Ganguly's knock gives India hope

Kanpur: The story of Day Two has to be the best-written script of the three-Test series so far. India and South Africa, jousting with all possible intensity, refused to give an inch as the tide shifted to and fro through out the day. However India, led by a defiant 87 by Sourav Ganguly, managed to overhaul South Africa’s 265 to lead by 23 runs at the end of the second day’s play at the Green Park Stadium here on Saturday.

India, who have to win to draw level in the three-Test series, finished at 288-9 at stumps with S Sreesanth (nine) and Ishant Sharma (zero) in the middle.

India were on the back-foot early in the day, losing both their openers within the first hour but the middle-order breathed life back in the innings, stringing crucial partnerships on a crumbling pitch. Ganguly led the Indian charge, scoring his second half-century of the series while VVS Laxman (50), MS Dhoni (32) Yuvraj Singh (32) and Rahul Dravid (29) played handy knocks.

Ganguly, who was India’s ninth wicket to fall, tackled the pitch and negotiated the fiery South Africa bowling in an exemplary fashion to pound his 30th Test fifty. It was the perfect blend of compact defence and controlled aggression from him. The southpaw, who fell 13 short of a deserving century, hit nine boundaries and one six.

Ganguly, confident after his gritty 87 in Ahmedabad, negated the turn and variable bounce in the pitch and conjured two vital partnerships; first with Yuvraj Singh and then with MS Dhoni.

After Ganguly and Yuvraj added 65 runs, the former skipper and the stand-in skipper put together 60 to take India closer to the South African total.

Paul Harris took two wickets in the last session as ambitious shots by Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni led to their undoing. An uncalled for wild heave landed the ball straight in the hands of AB de Villiers at deep mid-wicket and Yuvraj’s stay ended. Dhoni, after being patient through his knock, stepped out to Harris but failed to connect and Mark Boucher dislodged the bail and the Indian tail was exposed.

Ganguly started opening his arms and a pull off Dale Steyn saw India managed to overtake the South African total. But soon after, Steyn trapped Harbhajan leg-before for six and then Graeme Smith caught Piyush Chawla for four to give Makhaya Ntini his first wicket.

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