Kolkata, Feb 14 (Inditop.com) India bounced back late by ripping through the South African middle order and restricting them to a modest 266 for nine as wickets fell like nine pins after tea on a dramatic opening day of the second cricket Test here Sunday.
Comfortably placed at 251 for three, the South African batsmen fell to poor shots to lose six wickets for only ten runs on the board, and were reduced to 261 for nine at the Eden Gardens before Wayne Parnell (2 batting) and Morne Morkel (3 batting) stretched their team’s innings to the second day.
Harbhajan Singh (3/60) – who missed a hat-trick – and Zaheer Khan (3/77) were the main wreckers of the South African innings, with Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra chipping in with one wicket each.
The South African collapse undid the efforts of twin centurions, debutant opener Alviro Petersen (100), and the in-form Hashim Amla (114) who had put their side in a commanding position with a 209-run second wicket stand after skipper Grame Smith (4) departed early.
The Petersen-Amla duo was finally separated when the debutant edged Zaheer Khan to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni shortly before tea, which was taken with the tourists cruising at 228 for two.
But the script was reversed in the last session as first Amla managed an edge of an intended pull of Zaheer only to find the hands of Dhoni.
Kallis (10) and A.B.de Villiers (12) then took the score to 251 for three, before Kallis miscued a needless sweep to Harbhajan’s top spinner to be lapped up by V.V.S. Laxman at short fine leg.
It was Harbhajan’s 16th over, and the success buoyed up the turbanator, for whom Eden has always been a favourite ground, and he devoured Ashwell Prince (1) and J.P. Duminy (0) within the first two deliveries in his next over. Duminy became Harbhajan’s 350th victim from 83 Test matches.
Steyn prevented the offie from getting his second hattrick at the Eden – the first having come in 2001 against Australia – by offering a defensive bat to the next ball.
South Africa were 253 for six, and Harbhajan had already done the damage by taking three wickets of eight balls.
Villiers was then run out following a mix-up with Steyn, Sharma got his only success in the from of Paul Harris (1), before Steyn (5) got an unlucky leg before decision to Amit Mishra. Television replays showed that Steyn had first edged the ball.
Earlier, Peterson, drafted into the playing XI after Mark Boucher was down with back spasm, scored a confident and chanceless 100, that included several well-timed flicks and elegant cover drives.
Amla also seemed to be continuing from his unconquered 253 in the opening Test at Nagpur, as he and Petersen stitched together a fluent partnership that at one time enabled their side to seize the initiative early in the day.
The big wicket of Smith fell as early as the third over of the morning, as the South African captain tried to defend a Zaheer delivery that came in sharply after pitching outside the off stump and knocked off his wicket through the gate.
Amla played an effortless knock studded with 14 boundaries and a six, with a sublime straight drive of Amit Mishra and a majestic cover drive of Harbhaiajn Singh deserving special mention.
His only blemish came when he jabbed at a flighted delivery from Harbhajan, got an edge but Laxman dropped the dolly at slip.
Amla was the first to reach his 100 with a cover driven boundary of Mishra. The milestone was achieved in 179 minutes. Peterson, who started off aggressively in the morning, firing a 55-ball 50, became cautious as he neared his three-figure mark. Finally he completed his maiden ton in 221 minutes picking up a single of Mishra. However, the 29-year old did not last long and departed in the very next over edging Zaheer behind the wicket.
Earlier, the visitors made 116 for one after electing to bat at lunch.
Setting at rest all speculations, India made only one change – a predictable one – to their line-up in Nagpur, bringing in seasoned campaigner V.V.S.Laxman instead of local boy Wriddhiman Saha.
