|
Rain came into play rather dominantly at the Sydney
Cricket Ground and it seemed that the forces of
nature hugely favoured the home side, which won the
third Test against South Africa by eight wickets.
But despite the rain and the agony, it was a match
not without drama or excitement like any old
classic. It ended with a resplendent victory for a
valiant side.
The Test started on a damp note, quite literally,
with rain wiping out all play before lunch. But
when play did resume, Graeme Smith surprised all by
deciding to bat first in favourable bowling
conditions. Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath were
accurate and deadly and at eighty-six for three,
Jacques Kallis, plagued by the contagious disease
of 2005; tennis elbow, consolidated with Ashwell
Prince to see off a tough day for the visitors, who
were looking desperately to win the Test and square
the series.
Shane Warne had a frustrating time on a wicket that
is considered a spinner's paradise. In fact, South
Africa had included off-spinner Johan Botha in the
XI for this very reason. However, the spin in the
track didn't quite show up. Warne as usually used
his tongue rather than his spinning fingers to rile
the visitors by talking of potential bunnies in
Justin Kemp and Ashwell Prince. Prince did
eventually fall to Warne, but not before hitting
the leggie and his colleagues in a 122-run stand
with Kallis, and guiding South Africa past the 300
mark. The resourcefulness of Shaun Pollock and
Jacques Rudolph furthered South Africa to a
formidable 451.
When Australia were finally allowed to have their
say with the bat, it came towards the end of the
second day's play, when after much toiling about
for 451, Smith finally got the attention of the
batsmen to declare with nine wickets down. Justin
Langer was dropped in the slips off Shaun Pollock,
yet another straightforward catch going down, and
Kallis the guilty party this time.
But Matthew Hayden played on and Langer followed in
much the similar fashion. While the former was put
off by an earlier ball off Charl Langeveldt that
barely missed the stumps, the latter was perhaps
done in by a touch of overconfidence after having
pulled a couple of balls to the boundary. Andre Nel
sent the visitors into a tizzy with Brad Hodge
caught at short-leg by a vigilant Jacques Rudolph
in what was a well-laid plan.
It took an enormous effort from the captain and
vice-captain to bring Australia into contention.
Ricky Ponting celebrated his hundredth Test in a
style his fans have got accustomed to. He scored
his 27th Test hundred on the way to leading
Australia towards stability.
Adam Gilchrist came good in time to save Australia.
With the aid of numbers nine, ten, eleven, he led
Australia from a precipitous position at seven for
226 to 359. Gilchrist missed out on a century by
seven runs, but not for want of effort. The
dominant manner in which he pulled, hooked and
hammered the bowlers showed the visitors in a
rather hapless light. While Stuart MacGill threw
the bat at everything, Lee and McGrath provided
steady company in reducing the deficit.
South Africa still had a handy lead of ninety-two,
but the fact that they let the Australian
lower-order get away a bit proved rather
demoralizing at the end of the day. That, and also
the fact that in negotiating two awkward overs at
the end of the day, South Africa lost AB de
Villiers to a straightforward lbw decision. But
South Africa found an anchor in Kallis and a
flamboyant player in Herschelle Gibbs in particular
who pushed South Africa's advantage in gloomy
conditions on the morning of day four. Gibbs looked
in unstoppable form, until a hapless run out
accounted for him on sixty-seven. The rain
thereafter took over, completing washing out the
rest of the day's play.
Kallis closed in on a half-century when Smith made
the brave decision to declare the innings of 194
for two, thereby setting Australia a seemingly
formidable target of 287 with two sessions and an
hour before lunch left. While South Africa were
determined to win, and not afraid to push for it,
Ponting had other ideas.
In establishing a sturdy 182-run partnership with
Matthew Hayden, who missed out on his century by
ten runs, the Australian skipper made history by
not only securing Australia an unexpected facile
victory, but by scoring a majestic 143 and becoming
the first player in Test history to score twin
centuries in his hundredth Test.
Australia in the end made it look quite
comfortable, but South Africa did fight hard until
the last day. They should try and look at the
series in a positive light, given that many of the
players were playing on Australian soil for the
very first time, but appeared unafraid and
aggressive, much like their skipper Graeme Smith. |