Proteas thump India by 135 runs in Durban ODI

Durban: A clinical performance from South Africa saw the home team decimate Team India by a whooping margin of 135 runs under lights to take 1-0 lead in the five-match series here at the Kingsmead stadium.

Except for Virat Kohli, who played a promising knock of 54, and Suresh Raina (32), who fought till end with some exciting strokes, all the Indian batsmen fell like a pack of cards against lethal swing and bounce from South African speed-merchants and folded up for 154 runs in 35.4 overs to embrace one of the worst ODI defeats in recent times.

Apart from one freaky run-out, the pace quartet of Steyn, Tsotsobe, Morkel and Parnell accounted for all the damage with Lonwabo Tsotsobe leading the match honours and winning well deserved ‘Man of the Match award’ with superb bowling figures of 4 wickets for 31 runs.

Set up a stiff target of 289 runs to chase, India made a horrific start to their innings as South African bowlers rattled Indian top-order early to sense an early upset in the Indian camp.

India lost both openers- Murali Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar- in quick succession as the duo was not able to negate South African pace attack and fell down cheaply against quality swing and bounce from South African speedsters.

Vijay was first to depart during Indian chase as the batsman was trapped plumb in front of wickets in the first over off a fiery Dale Steyn delivery which kept low and looked like crashing into middle stump.

Tsotsobe then hurled short-pitch stuffs to Tendulkar, bowling an awkward angle and was finally rewarded for his hard-work as Tendulkar top-edged a climbing delivery towards fine-leg where Steyn took a well-judged catch to end Tendulkar’s innings.

With two wickets down for just 13 runs, youngsters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli tried to rebuild Indian innings but with umpire Simon Taufel making a judgment error and ruling Rohit out off an away moving delivery from Morne Morkel, India slid more deep with 41/3 on board. Delighted with wicket ‘gift’, Morne then removed Yuvraj Singh in the same over as the left-hander edged the ball to second slip after facing just four balls.

After Yuvraj’s dismissal, Kohli and skipper MS Dhoni added valuable 52 runs for the fifth wicket and tried hard to steer India from difficulty but just when the duo started to play big shots, hard luck robbed India as a straight drive from Kohli hit bowlers’ palm and disturbed non-striker stumps where Dhoni was caught short of his crease.

Dhoni’s departure brought Suresh Raina on the crease and with only last recognized batting pair in the middle and mountain like target to chase, curtains were drawn on Indian victory much before than anticipated.

Kohli and Raina added 33 runs for the sixth wicket but with players taking the batting powerplay in 29th over, Kohli perished in a desperate attempt to shoot up the scoring rate.

With no resistance from lower-order, India was all-out for 154 runs in just under 160 minutes of play.

Earlier, riding on the half-centuries from AB De Villiers, JP Duminy and Hashim Amla, South Africa made 289/9 and set India a stiff target of 290 runs to chase under bowling-friendly conditions.

At a time when India looked like gaining upper-hand by taking top three South African wickets for 82 runs in the 14th over, Duminy and De Villiers came together in dodgy circumstances and showed a lot of enterprise as they put on a critical 131-run stand for the fourth wicket which set the foundation of a competitive first inning score by home team.

Indian speedster Ashish Nehra though accounted for the first South African dismissal but could not repeat his heroics of 2003 at this ground and proved to be the most expensive bowler, leaking 61 runs in six overs.

Winning the toss and choosing to bat, South Africa made a quick start with openers Graeme Smith and Amla stroking boundaries and looting 14 runs in second over of the match but Nehra came back strong as he dismissed Smith to put an instant break on initial aggression shown by Proteas.

Smith (11) scored two boundaries but looked bit uncomfortable during his stay and was finally done in by short of length ball, as he came down the track and attempted an ugly shot to give an easy catch to Rohit Sharma at slip who didn’t made any mistake in pouching the top-edge.

Unperturbed by Graeme Smith’s dismissal early, Amla played in slambang style and looked like making amends for his failure in only T20, as he stroked eight powerful boundaries in just 36 balls to provide early impetus to South African innings.

Amla (50) looked in superb touch and played strokes in all parts of the ground but in a bid to dictate terms, he lost his cool and fell immediately after scoring his 11th ODI fifty.

Munaf Patel, who came in as first change after Nehra went for plenty of runs, made immediate impact as he first ended Colin Ingram’s miserable stay on the crease and then trapped big fish Amla to put India in commanding position early in the match.

Ingram, who came in to bat after Smith’s dismissal, wasted 23 balls for his individual score of 5 runs and got out after he tried to break the shackles and paid the price for a mistimed hit.

Munaf then dismissed dangerous Amla as he forced the batsman to play a swat-loft over mid-on where Harbhajan ran back and took a difficult catch over his shoulder to bring Amla’s sparkling knock to an end.

With three top-order wickets down, India looked like gaining an upper-hand but a counter-attacking knock from both De Villiers (76) and then Duminy (73) foiled Indian plans to create pressure.

Seeing both batsmen in good form, South Africa took their batting powerplay early in 27th over and made full use of the field restrictions as the duo added 45 runs in five overs without loss of a wicket as the fourth-wicket partnership allowed South Africa`s thin lower middle order to play it safe and just carry on the momentum to run up a strong score.

With all main bowlers going for plenty of runs, Dhoni turned-up to his part-time options and the bold move paid off as Rohit Sharma foxed De Villiers with a slower delivery, as the batsman set himself up for the pull but played straight to Harbhajan at deep midwicket.

Gaining confidence with Rohit’s success, Dhoni asked Suresh Raina to roll over his arm and Raina too didn’t disappointed his captain as he clean bowled David Miller to restrict South African progress.

Rohit then picked up crucial wicket of Duminy as India did well to contain South Africa under 300 runs in late part of their innings.

Zaheer Khan delivered a near perfect 50th over, as he took two wickets for five runs, as South African innings finished for 289/9 in the allotted 50 overs.

Ind-SA: SA finish with 289/9 in 1st ODI

Durban: Part-timers Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina helped India claw their way back in the first ODI against South Africa as the hosts once threatened to go well past 300 but eventually finished with 289 at the Kingsmead Durban.

Earlier, South African captain Smith won the toss and elected to bat.

The Proteas left out Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir and Robin Peterson while Piyush Chawla, Ravichandran Ashwin and S Sreesanth are the ones to miss out for the Indians.

India will to want to rectify their poor record against the Proteas when it comes to playing in South Africa, having won 3 and lost 16.

India were thumped 4-0 in the one day series on their last tour of South Africa in 2006-07.

Teams:

India: S Tendulkar, M Vijay, V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, R Sharma, S Raina, MS Dhoni (capt), M Patel, Harbhajan Singh, A Nehra, Z Khan

South Africa: G Smith (capt), H Amla, C Ingram, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, D Miller, J Botha, W Parnell, L Tsotsobe, M Morkel, D Steyn

Zaheer-Ponting spat adds spice to Test

Mohali: Tempers flared at Mohali on Friday when India locked horns with Australia in the first Test of the two-match series. Zaheer Khan allegedly poked Ricky Ponting with an off-the-cuff remark as the Australia skipper was going off the park after being run out for 71.

Ponting was walking past the Indian huddle when suddenly Zaheer chose to give him a send-off, after which Ponting turned around leading to a verbal duel between the two that needed umpire Billy Bowden's intervention.

The exact nature of the exchange is still not known but one thing is pretty clear that this series won't be short of high-octane on-field exchanges with none of the teams willing to hold back.

Australia, however, had an upper hand on the first day of Mohali Test as the visitors looked well placed at 179/3 at tea despite losing two wickets for 78 runs in the afternoon session.

Zaheer summoned after Ponting clash

Mohali: Sparks flew on the opening day of the first India-Australia cricket Test with Ricky Ponting and Zaheer Khan having a on-field showdown which prompted the match referee to summon the Indian pacer after the end of day's play.

The incident occurred in the 42nd over which was being bowled by Harbhajan Singh.

All-rounder Shane Watson pushed the fourth ball of that over towards mid-wicket and called Ponting who was batting on 71 for a quick single.

Before the Australian skipper could make his ground, Suresh Raina's direct throw hit the stumps.

After third umpire Sanjay Hazare adjudged him run-out, Ponting was walking back towards the pavilion when he turned back after hearing some comments from Zaheer.

With the Indian players standing in a pack, Ponting walked back towards them pointing the bat at them when he was intervened by Billy Bowden. Good sense prevailed after that and he walked back to the pavilion.

Match referee Chris Broad summoned Zaheer at the end of the day's play and had a word with him but according to team official Mayank Parikh, it was just a "friendly interaction" and there was no official caution or fine as such.

Australian opener Shane Watson, who came at the media conference after the day's play, was forthright in stating that it was Zaheer whose remarks escalated the tension.

"I didn't know what happened in the middle. Only later I saw the footage. It was Zaheer who came out of the huddle and his remarks escalated the incident. Ricky is not someone who will go out there to pick up a fight. He reacted only after something was said. We know what's the line we shouldn't cross," Watson.

India spinner Pragyan Ojha, however, sought to play down the issue.

"It often happens when you are competitive. There are times when words are exchanged," Ojha told the reporters.

Interestingly, on Thursday at the pre-match media conference, Ponting had said that he doesn't want any negativity or bad blood during the series as world cricket is still suffering in the wake of spot-fixing controversy involving the Pakistan trio of Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamir and Salman Butt.

Watson stands in way of fighting India

India turned a bad morning into a bright afternoon despite the committed effort of Shane Watson, who collected his third century in a week. Watson, who posted twin hundreds in the tour game, survived two chances in delivering the sort of performance expected of a specialist opener, not one Australia have manufactured over the past year.

Despite Watson's calm 101 on the opening day, the visitors are far from safe at 224 for 5 after a stinging late burst from Zaheer Khan, India's only fit paceman following a knee injury to Ishant Sharma. Zaheer, who was steaming in the second session during a confrontation with Ricky Ponting, gained his second lbw when he picked up Michael Hussey (17) with a reverse-swinging delivery and followed up by clipping Marcus North's off stump when he tried to leave on 0.

Zaheer finished with 3 for 45 off 16 overs to continue the fine recovery by a side that was struggling badly over the first half of the day. The locals would have been happier had MS Dhoni, who returned from the Champions League Twenty20 two days ago, caught a regulation chance off Tim Paine (1 not out).

On a pitch with low bounce and gaining in turn, Watson began in an aggressive mood but toned down once Ponting and Michael Clarke departed before tea, leaving the tourists at an uncomfortable 172 for 3. Until Ponting's departure for 71, Australia had been the ones in control but his run-out forced a change of pace, and Watson started grinding towards three-figures.

There was no rush from Watson as the Indian spinners delivered tight spells in the afternoon and were called on for more work following Ishant's departure after 7.4 overs. Only 45 runs were scored in the final session as the ball softened and the spinners closed in against the defensive Watson, Clarke and Hussey.

Watson has spent some gut-wrenching periods in the nineties during his 21 Tests, but he stayed calm and crept up on a rewarding second century. The milestone came with a legside clip for two off Harbhajan Singh and he stayed until the end, capturing eight fours from his 279 balls. It was a performance that bettered the 78 he made at the same ground two years ago, an innings that showed he could succeed when grit was required.

Watson and Ponting had survived some scares and overcame the early loss of Simon Katich (6) in their stabilising 141-run stand. The two-Test series began with Virender Sehwag's second-ball drop of Watson, who was also missed by Dhoni on 37, while Ponting benefitted from Ishant's over-stepping when glancing behind.

Ponting returned the charity after responding tardily to Watson's call for a single and was run out by Suresh Raina's smart direct hit from midwicket. The third umpire was required to decide Ponting's fate after his mostly composed innings, but as he walked past the fielders he was called out by Zaheer in the first flashpoint of the series. The taunts resulted in the captain changing direction and walking towards the huddle for a short exchange.

It was the fourth time Ponting, 35, had been caught short in Tests since going to England last year and the type of dismissal was particularly frustrating given the strong position of his team. Until that point it was India who had been unnecessarily generous with dropped catches, missed run-out chances and a flood of eight no-balls from Ishant.

India went in with four specialist bowlers, but only two were fast men, so Ishant's injured knee was another concerning development, especially as Harbhajan had to pass a fitness test in the morning. The lack of firepower could harm the hosts for the remainder of the game, but not if Zaheer continues weaving the ball late.

India's initial difficulty was eased by Raina's brilliant throw and the scoring-rate quickly dropped as Watson and Clarke added 18 at 1.5 an over against the spinners. Clarke then tried to cut a wider ball from Harbhajan and edged to Rahul Dravid at first slip.

Harbhajan was much more dangerous after lunch, slowing the runs and creating some half-chances in his 1 for 69 off 29 overs, and the pitch will help the slow men more as the game wears on. Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm orthodox spinner, also played an important role, rarely allowing an attacking option, as he gave away 39 runs in 31 overs. After a strong start the signs are already worrying for Australia, even though their opponents are possibly a man short