SA good as it gets

Early wickets derail Indias chase as hosts record thumping win.

It took JP Duminy and AB de Villiers nearly one and a half hours and a stand of 149 runs to construct the spine of South Africas batting innings. On the other side of the break,however,Lonwabo Tsotsobe effectively snatched away the man of the match prize from either of them thanks to 10 seconds of madness. For a batting order that still hinges on Sachin Tendulkar,the left-arm seamer undid the screws as early as the fourth over of the match.

Having already lost his opening partner Murali Vijay in the first over to Dale Steyn,Tendulkar looked to unleash the animal caged inside his woodwork,as Tsotsobe provided just the right amount of pace and bounce on a swingless wicket. But thats when a few seconds of recklessness snowballed into a night of mayhem.

Walking across the line to hoick Tsotsobes third ball over the infield on the leg-side,Tendulkar misjudged the climb by closing the face of the bat a fraction too early. The top-edge flew towards the vacant short fine-leg area,which was soon occupied by an ecstatic Steyn. A thousand Rainbow flags exploded in the stands,as the hypnotic waves of red,green,black and yellow dazzled under the bright Kingsmead floodlights.

Story continues below this ad

Although Tsotsobe had to wait for another 30 overs to scalp his second wicket Suresh Raina he had done enough to inscribe his name on the silver clarinet just 3.3 overs into the second innings.

I dont want to anger the big man, he said with a laugh later when asked if he now fancies his chances against Tendulkar. In the three innings across formats that Tendulkar has played in Kingsmead on this tour,Tsotsobe has dismissed him twice. Its just a great honour for me to keep on getting the same guy that I wish to get. Luck has been on my side, he added.

After Raina was caught by Colin Ingram at point for 32,Tsotsobe completed his third four-wicket haul in ODIs by cleaning up the tail. More importantly,his 4/31 added the perfect finishing touch to an SA victory canvas. After Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan fell in quick succession to end Indias reply 135 runs short,the side had lost their seventh consecutive match against South Africa in their backyard,and fifth in Durban.

The last time India played a match at Kingsmead was back in 2006,and they lost by a humiliating margin of 157-runs. Many aspects of the side have changed since the 4-0 whitewash in the last tour,but it seems their dependence on Tendulkar hasnt.

Story continues below this ad

Following Tendulkars dismissal that had India at 13/2,Morne Morkel was introduced into the attack,and both Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh were walking targets. Dhoni had said before the ODIs that the key to a good score is to respect the bowlers from the first ball in South Africa,but clearly,Yuvraj wasnt listening. He looked a shadow of his former self when he was out poking at a Morkel bouncer well outside off-stump. The left-handed batsman gone for 2,India had spiraled to 43/4.

Amid the ruins,Virat Kohli stood tall. He played according to the situation during his top score of 54,leaving the ball with poise off both line and length. After seeing off the immediate threat with cautious strokeplay,Kohli blazed against Johan Bothas off-spin pounding him for a six and a four off consecutive balls in the 22nd over. He managed to stitch two partnerships with Dhoni and Raina,but in the end,it got too much even for Indias best run-getter of 2010.

While trying to up the ante against Steyn,Kohli was caught at mid-wicket to end an education in batting on South African pitches. At 128/6 though,the youngster left behind the perfect platform for Tsotsobe to perform the last rites for a funeral that started with his first scalp.