Indians dig in deep to save Test

By G. Viswanath

PORT ELIZABETH, NOV. 20. The happy part of the second Test of the Castle Lager/MTN series happened on the field on Tuesday when Rahul Dravid and Deep Dasgupta put on 171 runs for the second wicket that ensured a draw and made certain that there will be a contest in the third Test at the Centurion from Friday.

The off the field news that hit and affected the Indian players like a nightmare on Monday evening, when Match Referee Mike Denness called six players one by one and informed them of different punishments for different violations of the ICC Code, was still the hot topic for animated discussion among the officials and in particular the media.

But on a day when the sun appeared in its solitary splendour for an ideal game of cricket, Dravid gave ample proof of his steady and sure play that lasted nearly three and a quarter hours. His powers of concentration was just the thing India needed to thwart South Africa from taking a series clinching lead.

His able ally was Dasgupta, who demonstrated sufficient skill and competency, batted as well as Dravid and sent a message to the Indian selectors that he needs to be given a three Test run against England in the home series.

Free from all the grim incidents that had affected six others, Dravid showed unwavering concentration against the South African fast bowlers, especially Shaun Pollock, who had dismissed him twice in the first Test and also in the first innings here. Pollock had shown his worth having accounted for half of the Indian batsmen in the first Test and the first innings here. He struck on Monday evening luring Shiv Sundar Das to his doom.

There has been considerable debate among the discerning here about South Africa's over dependence on Pollock's bowling prowess. The chairman of selectors Mr. Rushdie Maget defended his committee's faith in the likes of Makhaya Ntini and Jacques Kallis. ``Nicky Boje has not had enough opportunities to bowl,'' Mr. Maget said. There is genuine concern here about South Africa's pace attack because Mornantau Hayward has not proved to be as successful as was predicted and that Andre Nel, who went to Zimbabwe, has not been consistent.

South Africa once again banked on Pollock. But it was an off day for the the South African captain as things did not go his way. The pitch appeared to have declined, but not so much as to bother Dravid and Dasgupta.

The odd ball did hasten through, but as the curator Andrew McLean said on the eve of the match, the pitch turned out to be a batsman's ally with the sun shining. Dravid was the first to reach his half century. Dasgupta followed him soon with a flicked four to the square leg boundary off Hayward.

The half century was Dasgupta's second major contribution in a short Test career; he and Sehwag had put on a 50 plus stand in the first innings of the first Test. The two had batted right through for two and a half hours until lunch time, a rare happening when India did not lose a wicket in a session. The second new ball claimed soon after the 80th over did the trick. Though it was not Pollock who broke the partnership.

Dravid appeared to be upset while making his way back to the pavilion because he thought a century was in order after he had done all the hard work for well over three hours. But wicketkeeper Mark Boucher held his second catch of the innings; the bowler being Hayward, who also brought an end to Dasgupta's innings at 63 made in over five hours.

An hour and fifteen minutes play was lost after a shower in the afternoon which diminished the chances of a home team win. The fielding side had 105 overs to dismiss India on the fifth day but rain and bad light brought an end to play after Kallis bowled the second ball of his 12th over and blinding rain hit Port Elizabeth.

Herschelle Gibbs who scored a fine 196 in the first innings was declared the `Man of the Match'.

Captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright lavished praise on Rahul Dravid and Deep Dasgupta for responding to a situation that had made things difficult for the Indians from Monday evening. ``I talked to them collectively on Monday night and today morning. I am happy they played for the team and the country. It's been raining all through. Both Dravid and Dasgupta batted excellently, the first two hours were crucial,'' said Wright.

``I liked the way Deep played. He showed good technique and character. When you pick a new player, you expect him to play well. We wanted to forget everything and play a day of Test cricket,'' said Ganguly.

Pollock was obviously disappointed. ``The rain dominated the match. The ball was soft and made things difficult. I have worked on two new things this season. It's working. I thought both (Dravid and Dasgupta) played well,'' said Pollock.

Scoreboard

SOUTH AFRICA - 1st innings: 362

INDIA - 1st innings: 201

SOUTH AFRICA - 2nd innings: 233 for 5 decl.


INDIA - 2nd innings:

S. S. Das c Boucher b Pollock              0
(4m,5b)
D. Dasgupta c Kallis b Hayward            63
(335m, 281b, 7x4s)
R. Dravid c Boucher b Hayward             87
(312m, 243b, 12x4s)
S. Tendulkar (not out)                    22
(54m, 45b, 4x4s)
S. Ganguly (not out)                       4
(34m, 18b)
Extras (b-10, lb-7, nb-12, w-1)           30
                                         ---
Total (for three wkts.in 96.2 overs)     206
                                         ---

Fall of wicket: 1-0 (Das), 2-171 (Dravid), 3-184 (Dasgupta).

South Africa bowling: Pollock 26-11-39-1 (nb 7), Hayward 25-6-58-
2  (nb 2), Kallis 11.2-5-15-0, Ntini 12-4-25-0, Boje 14-4-  33-0, 
Klusener 7-3-15-0 (nb 1, w 1), McKenzie 1-0-4-0.

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