 de Villiers, Kallis put South Africa in an impregnable position
4th Apr 2008 19:01 IST
Agencies
Kallis, 60 overnight, duly completed his ton while de Villiers carried on from his overnight 59 to complete his own three-figure innings just before lunch as the duo put on a double century stand for the fifth wicket, a new record for South Africa for all wickets against the home team.
Resuming, the duo carried on in the same vein eschewing risks but milking the bowling when it erred in line on length.
Kallis struck a superb off-driven four off Sourav Ganguly soon after the second session of play commenced to reach his hundred, his second century against India.
With the rub of the green going his way at times, the 32-year-old Kallis stood like a rock and watched his younger partner de Villiers essay some fine strokes all around.
The marathon stand finally ended when Sreesanth given yet another spell breached Kallis' defence when the batsman under-edged the ball while trying to withdraw his bat.
With success not coming their way as desired, the Indian bowling and fielding too fell short and the team conceded a few overthrows and a few misfiled too.
The Indian attack too looked mostly clueless. The pacers tried to dig the ball in on the slow pitch offering low bounce and were hammered with pull shots by Kallis.
India will now have to bat out of their skin in the second essay to not only atone for the gutless first innings show but also to save the match, which looks a very tall order. |
