India 325 (Ganguly 87, Laxman 50) and 64 for 2 beat South Africa 265 (Smith 69, Amla 51) and 121 (Harbhajan 4-44) by 8 wickets
What a surprise win for India to even out the three Test series against South Africa with 1-1. Match was pretty much in balance at the end of day 2 at Green Stadium in Kanpur. I had never ever imagined that day three will swing in favor of India - so soon. Specially, after the miserable loss in Test 2 at Ahmedabad, it was totally unexpected of India to pull it off.
With India's slender lead of 23 at the end of Day two, either team could have won the game when the day started, but India were the side that won every session today, and convincingly. India convincingly pulled the match in the favor by lasting some more in the first innings taking a lead of 60 runs - this was second highest partnership for tenth wicket by Indians.
Off-spinner Harbhajan bagged 4-44 and part-time spinner Sehwag 3-12 as
South Africa were shot out for 121 in their second innings on a turning
track of unpredictable bounce after conceding a 60-run lead on the
third day.
The momentum seemed to be shifting, when Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned to
Sehwag, and the move turned out to be a masterstroke. Sehwag's first
ball kicked up spitefully, took the edge of Kallis' bat, and went
straight to Jaffer at short leg. Four overs later, there was more to
celebrate for India as Smith was bowled by a full delivery which
pitched outside leg and spun back sharply to strike the stumps.
With Chawla turning out to be such a disappointment, Dhoni relied on
Harbhajan, Sehwag and Ishant, and the three combined superbly.
No doubt the credit should go to Harbhajan and Sehwag. More than that I think, the main hero of the match has been the India captain MS Dhoni, who played his bowlers effectively.
India 288 for 9 (Ganguly 87, Laxman 50, Morkel 3-57, Steyn 3-60) lead South Africa 265 by 23 runs
For the first time in the current series, India has taken a lead, though a slender one. In the third and final Test against South Africa, for the first time in the series Indian bowlers were able to contain the visitors.
South Africa was bowled out for 265 on the very first day. Teen age bowler Ishant and veteran Harbhajan had excellent spells grabbing three wickets each. Bhajji (Harbhajan) was really very economical in containing the visitors to a score of 265.
In response, though the Indian openers made no difference, Ganguly played a big role in take India thru Day 2 of the Test.
Sourav Ganguly cracked a gutsy 87 on a difficult pitch to help India
gain a slender advantage on the second day of the third and final Test
against South Africa here on Saturday. Ganguly counter-attacked brilliantly on a track of uneven bounce,
smashing a six off left-arm spinner Paul Harris and nine fours during
his 119-ball knock to pull his team out of trouble.
India has decided to overhauled its team by making a few changes for Test 3, following its debacle in 2nd Test against South Africa in Ahmedabad.
India decided to strengthen their bowling attack for the third and
final Test against South Africa by including paceman Ishant Sharma and
recalling medium-pacer Munaf Patel to a 16-man squad. Munaf Patel has been called in place of R.P. Singh whose performance has suffered during the first two Tests. He has gone wicketless in the series so far.
