Nagpur, Feb 9 (IANS) South Africa were just four wickets away from a crushing victory against India in the first cricket Test here Tuesday. At tea on the fourth day, India were 223 for six in their second innings with Test debutant Wriddhiman Saha (4) and Harbhajan Singh (11) at the crease. India, following on after being bowled out for 233 in the first innings, trail by 102 runs.

Paul Harris (L) celebrates with team-mates taking the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar (unseen) during the fourth day of the first cricket Test match between India and South Africa in Nagpur. (AP Photo)

South Africa had declared their first innings at 558 for six. Sachin Tendulkar was out after scoring 100 while Mahendra Singh Dhoni was dismissed for 25. Left arm spinner Paul Harris (3-45) accounted for both the batsmen, breaking the 107-run stand and with it hopes of India’s fightback. Tendulkar, who stood resolutely in the morning session, was out trying to play a sweep shot, the ball brushed his pad and fell onto the stumps. He played 179 balls hitting 13 fours. Dhoni, who played 112-balls for his 25, stroking three fours, got an inside edge and was caught at silly point by AB de Villiers. In fact, it was clear in the morning session that Harris will play an important role as he was getting a vicious turn from the rough outside the leg stump. Before lunch, Harris got the wicket of Murali Vijay (32) who top edged a sweep to fine leg to be caught by Morne Morkel. Subramaniam Badrinath, who had struck a solid 56 in the first innings, was the next to go as he edged one behind to wicket-keeper Mark Boucher off left-handed seamer Wayne Parnell.

Harris and Steyn consign India to innings defeat

His “innocuous” outside-the-leg line from over the stumps made him the most successful spinner in the match, and his wickets featured those of Sachin Tendulkar and M Vijay, the only men who looked like they could deny South Africa. Thanks to Harris, the fast bowlers didn’t need to bust their gut in consigning India to their third innings defeat at home in the last 10 years – all three to the same opposition.

Tendulkar’s 91st international century, just like Virender Sehwag’s 30th in the first innings, was a remarkable innings in isolation, but an inadequate one given the thin middle order. Once he got out with India still 133 behind, it was always going to be a matter of when and not if. The when came at 4.27pm, with Dale Steyn finishing a fourth career ten-wicket haul, taking out a resolute Wriddhiman Saha and Amit Mishra in quick succession.

On a day that Graeme Smith went easy on his pace bowlers, Harris provided his captain with just what was required: control over run flow, main share of the overs bowled, and the big wickets. He came on to bowl as early as the fifth over of the day, and was the main bowler until tea, bowling 31 overs for 64 runs and three wickets, the third being MS Dhoni’s.

Given how Dhoni got out to Harris in the first innings, padding up and gloving one that kicked from the rough, the leg-line wasn’t quite as defensive as it is perceived to be. Neither of the overnight batsmen, Tendulkar and Vijay, wanted to keep padding up to him for long. Tendulkar was more convincing in getting right to the pitch of the ball, and playing it out of the rough. The flick for four through midwicket early in the day stood out. Vijay kept Harris interested with the sweep, and finally one delivery found the top edge and then Morne Morkel at fine leg.

Tendulkar had moved to 37 by then, having found balance between attack and defence. Against Harris he kicked away the deliveries outside leg, as opposed to waiting for them to hit his pads. When he made up his mind to play scoring shots, he made sure he was close to the pitch of the ball. From the other end, Smith rotated his fast bowlers, who gave Tendulkar nothing to drive.

Tendulkar was up to the task, scoring through deft touches and glances against aggressive bowling. He hit ten boundaries in his 68 runs behind square alone. The innings did feature a drop when on 45. Wayne Parnell, bowling from round the stumps, got it to straighten and hit the edge, but Jaques Kallis missed a tough one low to his right.

That was the only blotch on an innings that progressed at a fair pace. It didn’t quite become a threatening knock because no one at the other end looked nearly as convincing once Vijay got out. S Badrinath kept middling the ball, kept finding fielders, and got off the mark off the 17th ball he faced. Against Parnell, he could survive just three balls. The first one beat a defensive shot, and was angling down when it hit his pad. The second one straightened, took the edge, fell short, and went for four. The third carried.

Along with Dhoni, Tendulkar negotiated 25.5 overs but neither man made an attempt to hit Harris off his line. Vijay’s wicket could have had that effect. Eventually one bounced slightly more than expected, hit Tendulkar on the pad, then onto the elbow, and onto the stumps.

Dhoni, too, 25 off 112, eventually got the one accurate delivery from Harris that made him play, took the inside edge onto the pad, and his first defeat as captain would come soon. The unfortunate Saha, who unwittingly drew the ire of many by debuting as a specialist batsman, put in a fight with a 101-ball 36. Stands of 50 and 59 with Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan took them close to saving the innings defeat, but Kallis and Steyn took the last three wickets in one quick go. The messed-up stumps of Mishra at the hands of Steyn, bringing up the 10-for, was a fitting end.

India has the bench strength to cope with the absence of Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and S Sreesanth in the forthcoming Test series against South Africa, according to Harbhajan Singh.

'India can win without Dravid and Yuvraj'

The off-spinner said that the replacements – S Badrinath, Wriddhiman Saha and Abhimanyu Mithun – have earned their places with strong performances in the domestic circuit and he hopes that they continue to do well in the international arena.

“It would have been good to have them (Dravid and Yuvraj), but whatever players we have got, they are good and have done well in the Ranji session. Hopefully they will continue their good form against South Africa as well,” Harbhajan said.

Dravid is out of the series with a fractured cheek bone while Yuvraj and Sreesanth are out due to a tear in his wrist and a hamstring injury respectively. All these injuries were sustained during India’s tour of Bangladesh.

With the No 1 Test team taking on the No 2 ranked side, Harbhajan predicted a tough two match Test series ahead.

“Only time will tell who will come out on top. We have full respect for our opposition but if we play to our potential, we can beat anyone,” Harbhajan said, adding, “When the top two teams play each other, the level with be intense. You have to admit that South Africa is a very good Test side. But if we play to our potential and our ability, we can beat any side in the world.”

Nagpur, Feb 3 (ANI): Vincent Barnes, the bowling coach of South African cricket team contended that although the Indian tour is hectic, the players are a focussed lot.

Indian cricket tour, a hot job, opines South African bowling coach

Addressing a news conference after the draw of the stumps on the first day of the two-day practice match against India’s Board President’s XI here on Tuesday, Barnes said: “We are quite focussed.

We have come here and it is a big job ahead for us…playing against the number one team in the world. We knew that coming Test would be a big job, all the management and we have spoken in-length about it. We come here to do a job and that is what we have to do. It is no exception to any other tour and it is going to be a hot job.”

He also hinted to include two spinners in the first Test against India commencing on February 6 at Nagpur.

“It is good to get two spinners in our team that to me is the most important…because the Test is coming up and we know that we have to step it up and we would definitely step it up once the Test started,” he added.

The first Test starts in Nagpur on Saturday (February 6) after South Africa opened their tour with a two-day match against a Board President’s XI.

India displaced South Africa as world number one in December after securing a 2-0 series victory over Sri Lanka.

South Africa had come close to winning a series in India two years ago when they took a 1-0 lead before the home side squared the three-match series on an unpredictable pitch of Green Park in Kanpur. (ANI)

As a rule, the emergence of a rookie bowler with raw pace generates unparalleled excitement in cricket circles in India, a country where new-ball bowlers have traditionally worn the medium-pacer tag. So, with Abhimanyu Mithun in the squad for the first Test against South Africa after a dream first-class debut season, hopes are being harboured that the 20-year-old speedster will continue to intimidate batsmen at the international level.

India's new mantra: Need for speed

But in this atmosphere of anticipation, a significant statement made by the chairman selectors, K Srikkanth, seemed to have been lost. Speaking about the green-behind-the-ears paceman Mithun, the former India opener said: “We really needed a genuine fast bowler for Tests, so we included him.”

It was the chairman’s way of saying that this wasn’t just a one-off selection but a new trend that is set to continue in the coming days. As some other members of the committee confirmed, the criteria for Test selection is no longer only wickets and experience, but a tick in the speed box had become mandatory as well.

A look at the Board President XI squad, announced on the same day as the Test team, proves India’s consistency in this thinking. The usual medium pacers who generally face touring teams in warm-up games were conspicuous by their absence. Bowlers such as Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Dhawal Kulkarni were excluded, and sources said it wasn’t a mere coincidence that they all bowled below 130 kph.

The 22-year-old Vidarbha bowler has played just 11 first-class games, but his quick spell in the Duleep Trophy last year – when he beat Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman for pace – was a factor the selectors kept in mind. “These days in international cricket, it is very tough to get wickets if you don’t have pace. The margin of error is very small for a medium pacer, especially on Indian pitches. So while travelling around the country, we keep an eye on the quick bowlers,” a national selector, who did not wish to be named, told The Indian Express when asked about Mithun and Yadav.

Central Zone coach Gyanendra Pandey endorsed the view that Yadav fit the bill perfectly. “He is very quick and can unsettle a new batsman with his pace. I watched his games where he has consistently bowled 140 kph all day,” he said.

There is a startling similarity between the two young pacemen in the news. Like Mithun, Yadav was a school-level athlete who played tennis-ball cricket far away from a cricket centre with modern facilities. If Mithun was spotted playing in an industrial area on the outskirts of Bangalore, Yadav’s beginning can be traced to street matches in Khaparkheda, a village near Nagpur.

Four years ago, when he went to Nagpur to play a tennis-ball tournament, local coach G Gokhale got impressed by his pace. Yadav was to soon hit the big league as former Vidarbha player Pritam Gandhe took him under his wings.

Within days, he was playing first-class cricket, but an injury hampered his rise. Back to peak fitness, he is now waiting to bowl at the South Africans on his home ground. “I am really looking forward to the game,” he said. “It will be a dream come true.”