Ind SA T3 Days 1 & 2 Stumps: Kallis' Century Keeps South Africa Afloat, India Consolidate

South Africa will thank their fortunes that Jacques Kallis' injury came at the end of the innings and not in the beginning because the all rounder's thirty-ninth Test century has given South Africa substance even as India consolidate at stumps on the second day of the third Test of the India South Africa series.

jacques kallis century

Newlands, Cape Town, the venue for the deciding Test has seen a see saw of battles already and it is only the second day. The hosts would not have looked too comfortable, forced to bat first under cloudy, rainy conditions and then, to watch the partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir bloom.

However, with the series at 1-1, the ambition to beat the no.1 Test team should have been hunger enough for the hosts to rally back. However, given that they were playing against the top ranked team, they would not have expected to be easy against India by any stretch of the imagination and it was not, particularly on the second day morning when within the first hour, South Africa's resistance had all but worn down, barring Kallis who continued his job overnight, building on a century while getting South Africa into a strong position by first innings standards.

It would have hurt South Africa immensely to lose Hashim Amla who looked like the only batsman who could have impacted their innings, batting as he was on fifty-nine. However, Sreesanth used the confidence overnight, earning a five-for for his efforts even as South Africa began to boost their confidence with their first innings that swelled to 362 by the time Kallis fell as the last batsman for 161. Amongst the few notable entries, was the innings of Ashwell Prince under some pressure for forty-seven.

South Africa were then extremely pleased that they were able to break Virender Sehwag early with a soft dismissal off Dale Steyn. The wicket of Rahul Dravid went quickly from dismay to rejoicing as a dropped catch could not benefit India as Dravid was run out by a sharp opportunity sighted by AB de Villiers.

India looked precarious at two down for twenty-eight, 362 suddenly looking larger than it was. However, India fought back through their resourceful batting line up to be 142 for two at stumps as South Africa struggled to pull off the next breakthrough, Kallis himself out as option with the injury. Gautam Gambhir (sixty-five runs) and Sachin Tendulkar (forty-nine runs) built the Indian innings virtually from scratch and their reward was in watching South Africa toil hard to make the day count.