South Africa V India - First Test: Day 1

When a few of the players arrived early in South Africa at the behest of Gary Kirsten, a lot of the people thought of it to be extravagance at the expense of an ODI series against New Zealand. With a look at the scorecard, even that acclimatisation seems pretty short

The pitch for this match was prepared fairly early and India knew all along that it was going to be a grassy pitch, aiding pace and movement. With rain pouring down heavily from last night, it was clear that the team that wins the toss would bowl first not because there were demons in the pitch but to exploit the prevailing conditions. Dhoni failed to call correctly and Smith had no hesitation in putting India in

Once in, Sehwag left the first two balls he faced as if he was in a monk like trance. Instincts got the better of him on the third ball that he got to face from Steyn. He slashed hard at a wide ball and got a top edge that flew directly to Amla at third-man. Smith's reaction to the dismissal showed that it was a well-planned dismissal

What followed next would have gladdened the hearts of the cricket followers more so if you are a South African supporter. Gambhir was given a through working over by Morkel with short pitched  deliveries aimed at various body parts. What was delightful to watch was the ball dominating the bat. Here was a batsman who not so long ago was flaying New Zealand bowlers to all corners of the ground and now he was struggling to find a way to put bat on the ball

It was not as if Morkel found the radar right away. He slipped a few wide outside off and leg. Once he found the perfect spot, he homed on to it and troubled Gambhir. Things reached such a stage that when Gambhir once took a single of the final ball of an over, some pity was felt for him for an instant as the thought that he would have to face Morkel for another six balls terrified the senses. Amidst all this chaos, Dravid was playing with an assured hand as he on-drove and twice played with soft hands to run down short deliveries from Steyn to third-man boundary

Gambhir was prised out by Morkel in his second spell. It was particularly disappointing as Gambhir seemed to have seen out a tough phase and looked set for a long haul. His undoing was a fuller ball. The problem lied in the fact that Gambhir was set for a short delivery and when he saw the fuller one, he fell over instead of getting his front foot to the delivery. With that kind of shots, the ball is sure to find the edge and find the edge, it did as it settled comfortably in the hands of first slip

Tendulkar walked out to a standing ovation from the crowd as is the trend these days and immediately started to repay the crowd for their love. He pulled/swatted Tsotsobe which was reminiscent of the manner he treated Caddick in 2003 World Cup. Dravid meanwhile received a  rough decision from the umpire as it seemed from the replays that the ball would have been flying over the stumps but to the umpire's benefit, he looked plumb in real time

Tendulkar unleashed a cover drive that evoked memories of 1996 tour and Laxman in the over before tea played a sweetly timed drive to mid-off and it seemed as if rear guard action was underway. He looked to be shaken by the leading edge and inside edge that he got off consecutive deliveries. He did hit a couple of boundaries after that but the wickets of Laxman and Raina seemed to have had an effect on him

Tendulkar was looking really good and in what is his best year for a long time, he played a little gem. In fact this is the best one has seen him bat in white flannels after the innings he played against the England Lions on the 2007 tour

Laxman was himself to be blamed for his dismissal as he looked to play across the line and ended up playing all over the delivery as the middle stump took a walk. Raina, these days seems to be a walking wicket as he came in, played a couple of deliveries and edged a good length ball to gully

Tendulkar was also out in a similar manner to that of Laxman as he was looking to play across the line and with the feet stuck in the crease, there was no way the umpire would not have raised the index finger after it hit the pads

Dhoni and Harbhajan then set about repairing the damage as Harbhajan with his inimitable timing hit a couple of boundaries and was unlucky that his bat got stuck and a good scooping throw ( ala a farmer) by Boucher hastened his end. Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth did not stay at the crease long enough to trouble anybody

If not for Tsotsobe, the Indian innings would have been an unmitigated disaster. It would be very interesting to follow the match tomorrow as the pitch is expected to aid pace and bounce