Day 3: Five-star Mohammed Shami puts India in driver's seat against Proteas
Centurion, Dec 28: Mohammed Shami's sheer artistry with new and old ball fetched him another five-wicket haul as India seized control of the first Test against South Africa on the third day by extending their overall lead to 146 runs that could prove to be decisive.
Shami (16-5-44-5) and his pace bowling colleagues Jasprit Bumrah (7.2-2-16-2), Mohammed Siraj (15.3-1-45-1) and Shardul Thakur (11-1-51-2) further enhanced their reputation as world beaters by dismissing the Proteas for mere 197.
The quartet neutralised Lungi Ngidi's lion-hearted morning spell which saw him finish on 6 for 71 from 24 overs as India lost seven wickets from 55 runs to be all-out on 327.
The wily old Shami, manfully shouldered the duties of a pace spearhead for the better part of the 62.3 overs because of Japrit Bumrah's twisted ankle. He also completed a satisfying personal milestone of 200 Test wickets.
With a first innings lead of 130, India at stumps reached 16 for 1 losing Mayank Agarwal's wicket.
The Supersport Park strip after all the rain on the second day was at its spiciest best with all the underlying moisture aiding seam and swing bowling as 18 wickets fell on the day.
While Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada did well in the morning, Shami did way better in the afternoon in company of Bumrah, Siraj and Shardul.
If the Proteas pacers relied on steep bounce off good length to trouble the Indian middle and lower-order which caved in meekly, Shami used the angles of the crease very effectively and the movement off the pitch did the rest.
The example was how he got Keegan Peterson and Aiden Markram with deliveries which were slightly different in execution.
In case of Peterson, Shami went slightly wide off the crease and unleashed an in-cutter that pitched on length and shaped in to take inside edge off his bat into the stumps.
In case of Markram, he came closer to the stumps and bowled one that looked shaping in but once it pitched, it just shaped away to hit the top of off stump. The difference was angles used and slight change in wrist positioning.
What worked for India wonderfully well was the fact that the freshness and juice in the track was there till the middle part of the second session.
Once the top half was blown off, India didn't have problems even as the pitch eased out. Temba Bavuma (52) and Quinton de Kock (34) added 72 runs for the fifth wicket.
If Shami didn't get wickets, then Siraj did and when Siraj went through a dry spell, Shardul chipped in and by the time Bumrah got fit, he helped the team in wrapping up the opposition tail.
In between Ravichandran Ashwin despite not getting a wicket, kept things tight and over-rate in check.
If Shami bowled some of the best deliveries in the South African innings, Bumrah too bowled a beauty with tiniest of movement that forced rival skipper Dean Elgar forced edge one to Rishabh Pant, who touched the milestone of 100 victims behind the wicket.
The morning belonged to Ngidi and Rabada as the Supersport Park track stayed true to its reputation of quickening up as time progressed.
The bounce was more and the length that Rabada and Nigidi bowled consistently was a touch fuller compared to first day.
It was Rabada, who drew the first blood on the day with a well directed short ball aimed at Rahul's rib-cage.
The batter simply couldn't manage the pull-shot and the tickle landed in de Kock's gloves.
In case of Rahane, Ngidi hadn't provided enough length for the drive and the ball reared up from length to take his edge and into keeper's gloves.
Ashwin's batting in SENA countries has gone downhill and the leading edge that lobbed up to Keshav Maharaj was a result of not being able to negotiate extra bounce generated by Ngidi.
Pant (8)'s dismissal was a carbon copy of Cheteshwar Pujara's where an angular delivery climbed up and it was an easy bat-pad catch for forward short leg.
Bumrah (14) did hit a few boundaries to take the score past 325 which was at least 75 runs short of what India had envisaged at the start.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
