SA show signs of discomfort against spin

SA show signs of discomfort against spin
JAIDEEP MARAR

MUMBAI, FEB 19: The South Africans' batting display on an Indian designer track on the opening day of their three-day tour-opener was a mixture of the good, bad and ugly.

Pitted against a bunch of Indian hopefuls at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday, their top batsmen did little to infuse confidence despite getting off to good starts. In fact, their tackling of the Board President's XI spinners might have brought a smile to the Indian think-tank gearing up for the Test series.

Had it not been for the three catches spilled by senior pros Nayan Mongia and Mohammed Azharuddin, the visitors would have been staring at an uncomfortable total. Barring opener Gary Kirsten, none of the other batsmen appeared good enough to thwart the spin duo of Murali Karthik and Harbhajan Singh.

The 24-year-old Karthik exhibited a lot of guile to trouble the rival batsmen, who were intent on employing the sweep shot to chart the escape routes. However, luck seemed to have deserted the Railways' left-arm spinner when it mattered most as all the catches were dropped off his bowling.

Opener Herschelle Gibbs was let off by Mongia, when the latter failed to latch on a leading edge in Karthik's first over when the batsman had made 16 and the team score read 42. Gibbs used the opportunity to compile 53 runs and string a 104-run association with Kirsten.

However, Karthik claimed the left-handed Kirsten in the concluding over of the first session. Trying to steer through the slips, Kirsten found Azhar plucking a fine reflex catch. Azhar's fielding high lasted lest than an hour as he blotted his performance sheet by grassing Daryll Cullinan and Jacques Kallis off Karthik's successive overs. Cullinan and Kallis were then on 17 and 36 respectively.

The Kallis-Cullinan association, which was worth 87 runs, ended with a superb bit of athleticism by Mohammed Kaif. Though umpire K Murali raised his finger the moment Kaif's throw hit the stumps, television replays showed the batsman had made his ground.

Cullinan's dismissal triggered a mini-collapse, resulting in three more wickets falling for the addition of 27 runs. With seamer Debashis Mohanty overcoming an erratic first spell (5-0-33-0) and Harbhajan changing his bowling line from the leg and middle stump to off and middle, the South African batsmen were in a spot.

`The Executioner' Lance Klusener did little to justify his reputation as he was claimed by Karthik for a blob. In the previous over, Harbhajan harried the left-hander no end and almost succeeded in dismissing him. But the off-spinner grounded a powerful straight drive on his second attempt.

As had been the script for the day, the South Africans hit out when cornered. Hansie Cronje and Mark Boucher used attack as the best form of defence to rake up 54 runs and remained unbeaten on identical scores of 33 when stumps were.

If Karthik bowling display was the highlight of the day for the President's XI, Azhar's catching and Mongia's shoddy collections were the sore points.

An early declaration tomorrow by the South Africans is expected. Should it happen, an exciting contest could well be on the cards. It would also give the Indian selection panel, which is in full attendance here, to have a dekko at the batting potential before they meet on Sunday afternoon to pick the Indian team for the first Test.

SCOREBOARD :

South Africa (1st innings)
Gary Kirsten c Azhar b Karthik 56 (79b, 122m, 7x4)
Herschelle Gibbs c Kaif b Harbhajan 53 (128b, 142m, 9x4)
Jacques Kallis c Mongia b Mohanty 50 (113b, 150m, 4x4, 1x6)
Daryll Cullinan run out (Kaif) 43 (93b, 120m, 6x4)
Hansie Cronje batting 33 (62b, 98m, 5x4)
Peiter Strydom c&b Harbhajan 14 (21b, 26m, 2x4)
Lance Klusener b Karthik 0 (7b, 14m)
Mark Boucher batting 33 (49b, 47m, 6x4)
Extras: (4b, 1lb, 6nb) 11
Total: (for six wickets in 91 overs) 293
Fall of wickets: 1-104 (Kirsten, 29.5 overs), 2-125 (Gibbs, 36.2), 3-212 (Cullinan, 66.4), 4-217 (Kallis, 68.5), 5-234 (Strydom, 76), 6-239 (Klusener, 78.4)
Bowling: Mohanty 13-4-45-1 (nb 2), Kumaran 13-5-28-0, Karthik 29-2-95-2 (nb 1), Bhandari 11-2-29-0 (nb 2), Harbhajan 24-1-88-2 (nb 1), Jadeja 1-0-3-0.