Jacques Kallis made his farewell Test a memorable one by smashing his 45th ton as South Africa reached a comfortable 395 for seven at lunch on day four of the second cricket Test against India at Durban on Sunday.
At Kingsmead, play started under overcast conditions as the Proteas took a 61-run lead over the visitors’ first innings total of 334.
Kallis, playing in his 166th match, scored 115 (off 316 balls, 13 fours) before getting out and in doing so went past Rahul Dravid’s tally of 13,288 runs in 164 matches by one run to end up as the third-highest run-getter in Test cricket history.
At the break, Faf du Plessis (5) and Robin Peterson (5) were the unbeaten batsmen.
Ravindra Jadeja picked his second five-wicket haul in Test cricket, in his first match overseas, taking 5/128 from 55 overs. Zaheer Khan (1/75) too picked up a wicket in this session, his first of the innings. Mohammad Shami (1/72) had taken one on day three, while Ishant Sharma (0/88) and Rohit Sharma (0/22) were still searching for success.
Play started 30 minutes before schedule once again, as South Africa began at their overnight score of 299/5.
Rohit bowled the last ball of the 106th over that was pending and South Africa’s 300-run mark came up in the very next, the first full over of the day. It was a day of milestones thereafter, particularly for Kallis.
He started the day slowly, sailing into the 90s with two boundaries and a few singles, not looking in any hurry. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni further delayed the new ball, making sure the run-scoring did not go up to put his team under any pressure. In the 188th over, Kallis flicked Jadeja to fine leg for four, moving to 98, as also taking his side past the Indian score of 334.
Two overs later, against the same bowler, Kallis had a nervy moment nearly playing the ball on to his stumps, before flicking to square leg for a single and bringing up his century. He scored his 100 off 273 balls, batting for 334 minutes and hitting 13 fours.
In the next two overs, he brought up his 50-run partnership with Dale Steyn for the sixth wicket, as his partner played his night-watchman duty properly, as also bringing up the 350 for South Africa.
It was in the 133rd over, against Zaheer, that Kallis went past Dravid as he played a deliberate late cut past slip.
Perhaps that was his big target, for in the very next over, he went for an uncharacteristic big shot against Jadeja and holed out. It’s most likely his last innings of his batting career, for a second innings seems impossible at this stage, even as his team-mates came out of the dressing room to embrace him.
India had another success, again with the old ball, as Steyn edged Zaheer to Dhoni four overs later. But du Plessis and Peterson avoided further losses, as the hosts were caught in two minds whether to go for quick runs or play for time.
Scoreboard
India 1st innings: 334 all out
South Africa 1st innings: (Overnight 299/5)
Graeme Smith c Dhawan b Jadeja 47
Alviro Petersen c Vijay b Jadeja 62
Hashim Amla b Shami 3
Jacques Kallis c Dhoni b Jadeja 115
AB de Villiers c Kohli b Jadeja 74
JP Duminy lbw b Jadeja 28
Dale Steyn c Dhoni b Khan 44
Faf du Plessis batting 5
Robin Peterson batting 5
Extras (LB—10, W—1, NB—1) 12
Total (for seven wickets in 140 overs) 395
Fall of wickets: 1—103, 2—113, 3—113, 4—240, 5—298, 6—384, 7—387.
Bowling: Zaheer Khan 25—4—75—1, Mohammed Shami 23—2—72—1, Ishant Sharma 27—7—88—0, Ravindra Jadeja 55—15—128—5, Rohit Sharma 10—1—22—0
Our Correspondent's report of Saturday
Jacques Kallis walked out with that measured stride. And, just like it has often happened over his 18-year-old international career, South Africa was delicately placed. Hashim Amla had departed and India sensed a breach.
It was a moment, though, to celebrate one of cricket’s biggest icons. In the balcony outside the press-box, Rahul Dravid clapped effusively. One great acknowledged another while Kallis, who is playing his last Test, walked through a guard-of-honour that the Indians graciously offered.
He shook M.S. Dhoni’s hand but once he took guard, the emotion, the fuss and all the talk about his retirement was relegated to the background. Kallis just watched the ball, one by one, defending stoutly, sporadically launching a few over long-off or through cover.
But, mostly, he stayed and did his utmost to help South Africa remain stable in its first innings against India in the second Test at the Kingsmead Stadium here on Saturday.
When rain drew in an early close to the third day’s play, Kallis was still around, unbeaten on 78 with South Africa on 299 for five, just 35 runs away from India’s 334.
South Africa’s reply was largely helmed by the 127-run fourth-wicket partnership that Kallis shared with A.B. de Villiers (74).
The alliance gained momentum after lunch with Kallis unleashing his trademark punch past cover-point against Zaheer Khan and de Villiers punctured the four-man off-side cordon against Mohammad Shami.
However, Kallis mostly played the waiting game while de Villiers was the enforcer, even doing the reverse-sweep against spin.
Lone false note
On a day when Kallis had to be there, de Villiers was a scrambling-tumbling mess as he commenced a single late and just about escaped being run-out. Zaheer’s throw missed the stumps and obviously de Villiers could not afford to turn his back to a charging Kallis and become the subject of wrath across South Africa!
That was the lone false note in their partnership before Ravindra Jadeja nailed de Villiers. The ball turned just enough to take the edge.
Kallis though hung in as usual and found a nimble partner in J.P. Duminy before the latter too fell to Jadeja.
The left-arm spinner (four for 87) maintained an impeccable line close to the off-stump, gained appreciable turn and bounce and kept the batsmen honest.
Fine catch
Earlier, under a bright sun, South Africa’s openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen (62) extended their partnership to 103.
Jadeja, who had briefly troubled Smith on the previous day, soon had his man.
The Proteas’ captain lofted the left-arm spinner but miscued it and Shikhar Dhawan took a fine catch while on the run at mid-wicket.
Amla, who has been plagued by disturbed-stumps this series, found no relief. Yet again he was castled with Shami’s delivery straightening on hitting the seam.
Jadeja then drew forward a groping Petersen, who was caught at first slip with a diving M. Vijay keeping his eye on the ball.
South Africa had lost three wickets for 10 runs in just 32 deliveries, and the salvage-act was left to Kallis and the man, who will probably succeed him at number four — de Villiers.
Kallis, was steady and composed before he lofted Jadeja twice for fours.
“He has been talking a bit more in the change-room, may be he wants to enjoy his last days with the Test team,” Dale Steyn had said on Friday, and Kallis enjoyed his batting the way he usually does — guarded but equally alert to scoring opportunities.
Along with de Villiers, Kallis guided South Africa to 181 for three at lunch.
After that, the host made steady progress before Jadeja’s wickets placed the game in the balance under fading light though South Africa is marginally ahead.
Governor Nikhil Kumar has called for a core change in the outlook of the public for the State to produce more cricketers to play for India.
Mr. Nikhil Kumar was speaking after dedicating a cricket stadium at Krishnagiri in Wayanad, the first to be owned by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), to the nation on Tuesday.
He said the State had produced many national and international players in athletics, football, volleyball and basketball, but not in cricket. Such a trend should be changed.
The Governor commended the initiatives of the KCA to promote the game by constructing cricket stadiums in each district of the State. The stadiums would help improve the talent of budding cricketers.
He asked the KCA authorities to construct an international stadium only for cricket in the State. They should approach the State government for land. The State had an international stadium in Kochi, but it was a multipurpose stadium. He offered his full support to realise the dream.
He said India had given birth to master cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar, and their achievements for the country would inspire youngsters to achieve excellence in cricket. The time was not far for such a great player to emerge from the State, he said.
Mr. Nikhil Kumar released a souvenir, charting the evolution of the Wayanad cricket stadium, by handing over a copy to M.V. Shreyamskumar, MLA. Youth Affairs Minister P.K. Jayalakshmi presided over the function and KCA president T.C. Mathew welcomed the gathering.
(Reuters) - A teary-eyed Sachin Tendulkar ended his cricketing journey in glorious Mumbai sunshine and as the sport bade farewell to its favourite son, the dark side of the "gentleman's game" was once again exposed.
Cricket's greatest bilateral rivalry saw England win the first round of the Ashes at home before landing in Australia to be ruthlessly dismantled by Michael Clarke's men who scripted a dramatic turnaround to reclaim the famed terracota urn in style.
Much to the dismay of the fans, cricket could not escape the curse of match-fixing in 2013 when some players from India and Bangladesh struggled to uphold their, and the sport's reputation.
Tendulkar's former team mate Shanthakumaran Sreesanth stood outside a Delhi court in May, his face covered with a black cloth, as photographers clicked away.
Sreesanth and two other cricketers had been arrested with Delhi Police accusing them of taking money to concede pre-determined number of runs in the country's cash-awash Twenty20 league.
The trio, now out on bail, denied any wrongdoing but the shaken fans did not have to wait for long before fresh evidence of corruption in the sub-continent surfaced, this time across the border.
Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful mustered the courage to confess to match-fixing in the country's Twenty20 competition, prompting an investigation that has not concluded yet.
As the year drew to a close, former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent confirmed being one of the three ex-Kiwi players under investigation for alleged match-fixing.
"I think now the most important issue for cricket administration is corruption," former Australia captain Ian Chappell said in Brisbane last month.
"I can't think of anything other than corruption that can bring this game down," Chappell said in his keynote address at the 'ESPNcricinfo at 20' event.
No one upheld the game's virtues like Tendulkar did right from his 1989 debut as a mop-haired, soft-spoken teenager to his emotional farewell on November 16 at his Mumbai home ground.
Playing his 200th test, Tendulkar retired with much more than just 34,000-plus international runs and a slew of batting records.
Watched by his wheelchair-bound mother and octogenarian coach, who never told him "well played" lest it made him complacent, Tendulkar left the game as the sport's most prolific run-scorer.
"Now only humans will play cricket," a banner at the Wankhede Stadium summed up the mood of a nation that had long deified him.
ROLE MODEL
With his retirement, cricket lost a perfect role model, who shouldered a huge burden of expectation and inspired a whole generation of cricketers.
One of them was Ian Bell, whose firefighting qualities made all the difference in England's 3-0 victory at home in the first Ashes series of the year.
Bell hit centuries in England's three unanswered victories at Trent Bridge, Lord's and Chester-le-Street after the top order had crumbled on each occasion.
There was the usual buzz around the series but Australia looked completely ill-prepared.
Discipline issues that came to the fore during their 4-0 pounding in India resurfaced in England and opener David Warner missed the first two Ashes tests after punching England's Joe Root in a pub.
Their Ashes buildup was further jolted when coach Mickey Arthur was dramatically sacked less than three weeks before the start of the series.
His replacement Darren Lehmann not only presided over Australia's 3-0 Ashes defeat but also contributed to the heat around the series.
Lehmann accused Stuart Broad of "blatant cheating" for not walking during the Trent Bridge test and urged Australian fans to send the Englishman "home in tears" from the return Ashes series.
He would subsequently apologise for the outburst, which incurred him a fine from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Lehmann nearly had his wishes fulfilled in the return Ashes series where Mitchell Johnson on field and the hostile Australian crowd off it made life miserable for Broad and his team mates.
Broad was roundly booed in Brisbane despite taking eight wickets at the Gabba, an effort that was overshadowed by comeback man Johnson's superlative display of fast bowling.
HOPPING AT GABBA
The 32-year-old left-arm paceman had the England batsmen hopping at the Gabba where he rattled them with the pace and bounce from a lively track.
As if it was not bad enough, Jonathan Trott abruptly flew home to deal with a stress-related illness, highlighting an international cricketer's battle with the demands of the game.
There was no respite for his team mates, however, as Johnson conjured up unsuspected pace and bounce from Adelaide's flat, drop-in pitch to scar their psyche with a second man-of-the-match award winning bowling display.
Clarke, adjudged cricketer of the year and also the test player of the year, led from the front as Australia clinched the Ashes with another thumping victory against a listless England side in Perth.
Outside the Ashes, South Africa blanked Pakistan 3-0 at home before drawing 1-1 with them in the United Arab Emirates to remain on top of the test rankings.
Reigning 50-over world champions India flexed their limited overs muscles again to win the final edition of the Champions Trophy beating hosts England in the final.
Touted as the best talent coming out of Mumbai since Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma emulated the batting great by blasting only the third double century in one-day internationals against Australia in November.
Afghanistan provided the heart-warming story of the year when cricketers from the war-ravaged country qualified for the 2015 World Cup.
The rag-tag bunch, many of whom picked up cricket in refugee camps in Pakistan, finished second in the World Cricket League Championship to qualify for the marquee event in Australia and New Zealand.
"Afghanistan's journey has been a remarkable one," ICC chief executive David Richardson said.
"It started in World Cricket League division five in 2008, and will now make its maiden appearance at the ICC's flagship 50-over event."
The legendary Kapil Dev will be conferred the Col C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award for the year 2013 at the annual BCCI awards function, the Board's announced on Wednesday.
The 1983-World Cup winning captain and all-rounder is already inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame at a ceremony in the year 2010.
The award's committee comprising BCCI President N Srinivasan, Sanjay Patel (Hony. Secretary) and Ayaz Memon (Senior Journalist) met in Chennai today to nominate a winner and unanimously zeroed in on the legendary all-rounder's name.
"Mr. Kapil Dev Nikhanj will receive the Col C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, which comprises a trophy, citation and a cheque for Rs 25 lakhs, at the BCCI Awards Ceremony for the year 2012-13, the details of which will be announced soon," the Indian cricket board's secretary Sanjay Patel said.
Previous winners of the award are:
1994 – Lala Amarnath
1995 – Syed Mushtaq Ali
1996 – Capt. Vijay Hazare
1997 – K N Prabhu
1998 – P R Umrigar
1999 – Col. Hemachandra Adhikari
2000 – Subhash Gupte
2001 – Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
2002 – Bhausaheb Nimbalkar
2003 – Chandrakant Borde
2004 – B S Bedi, B Chandrasekhar, EAS Prasanna, S Venkataraghvan
2007 – Nariman Contractor
2008 – Gundappa Viswanath
2009 – Mohinder Amarnath
2010 – Salim Durani
2011 – Ajit Wadekar
2012 – Sunil Gavaskar.
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