Ind SA T1 Day 1 Stumps: Morne, Steyn Skittle India Cheap, Only Dhoni Survives Wreck

With the weather being what it was, there was little doubt that the toss would play a crucial role. But the most crucial role would be that played by the new ball bowlers and for South Africa, they did not disappoint at all.

morne morkel against india

dale steyn dismisses sachin tendulkar

Overnight rain and wet outfield made it a day of surprises, first with the situation suggesting that there would be no play and then, suddenly that there would be two where three sessions were not possible on the first day of the first Test at the Super Sport Park in Centurion in the India South Africa series.

Before the start of the series, there was a great deal of talk about the conditions in South Africa favouring pace and bounce friendly pitches, about the no.1 Test team being tested and under pressure. Thus far, at the end of the first day, it was not looking very good for India, reduced to 139 for nine at stumps when bad light stopped play.

A session that started well after lunch saw three Indian wickets fall including Virender Sehwag to a misjudged shot that went straight to third man off the bowling of Dale Steyn. Gautam Gambhir was caught in the slips rather tamely off Morne Morkel. And Rahul Dravid was caught plum lbw by Morne after a brief defiance.

Three down at tea was perilous but there was no two ways about who held the upper hand at the end of the day. Steyn was firing on all cylinders after tea with Morne steaming in to good advantage. V.V.S. Laxman was beaten in good measure by Dale Steyn to have his stumps in disarray. Suresh Raina did not even last three balls, Jacques Kallis being the beneficiary on this occasion.

But India's resistance was really broken when Sachin Tendulkar who was batting fluently for thirty-six runs was beaten by Steyn for a lbw decision that left India derailed at six for seventy-one.

Harbhajan Singh attempted another rescue stunt (a la his two centuries against New Zealand) but his belligerence for twenty-seven was curtailed by a combined Alviro Petersen-Mark Boucher fielding that left Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain, ultimately battling it alone with Test debutant Jaidev Unadkat when play was called off for bad light.

Morne and Steyn lived up to their billing with four and three wickets apiece. But it is India that would have felt they would have let themselves down, despite the conditions and bowlers. Altogether a tough initiation into the tour.