Klusener's innings, the turning point

G. VISWANATH

A contest that seemed to be coming to a boil nicely simply vanished in the wind and the dust of a Tuesday (November 6) at Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein. It was the fourth day of the first Test of the Castle Lager/MTN series and it was on the cards that the contest would go into the fifth day for a fitting climax. Those who wanted a good cricket match were hopeful that this would happen but the home team supporters wanted it to be over and done with in the quickest possible time. Well, the Indians obliged to the need of the hour of the South Africans and succumbed to the bowling skills of the captain Shaun Pollock and the frequently used word in cricket: Pressure with a capital P.

It is strange that a team that made 379 in the first innings "was outplayed" (on the fourth day) as the Indian coach John Wright said at the Press Conference. Sachin Tendulkar had dug deep into all his 12 years of experience in international cricket and Virender Sehwag had flexed his young muscles to show his mettle in his very first Test. It was a brilliant push from one of the most prolific scorers in international cricket and a young man who wants to emulate Tendulkar in approach, style and stroke-production. Tendulkar and Sehwag put on 220 for the fifth wicket, a record in India-South Africa Test cricket.

The immediate response from the bowlers ought to have been to make the score of 379 a formidable one for the South African batsmen, but they conceded runs like millionaires. The writing on the wall for the Indians became clearer as Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten pummelled the Indian seam and spin attack all over Goodyear Park. It was a blunder to have fielded both the leftarm seamers, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan, when the team had Ajit Agarkar and Venkatesh Prasad (who had a great three Test series in 1996-97 along with Javagal Srinath), in its ranks. Both of them had already spent more than 40 days in South Africa.

Wright said that Nehra was a certainty as a second choice seamer to share the new ball with Srinath. It then seemed that Zaheer Khan was a nominated replacement for the indisposed Harbhajan Singh (he picked up an infection of the epididymis two days before the Test), but after the Test match was lost incredibly inside four days, Wright gave sufficient hints that captain Sourav Ganguly would not have played Harbhajan (nine wickets for an average less than 20 in six matches of the tri-series) as he was keen on winning the toss and asking the South Africans to bat.

There was a fair amount of discussion about the pitch that curator Nico Pretorious had prepared. He and South Africa's assistant coach Corrie van Zyl believed that the pitch with a greenish tinge on the first day would assist the seamers as the match progressed. They were not far off the mark if one goes by the statement of the man who took 10 wickets in a Test match for the first time in 59 Tests. "It had a fair bit for the seam bowlers. We wanted the Bloemfontein pitch to be like this. Last year against New Zealand we had to really work hard. It was a flat wicket then," said Shaun Pollock.

The century-makers for South Africa, Lance Klusener (left) and Herschelle Gibbs

So the home team had a say in every aspect of the Test, right from preparing the pitch in its favour, to showing its batting depth and also its bowling prowess, which was exhibited in a wonderful fashion by the captain Pollock himself. At the outset everything was a contrast. The South African selectors gave eleven players to Pollock, while the Indian captain wrote his eleven 15 minutes before the toss, with his No. 1 wicketkeeper, Sameer Dighe forced to withdraw minutes before the start of the Test because he pulled a back muscle.

Whether the Indian team management was right or wrong in asking Rahul Dravid to open the innings is a point for debate. He had made over 1000 runs in exactly one year at positions 3, 4 and 6. Dravid has been the man targeted by the team management to meet its requirements whenever someone else is not good enough or cannot be tried out in a big game. Dravid was asked to keep wicket in two matches of the tri-series because Deep Dasgupta was written off as no good. And he was asked to open the innings in the Test because Connor Williams was termed a bachcha on foreign soil.

Dravid did not get 'in' in both the innings, falling to Pollock for two runs in the first innings and for 11 in the second. In the first essay Das went cheaply for 9, Laxman threw his wicket away after playing glorious strokes and Ganguly fell to a snorter from Jacques Kallis. At 68 for four, the 'Durban 100' of 1996-97 appeared on the radar, but Tendulkar, and fortunately for India, Sehwag counterattacked to pile up 220 for the fifth wicket. Both played handsome shots and found the gaps too.

Tendulkar played even the 'slice-over-the-slip-cordon' shot to perfection. Everything worked like a well-oiled machine as long as Tendulkar and Sehwag, who pounded shots on the up, were together. The South African bowlers without exception were given rough treatment. A grand first innings Indian total seemed possible before Neil McKenzie held Tendulkar (155, 234m, 184b, 23x4, 1x6) at deep square leg off Makhaya Ntini.

Sehwag put on a further 63 with Deep Dasgupta, completed his century (105, 271m, 173b, 19x4) before falling a victim to Pollock. Tendulkar and Sehwag had made possible a great recovery, but on the morning of the second day the Indian batsmen added only seven runs to the overnight 372 for seven. Even then 379 was not a small first innings total; it was perhaps the best on foreign soil for a long time.

South Africa replied with 563, Lance Klusener scoring his fourth Test century, coming in to bat at No. 6 and seeing two batsmen depart at the score of 377. Gibbs had made merry with a 145-ball 107 with 16 fours and two sixes. Kirsten chipped in with a 73. The first wicket stand produced 189 runs, almost half of the Indians' 379. South Africa lost its way before Klusener and Mark Boucher (47, 110m, 85b, 5x4, 1x6) added 121 for the seventh wicket. "Klusener's knock took the game away," said Ganguly.

The pick of the Indian bowlers was Srinath, who joined the 'India 200 Club'. His 200th wicket was the South African captain, Pollock, whom he dismissed first ball. Nehra and Khan gave away 219 runs in their comeback Test match. Kumble bowled 50 overs and picked up three wickets after conceding 132 runs. "He bowled pretty well, but it was not his best", said Ganguly. So Srinath's five for 140 off 33 overs was indeed a fine effort. South Africa's top-order scored heavily. In addition to Gibbs' 107 and Kirsten's 73, Kallis made 68 and McKenzie a quick 68 before Klusener took his chances to make a lucky 108 (195m, 124b, 18x4, 1x6). Their efforts gave their team a lead of 184.

Though Dravid departed early, Das and Laxman took India to 96 at stumps on the third day. Das made his first half century against South Africa and seemed set to play a big innings. But the Bhubaneshwar based batsman chased a wide outswinger and paid the price. Pollock had earlier dismissed Laxman. The Indian second innings declined after Tendulkar drove Kallis (his 100th wicket) to Gibbs at backward point. Ntini, clobbered in the first innings, was delighted at Ganguly's dismissal. The Indian innings came to an end in the fourth ball of the 70th over with Pollock taking his sixth wicket to take his match tally to 10.

The Indian bowlers did not realise the importance of a total of 379. Pollock had realised it. "To come back from 380 showed a lot of character in our boys," he said. For his 10 wickets Pollock was declared the 'Man of the Match."

His first 10-wicket haul

SHAUN POLLOCK began the proceedings of the first Test at the Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein after he won the toss and invited the Indians to bat. His performance in his previous 58 Tests had been very impressive. He had delivered 12929 balls, conceded 4871 runs and taken 237 wickets for an average of just over 20. His best bowling was seven for 87 against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 1997-98.

He had taken five wickets in an innings a dozen times and held 39 catches. The column under 10 wickets in a match was blank. If people saw it as a shortcoming, he set the record straight by opening the account with a 10-wicket haul against India."Yah...it's been overdue. I have been close to achieving that a couple of times. It's been frustrating. But it's nice to find that mark now," said Pollock at the Press Conference.

Only 11 days ago at the Kingsmead, he was awarded the 'Man of the Match' prize for his outstanding spell in the final of the tri-series against India. But Pollock obviously would have any day, like most bowlers and batsmen, coveted a prize in a Test match. There were four century-makers in the Test: Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag for India and Herschelle Gibbs and Lance Klusener for South Africa.

But it was Pollock, the red-haired paceman from Kwazulu Natal, who clinched the first Test match for his side. His 10 wickets took his tally to 247 and his scalps were Rahul Dravid, Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta and Zaheer Khan in the first innings and Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Sehwag, Dasgupta, Srinath and Khan in the second. His bowling analysis was four for 91 in the first and six for 56 in the second.

As the scoresheet reveals, he took the very important wickets of Dravid, who according to coach John Wright offered to open the innings, Laxman and Sehwag. He underscored his value to the side, by not only making the first inroad, but also returning to break partnerships when his fellow-bowlers failed to do so. He used the pitch, that afforded seam movement and bounce, extremely well.

"Well, the Bloem wicket was really slow last year when we played the Kiwis. It was hard work against New Zealand. We had to be very patient to get wickets. But now the wicket was really nice and a good one. There was bounce and seam movement and hence we wanted to keep as many people in catching positions as possible. That was also the reason for a good scoring rate. There was a lot of grass and that was the reason I decided to bowl first. It was important to get 20 wickets. We knew the Bloem wicket would get better as the game went on. So that was the best opportunity for us to get the wickets. I thought Sachin played very well. He is one of the batters who dominates while he is at the crease. He gives very little margin for error, he is quick on the bad ball."

Pollock also gave credit to his teammates for fighting back. "To come on top after giving away 379 runs showed a lot of character in the boys. All credit to the guys the way they played. It was a difficult situation, but the guys fought back. And in the second innings we bowled well. I think Lance's hundred at that time (South Africa was down at 377 for six) was frustrating for them (Indians)".

The South African captain said that one couldn't possibly entertain thoughts of liking to finish a match on a particular day. "You have got to be patient in Test cricket. I thought it would go into the fifth day. We got some early wickets and that put them under pressure."