South Africa 362 and 341 (Kallis 109*, Boucher 55, Harbhajan 7-120) lead India 364 by 339 runs Jacques Kallis was immense, for the second time in this deciding Test, and his strength of will and mastery of technique dragged South Africa out of danger and then gave them the strongest advantage enjoyed by either team in this gripping contest. Kallis battled the challenges posed by India's bowlers on a wearing pitch, and the constraints and pain of strained side, to become the only South African to score two centuries in a home Test. His partnerships of 103 with Mark Boucher, who was also under pressure to perform, and 54 with Dale Steyn came after India were rampant, and they put South Africa in pole position to win the series. The stand of 46 with Morne Morkel simply poured acid into India's gaping wounds.
India's performance during the first session of this pivotal day was aggressive, but they couldn't have been more listless in the second and third. On a pitch with cracks that were widening, rough areas that were worsening and bounce that was becoming increasingly variable, India took three wickets and conceded only 69 runs before lunch. They even picked up a sixth wicket soon after the break, when South Africa's lead was only 128. And then they went to pot, largely due to Kallis' skill and Boucher's grit, but also because Harbhajan Singh ran out of ideas, Zaheer Khan's pace and fitness levels plummeted, and Ishant Sharma's lines and lengths were atrocious. South Africa added 91 for 1 in the second session, and 129 for 3 in the last. Harbhajan finished with 7 for 120 but only after South Africa's tailenders, Lonwabo Tsotsobe included, hit him around.
The threat posed by India's bowlers on a pitch with cracks that were widening, rough areas that were worsening and bounce that was becoming increasingly variable, was severe during the first session. Jacques Kallis, however, was simply immense, for the second time in this deciding Test. Batting with a strained side that restricted his movement and caused pain, Kallis led South Africa forward, run by determined run. He lost four partners, but eventually found support in Mark Boucher, who was in desperate form, and led South Africa from danger to a competitive total that's still growing.
South Africa had lost 2 for 2 last evening, 2 more for 12 early this morning and were struggling at 64 for 4. They toiled for 69 runs during the first session for the loss of three wickets as Harbhajan Singh threatened, while Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan contained with disciplined lines. Kallis, having begun his vigil in the second over, fought through it all. He lost Ashwell Prince too after lunch but Boucher, after taking advantage of the most wayward bowling of the day from Ishant Sharma, settled down to play an innings of immeasurable importance. As India's intensity, and Zaheer's in particular, faded remarkably, Kallis and Boucher added 82 runs to stretch South Africa's lead past 200 and will resume the job after tea.
Harbhajan's two strikes in three overs late on the third day had indicated that the fourth would be his stage. He entered in the second over and had immediate impact. He looped the ball into the rough, located on a good length just outside the right-handers off stump, and the bounce and turn was of a degree Harbhajan had not managed in recent memory. He struck Alviro Petersen, who played back, on the pad with a sharp offbreak and had broken through with his fifth ball. In his next over, Harbhajan spun one into Amla and the ball beat the attempted sweep and deflected off the arm on to the stumps.
Enter Kallis. Harbhajan was bowling with a short leg, leg gully, midwicket, square leg and a man in the deep. The off-side field was sparsely populated so Kallis, using incredible skill, began to reverse-sweep. He was playing against the turn, against the bounce but used the stroke effectively, collecting boundaries through point and third man. He then countered Harbhajan by staying back, moving across, playing extremely late and taking the bottom hand off the bat while fending the ball down on the leg side.
Harbhajan had support from Sreesanth and Zaheer initially. Sreesanth went through a phase when he tried to bounce Kallis and suffered but it was brief. He quickly reverted to the tight line outside off stump with seam movement away from the right-hander.
AB de Villiers struggled to score against this line from Sreesanth. Zaheer too kept him quiet, with balls that angled in from round the wicket before seaming away off the pitch. It was the one that came back in that got the wicket. de Villiers was late in pulling his bat out of the way and the ball cannoned off the bottom edge to uproot off and middle stump.
Kallis continued to battle, the bowling and his injured side. When he pressed forward to one delivery from Harbhajan that spat up at him, he had to jerk to fend it down. He did so successfully, but was clutching his side in pain and laid down on the ground. He needed considerable attention before he was able to resume.
After lunch, Kallis came back with unshaken resolve. The same couldn't be said for India. Ishant Sharma was lucky to get Prince with a short and wide delivery that was slashed to point but his lines against Boucher marked the beginning of the momentum switch. Boucher glanced two deliveries down leg side to the boundary and slapped one wide ball through covers. Ishant's lines and lengths were so erratic that MS Dhoni had no choice but to take him off.
Harbhajan continued to turn the ball and the odd one jumped but his attack became predictable and Boucher soon got used to it. Kallis had got used to it long ago. India's biggest concern, though, was Zaheer, who returned for a two over spell an hour after lunch and bowled at speeds between 115 and 120 kph. He moved the ball but at harmless speeds.
South Africa's lead passed 150, Kallis became his country's highest run-scorer for a three-Test series, and when he straight drove Ishant to the boundary to reach his half-century, the Newlands crowd loved it. They could have more reason to cheer soon, for Boucher was unbeaten on 46 at tea.
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