SA stage dramatic comeback; India 296 all out

Agencies

Nagpur, 12 March 2011: A total failure of the middle and lower order batsmen in the last ten overs saw South Africa restrict India to 296 all out. The brilliant comeback was an apt reply to India’s top order whose efforts were simply laughed at by the rest of the team including the captain who set a disheartening example for the fans.

 

Dhoni’s men looked completely clueless after the top order batsmen had provided them with the best possible start, simply falling like a pack of cards in a hurricane. They managed to lose their nine wickets in a span of just 29 runs on a wicket that is batting friendly to say the least.

 

The fall of the wickets had been triggered off with South African pacer Dale Steyn who finally took a wicket at the right time as Gautam Gambhir (69) was out trying to up the ante just after Tendulkar’s fall.

 

The result was two fresh feet at the crease as the death overs started. The fall of Yusuf Pathan’s wicket for a duck soon after, meant hard work for the new batsmen, who were expected to keep the scoring rate up till the end. However, pressure was clearly evident on the incoming batsmen who desperately looked for boundaries.

 

Yuvraj Singh (12) was claimed by Kallis while trying to send one into the orbit. The ball found the safe hands of Johan Botha at the ropes to see half the Indian team back in the dressing room.

 

The middle order lost its way completely and it was reinforced by the fall of Virat Kohli (1), as the once easily scalable 350+ score seemed distant. Dale Steyn was right on the money as he continued with the hard work, getting his third wicket of the innings with rattling Harbhajan Singh’s stumps, the seventh Indian scalp.

 

Earlier in the day, Sachin Tendulkar had slammed his 99th international century in lesser balls to give India the decisive edge against South Africa in the crucial World Cup tie. He was dismissed at a score of 111 runs off Morne Morkel’s delivery as the Indian scorecard read 267/2 in the 40th over.

 

Fans at the VCA stadium at Nagpur were treated to some pyrotechnics by the fabled Indian line-up spearheaded by Tendulkar as Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag too slammed fifties. Sixes and boundaries were the norm of the run scoring with the Proteas going for a leather hunt in the evening sun.

 

The first blow to the Indian campaign was dealt by Faf du Plessis as he clean bowled Virender Sehwag (73). The Indian scorecard read 142/1 in the eighteenth over as Gambhir came out to bat.

 

Tendulkar had earlier come up with a faster fifty than his partner at the other end to give India the best start in the World Cup, setting the stands on fire. Just before Sachin’s feat, Sehwag had raced away to his 37th ODI fifty in just 44 deliveries to put extra pressure on the South African bowlers as the Indian scorecard raced past the 100-run mark in the twelfth over itself, the fastest of the tournament.

 

Things were on the top for the Men in Blue at Nagpur as openers Sehwag and Tendulkar let loose against the Proteas pace battery. The duo posted the highest mandatory score of the tournament as the scorecard read 87/0 at the end of ten overs.

 

Sehwag had started the proceedings with a four, his trademark in the World Cup so far. With his fifth first ball four in a row, Sehwag set the tempo of the initial phase with a few more cracking hits to the fence.

 

The dismal performance in pressure situations raised the issue of batting for India for the first time in the tournament, as the outfit already suffered from spine-less bowling and below par fielding.