Kallis, Klusener rub salt on Indian wounds

By Vijay Lokapally

BANGALORE, MARCH 4. An Indian fightback remained a dream. The reality was that the Indians had trooped out with drooping shoulders in the morning and it was a sight most forgettable, just about giving the South Africans the rope to tighten round the opposition.

In every aspect of the game the South Africans showed better resilience and made the home team look a bunch of novices for the third day running as the second Test took a decisive course. Only one team stood to gain on Saturday and once again the Indians found themselves encountering embarrassment which increased with every hour.

The South Africans began on a high note, 254 for three, and ended with near-supremacy. The difference between the teams came to the fore in a most telling manner as South Africa finished the day on 472 for eight, a lead of 314 runs. The sad part for the South Africans was that the architects of their domination, Lance Klusener and Jacques Kallis, perished in the 90s to shots which they had so dedicatedly avoided.

Stingless bowling

The South African batsmen today came out with an approach which strongly reflected their resolve. It did not matter if Darryl Cullinan departed early to a splendid reflex catch at short-leg by Wasim Jaffer. There was Kallis, and Klusener, and the two combined to make a mockery of India's bowling with the exception of Anil Kumble, who returned his 16th five-wicket haul in Tests.

Frustrated appealing to back the stingless bowling marked India's tactics. South Africa should have been bowled out much earlier if one had to go by the number of appeals put up by the Indians. Klusener on 70 survived a caught behind appeal off Murali Kartik in a decision which was based on Russel Tiffin's firm belief that the batsman had not nicked. The snickometer on the television might pose one more threat to the umpires on field, but this was a decision best left to Mr. Tiffin. The Indians remained equally convinced that it was a legal shout.

This minor hiccup should not in any way belittle the performance of Klusener, who showed the temperament and the skill to garner runs in a situation which demanded him to graft. The inspiration had come from Kallis, who played the role of sheet anchor with perfection even though producing a few scorching strokes, including two 6s off Kartik.

A century may have eluded Klusener and Kallis, but both laid greater emphasis on batting the team to a sound position. They avoided risks because the Indians fed them with opportunities quite regularly.

Nikhil Chopra was picked to tighten one end, but he was slammed all over the park. He did begin with two tight overs, but was soon sorted out by Klusener, who discovered the off- spinner was not making much impact with his turn.

The problems for Sachin Tendulkar multiplied when Kartik lost his rhythm in the afternoon. The left-arm spinner did not look the bowler who made a splendid debut in Mumbai and paid for his indecisive line of attack. He did pick a couple of wickets with his flight in the last session, but then the guile was demonstrated too late. The Indians were by then left with a remote possibility of saving the match.

Tendulkar making frequent changes was understandable, but not the countless sessions of discussions he had with the bowler everytime he conceded a boundary. It did not make any impact on the situation since the batsmen had made up their mind. They played to their strength and made the bowlers earn their wickets.

Klusener's cautious play must have been a revelation for many, but he is known to produce such innings based on treating the ball on merit. There was a typical mid-wicket hoick from him off Chopra, but the tough left-hander desisted from making any silly mistakes.

Kallis, too, concentrated on swelling the score through hard work and he too tempered his instinct to attack. He had the defence to frustrate the spinners and the calibre to whack them, as he displayed on two occasions when he despatched Kartik over the fence.

Klusener was the first to leave when he drove the ball to mid-off and Kallis gloved the ball to silly point and `walked.' Shaun Pollock on-drove and repented while Hansie Cronje failed again. Mark Boucher and Allan Donald stuck it out to launch a final slog on Sunday morning.

The South Africans paced their innings in a well- crafted strategy even if the rate dropped inexplicably in the second session. It was not that the spinners bowled any great line, but the batsmen found it hard to come out of their defensive mould which had its ultimate target in building up a massive lead in order to avoid batting again.

The 164-run stand between Klusener and Kallis was the highlight of the day. It effectively put the Indians under severe pressure even as Kumble put up another gallant show. He commanded respect from the batsmen even as the rest failed miserably with Nayan Mongia blotting his copybook with a poor show. Tendulkar's frustration was evident when he fell back on Mohammad Kaif to work up some magic with his ordinary stuff at this level.

Scoreboard

INDIA - 1st innings: 158

SOUTH AFRICA - 1st innings:

G. Kirsten c Jaffer b Kumble      79
(264m, 209b, 7x4)
H. Gibbs lbw b Kumble              4
(16m, 12b 1x4)
N. Boje b Kumble                  85
(260m, 302b, 7x4)
J. Kallis c Jaffer b Kumble       95
(432m, 359b, 7x4, 2x6)
D. Cullinan c Jaffer b Kumble     53
(148m, 86b, 5x4, 1x6)
L. Klusener c Tendulkar b Kartik  97
(251m, 169b, 5x4, 1x6)
H. Cronje b Srinath               12
(59m, 36b, 2x4
S. Pollock c Tendulkar b Kartik    1
(19m, 15b)
M. Boucher (batting)              14
(50m, 38b, 1x4)
A. Donald (batting)                1
(16m, 17b)
Extras (b-24, lb-3, nb-4)         31
Total (for eight wkts.)           ---
in 189 overs & 742 minutes)      472
                                 ---
Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Gibbs), 2-171 (Boje), 3-186 (Kirsten).  4-
271   (Cullinan),   5-435  (Klusener),  6-441   (Kallis),   7-449 
(Pollock), 8-468 (Cronje).

India bowling: Srinath 30-6-53-1 (nb-3), Kumble 67-15- 136-5 (nb-
1),  Chopra 24-3-78-0, Kartik 49-10-123-2,  Tendulkar  10-2-33-0, 
Ganguly 6-1-18-0, Kaif 3-0-4-0.

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