There was plenty of drama at Kingsmead on Monday as 18 wickets fell on one day and the match swung back and forth between South Africa and India.
At stumps on day two of the second Test, India were 92 for four with a lead of 166 runs after South Africa were skittled out for 131 before tea.
The day started with South Africa wrapping up India’s first innings in just 45 minutes. They added only 22 runs to their overnight total and were all out for 205.
Dale Steyn took 6/50 and it looked to be another one-sided affair but a dramatic afternoon soon turned things around.
Zaheer Khan struck back early for India, subsequently taking three wickets, however, it was Harbhajan Singh’s wizardry which was the undoing of the South Africans. He finished with four wickets for just 10 runs and also took a spectacular catch.
At lunch, South Africa were 74/4 but by tea they were all out and it was India’s turn to bat again.
In less than an hour, they were 56/4 with Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Rahul Dravid and the great Sachin Tendulkar all back in the dressing room.
Double figures
Only Sehwag (32) made double figures before he was caught behind by Mark Boucher off Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Dravid (2) was out in similar fashion while Vijay (9) was caught by Hashim Amla at short-leg off Morne Morkel and Tendulkar (6) edged Steyn to third slip where AB de Villiers made no mistake.
It was up to VVS Laxman and Cheteshwar Pujara to restore calm and they saw their side through to stumps on 23 and 10 respectively.
With the sun shining brightly in the morning and the wicket turning brown, it looked like South Africa were set for a big total but India’s revenge began when Graeme Smith (9) was caught behind by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Khan and South Africa were 23/1.
Khan, who missed the first Test in Centurion while he was still recovering from injury, dismissed Alviro Petersen (24) when he clipped his leg stump (46/2).
Jacques Kallis (10) was a little unlucky to be run out as bowler Ishant Sharma followed through and got a finger to the ball which Hashim Amla had hit straight back at him. It hit the non-striker’s stumps and Kallis was found to be just short of the line (67/3).
AB de Villiers was next to go when he got a glove to a ball from Sree Sreesanth.
Dhoni did well to lunge forward and take the catch (74/4).
Amla (33) fell victim to Harbhajan, trapped lbw and, just as South Africa had their hundred on the board, Prince (13) fell to Khan after he played on to his stumps.
Steyn scored a single before Dravid took a brilliant slip catch, diving to his left and snatching it with one hand as the batsman edged a ball from Harbhajan Singh.
It was Dravid’s 200th Test catch and the bowler lifted him into the air to celebrate.
In the same over and with the score still on 103, Harbhajan took his third wicket as Paul Harris tried to sweep him but found Cheteshwar Pujara instead. He plucked the ball out of the air diving to his right for another superb catch.
Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel put on 24 runs together when Harbhajan, in the action again but this time taking a catch on the fine-leg boundary, held on as Morkel top-edged a bouncer from Sharma.
The innings ended when Lowabo Tsotsobe scooped Harbhajan straight to Murali Vijay at mid-wicket giving Harbhajan his fourth scalp from 7.2 overs.
All 22 players in this Test match batted at some point during the day. — Sapa