering in the recently concluded ODI series, which India lost 2-0. He is a combative and proud man too. It doesn't sit well with him that he has gone for 169 runs off 168 balls for a solitary wicket in the series thus far. He might, rightly, not agree that India's performance so far is a "disaster", but pride says he will have give it his all in the Tests. "I am definitely here in terms of looking to fight and just go on fighting," Ashwin said. "I am prepared for a fight. I want to take it to the field and see what I can actually do. Be it with catching, be it with bowling or be it with batting. I am prepared for all. So I am just going to go out there and make sure that I at least give it 100% of what I can to try for a series win. It cannot get any better. It means the most to me in life." Ashwin said that he started to work on his Test bowling during the last, inconsequential, ODI, although he did also, for some reason, mention that he had achieved what he wanted to achieve through his bowling in the ODIs. "In terms of what I wanted to achieve out of the ODI series, it's pretty much through," Ashwin, on his first tour to South Africa, said. "I wanted to test the conditions, see how much it responded to what I was delivering. Yesterday, pretty much, the Test match was more on my mind. I thought I can toss a lot more balls up and see where it goes. Definitely the ball was drifting much more. "I think it's got to [do] much [with] the air in terms of what I'm planning to do here. [I just] try and set fields and bowl straighter lines. I've chatted to a few people who have been here and done well so that's going to help. I'd like to play the situation rather than anything else. I've prepared myself in terms of what I can deliver at the best of my abilities, and then I'll take the situation at hand and do what the situation demands." Patience and accuracy, Ashwin said, were going to be key to performing well in the Test series. Asked if his mindset changes from being a wicket-taker to the one holding up one end when he goes out of Asia, he said, "Whatever I have heard and whatever tour I have gone on, I was always expected to take wickets. There's no two ways about it. I have my personal expectations, and I would like to do well anywhere I go. "Nothing means more to me than an overseas victory. In terms of planning a spell or building up a scenario, it's going to be the key here. Need to be patient here, in terms of let[ting] things happen, rather than look to make things happen. The time will come when you can make things happen." Ashwin said he will need to contribute not only as a bowler, but also as a batsman and fielder. "There are three facets of the game," Ashwin said. "I'll be standing at slips, I'll be bowling, I'll be batting. I would fight in every department. I am dead serious about it. I will definitely throw every bit. I will never throw the towel, and I'll try and see where I can go [from] here. There is nothing that will mean more to me than a victory overseas." resourses by ESPN