Two searing spells and six wickets from Dale Steyn ripped through India as South Africa finally found some life in the Kingsmead pitch to bowl the tourists out for 334 on the second day of the second test on Friday.
After a three-hour rain delay, Steyn took three wickets in 10 balls at the start of the day and another three in eight deliveries after tea to pull India back from a big total after it was 181-1 overnight.
Steyn began by finding the outside edge of Cheteshwar Pujara’s bat to remove him for 70 and end a 157-run overnight partnership with Murali Vijay. South Africa’s spearhead also had Vijay for 97 and Rohit Sharma for a first-ball duck early on.
Ajinkya Rahane resisted and was 51 not out for his first test half-century, but Steyn returned to dismiss another three Indians and Morne Morkel rounded off India’s innings to return 3-50.
India were in a dominant position overnight on what appeared to be a good batting pitch in Durban and then was 198-1 before Steyn’s first attack with the old ball sent Pujara, Vijay and Sharma packing in rapid succession as India slumped to 199-4.
India had two solid partnerships around the impressive Rahane, playing his third test, when he combined for 66 with Virat Kohli (46) to recover from Steyn’s initial onslaught. Rahane also shared an attacking 55-run stand with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (24) before Dhoni’s edge off Steyn to Graeme Smith at first slip began India’s second and final collapse.
The Indians lost their last five wickets for 14 runs.
Spinner JP Duminy’s solitary wicket, removing Ravindra Jadeja for a duck, also produced a milestone for retiring all-rounder Jacques Kallis as he went low to his left at slip to scoop his 200th test catch in his final match. Only former India batsman Rahul Dravid has taken more catches in tests.
Wicketkeeper AB de Villiers also claimed five catches in the innings, including a standout high jumping one-handed take off a thick edge from Zaheer Khan’s shot off Steyn, as top-ranked South Africa forced its way back into the series-deciding game of the two-test contest after No. 2-ranked India completely dominated the first day.
Pujara nicked to De Villiers in Steyn’s third over of the day to start the tide turning in the east coast city.
In his next over, Steyn made Vijay glove one to De Villiers down the legside to remove the opener three runs short of his fourth test century. Sharma was bowled first ball leaving a delivery that swung back and removed his middle stump.
After Steyn’s spiteful early spell, where he targeted the batsmen with short-pitched bowling, Kohli’s and Rahane’s half-century partnership gave the Indians a solid recovery. But Morkel struck before tea when Kohli gloved one to De Villiers in an almost exact replica of Vijay’s dismissal.
Rahane also came in for some punishment from Steyn after the quick bowler took the new ball later in the session, and was hit on the helmet trying to duck a bouncer and on the upper arm trying to get out of the way. But Rahane battled through the testing examination and was still standing at the end of India’s innings after hitting eight fours, including a superb straight drive down the ground off Steyn.
Kohli began to look settled again after his outstanding first-test performance in Johannesburg, where he made 119 and 96 and nearly became the first player to make a century in each innings at the Wanderers.
After Sharma’s first-ball duck, he clipped Steyn’s hat-trick ball for four through midwicket for the first of his five boundaries, but his dismissal just before tea brought the South Africans right back.
Rahane and Dhoni scored quickly only for Steyn to induce an outside edge from the India skipper and halt the counterattack. In Steyn’s next over, De Villiers leaped high for his catch off Khan and Steyn also had Sharma caught behind by the ‘keeper three balls later. Mohammed Shami was last man out for 1 as India went from 320-5 to 334 all out.
Brief Scores
India: 334 all out in 111.3 overs (Murali Vijay 97, Cheteshwar Pujara 70, Ajinkya Rahane not out 51; Dale Steyn 6/100, Morne Morkel 3/50) vs South Africa.