 Ganguly's counter-attack keeps India afloat in Kanpur
12th Apr 2008 20:00 IST
Agencies
Ganguly came out in a positive frame of mind and went for his strokes straightaway, realising that it was not a track where one could survive for long by only defending.
The former captain picked up Harris for special treatment hammering him for two boundaries and did not hesitate to use his feet against the slow bowler.
Yuvraj, at the other end, was equally aggressive, as the two batsmen went about trying to consolidate the position for the team.
With both batsmen going for their strokes, the runs came quite briskly which led to some heated verbal exchanges between Yuvraj and Steyn. The two umpires stepped in quickly to diffuse the situation by talking to the players and South African captain Graeme Smith.
After Tea, Yuvraj's belligerence was brought to an end by Harris who induced the left-hander to go for a big shot only to be caught at the mid-wicket fence by de Villiers.
Dhoni also played some delectable shots during his knock of 32 before a rush of blood cost him his wicket as the stand-in Indian captain stepped out to Harris but missed the line completely to be stumped by Boucher.
The Indians have achieved the first task of overhauling South Africa's total but the match was still evenly poised as the hosts, who need to win the match to level the series 1-1, could not get a substantial lead to take firm control.
With three days left, the last wicket pair of S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma need to try and increase the lead on the under-prepared Green Park track. |
