I went to the ground with India at 160/2. I thought Sehwag batted superbly despite the chances while Sahin was a bit shaky playing and missing v Morkel and Parnell a fair few times. Kallis bowled well in his brief spell. 5 runs an over meant that South Africa was forced to do negative bowling with Harris and Morkel (bowling outside off), an idea I didn’t quite approve of but it is what Smith had to do to safeguard letting the match get away from them.
The fight back by RSA justified the decision. Both these teams have an ability to come back into the game wen you think they are down and out and it has already happened twice in this test match. This is what makes them such good teams, the best in the world right now.
Sehwag is really the best batsman in the world right now. In the last two years, his average is 60 and he is scoring at S/R of 96. Last 12 months, he averages 71 with a S/R of 101! In ten games. Incredible. (Stats provided by friend Manan Shah).
The pitch is really good. Good bounce, turn, no real wear and tear and still will produce a result. So it will last and either team can one. I came out of the ground after Tendulkar reached his 100, so didn’t see the fall of wickets. Just when you think one team has the upper hand, the other team comes right back in. What a match, all set to be a thriller.
Watching Sehwag and Tendulkar bat was a pleasure. I saw Sachin bat for the last time in a test live and he scored a century. I can die in peace now.
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