Maharaj, Lyon may yet strike decisive blows
ULTIMATELY, it was as tight and as tenaciously fought as expected. Australia, having won the toss and taken first strike against South Africa, scrapped to 225/5 after 76 overs, when the increasingly dim conditions finally called a halt to an interesting day’s proceedings.
The day started hopefully for the hosts, as Morne Morkel went up for an optimistic leg-before shout to a nervous Cameron Bancroft, off the third ball of the day. The lanky Morkel tugged at the heart strings of Faf du Plessis, who neglected talk of tennis-ball bounce, and went upstairs. Nope, the technology said. While Bancroft (5) was soon put out of his misery by the persistent Vernon Philander, David Warner went about doing what he does against SA. The impish Warner has now passed 1 000 runs against the Proteas, in only 18 innings.
Warner, too, survived a dice with disaster early on, as Keshav Maharaj took the ball in the 11th over, and promptly ripped one from outside off stump, and rapped Warner on the pad. Perhaps it was the surprise of seeing a ball turn so prodigiously, so early into the Test, but again Du Plessis was convinced to venture upstairs.
Nope, the technology said once more. Those miscalculations would come back to haunt SA, when Kagiso Rabada trapped the obdurate Shaun Marsh in front, and umpire Kumar Dharmasena said not out on the field.
Replays suggested Rabada’s spearing delivery would have smashed into the timber, but the home team had long used up their technology quota for the innings.
Warner was eventually undone as the caterers laid out the cutlery for lunch, his duel with Philander ending in a sharp chance to second slip, where AB de Villiers held on smartly.
Rabada had a mixed bag of a day, as the visitors climbed into his pace when he strayed. That said, he did find joy with a sharp delivery that went across Usman Khawaja (14), found the edge, before being smartly snatched by a sprawling Quinton de Kock.
Rabada, so often the thrust in the SA attack, looked short of a yard. With the second new ball just four overs away, his captain will need him back at his best today.
While one of the best bowlers toiled, Steve Smith gave a glimpse of the sickening sight the English had to observe earlier in the summer.
Smith dropped anchor, and looked like he may settle in until the weekend, and there was genuine surprise when he edged Maharaj behind for 56. The brothers Marsh had swamped England in their last Ashes with a stand of 169 in Sydney, and Shaun was already settled at the crease.
Maharaj, having landed the big fish that is the Asutralian skipper, greeted Mitchell with a pressure-free pie, and the Proteas resolved to roll up their sleeves.
All the talk has been about pace in the build-up to this Test series, but there are two fine, finger spinners in the mix, too.
In late summer conditions, parched by a national drought, it is the slow poison that may yet strike the decisive blows.
Maharaj bowled 24 overs on day one, and he foxed Shaun out with his wonderful control, to finish with an encouraging 2/69. When bad light cut the day 14 overs short, SA walked off the field satisfied with their containing job.
But, with one Marsh still at the crease, and a free-hitting Pat Cummins to follow, they know that they are not nearly done.