Scattergun SA bowlers punished by twin centuries Print E-mail
Category: Match Reports
Written by Luke Tagg   
Monday, 15 February 2010 14:30
Despite a late flurry of wickets, which still left India way ahead, South Africa's bowlers were universally, to a man, nothing more than crap on the second day of the second Test between India and South Africa in Kolkata.

Dale Steyn lost his swing, Morne Morkel bowled too short, Wayne Parnell bowled too wide and Paul Harris set a new record for more wides than any other Test bowler in history.

Virender Sehwag (165 off 174) and Sachin Tendulkar (106 off 206) took full toll and guided India to an imposing 342/5 by the end of the day's play, 46 runs ahead of South Africa's first innings score of 296 all out.

After their pinpoint-perfect bowling performance in Nagpur, it almost beggared belief to watch each and every bowler do the complete opposite to what they should have been doing.

When they finally got their shit together in the final session of play they were virtually unplayable, which begs the question: why did they take so long to work it out?

When Sehwag finally got out to an innocuous JP Duminy delivery (in JP's one and only over of the day), the minds seemed to click back into gear and India suffered a mini-collapse.

Paul Harris suddenly decided to bowl around the wicket for the first time in the match and was instantly rewarded with turn, bounce and the wicket of Sachin - and was inches away from picking up VVS Laxman as well. Dale Steyn suddenly found tremendous amounts of reverse swing and clean bowled a clueless Subramaniam Badrinath.

All of which only happened in the last eight overs of the day. Having been smashed to all parts for the first two sessions. Someone clearly didn't have a plan.

It took Harris 20 overs - and a world record 12 wides in the innings - of bowling over the wicket and into the non-existent rough outside leg before even attempting a ball or two around the wicket. It was absurd.

The ploy worked to perfection in Nagpur but it was nowhere close to the right plan on this Kolkata pitch. There was no turn for Harris and the batsmen could simply leave him alone outside leg, safe in the knowledge that he would be no threat and would be wided.

As soon as he went around the wicket and began pitching it in line with the stumps he found turn and bounce and was quite a handful.

I understand that you need to work on a plan with patience, but the plan was utterly useless. It should have been changed at least four hours earlier.

Graeme Smith can take the blame for that. He can also be blamed for not introducing JP Duminy until he did - right at the end of the day. Duminy is a known wicket-taker and when the opposition are belting every bowler you have with ease, surely the thought should occur to you sooner?

As good as Viru and Sachin were, they weren't exactly troubled. Steyn without swing and bounce is no better than an average seamer. Morkel bowling short is easy to deal with - it's his bounce off a good length that is troubling. Parnell without direction is one or two boundaries shy of a bunny and Harris without turn or threat is a gift-wrapped early Christmas present.

The same attack that destroyed India just a few days ago was as toothless as a nonagenarian hag today.

The wickets at the end of the day were a false positive. India can still build a 150-run lead and have half the match to bowl South Africa out again.

The only way South Africa can salvage this Test now is to clean up the remaining five wickets without too much damage in the morning of Day 3, then bat for at least five sessions.

That's a pretty tall ask - on both counts.
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