Pak's Junaid, Bhatti restrict SL to 204

Pakistan fast bowlers Junaid Khan and Bilawal Bhatti scythed through Sri Lanka's batting during an exciting afternoon session to restrict their opponents to 204 on the first day of the opening Test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Scorecard

Left-armer Junaid grabbed his fourth five-wicket haul, all against the same opponents, and debutant Bhatti took three as Sri Lanka wasted a solid start after being put into bat.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews made a valiant 91 and was the last batsman to fall as he became off-spinner Saeed Ajmal's second victim of the innings.

Pakistan, who play their home matches in the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns in their country, reached 46 for the loss of Khurram Manzoor (21) at stumps, trailing Sri Lanka by 158.

Manzoor's run-out after a misunderstanding with debutant Ahmed Shehzad (25 not out) was the last ball before stumps were drawn for the day.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq's decision to field first on a pitch that had a greenish tinge to it looked wrong as Sri Lanka added 57 runs for the opening stand.

Dimuth Karunaratne (38) was Pakistan's only victim during the morning session after the left-hander fell to a sharp catch at gully by Asad Shafiq off Junaid.

But it was Bhatti's spell immediately after lunch that hurt Sri Lanka.

The 22-year-old right-armer sent back Kaushal Silva (20) in the first over in the second session and accounted for Mahela Jayawardene (five) and Dinesh Chandimal (zero) in his next to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 76 for four.

Jayawardene edged Bhatti to wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal but got a reprieve as the delivery was adjudged a no-ball by the television umpire.

He was, however, not so lucky on the next delivery as Bhatti once again found his edge for Akmal to complete the catch.

Junaid then got in on the act with the wickets of Kumar Sangakkara (16) and wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene (five) in quick succession.

The 24-year-old bowler also dismissed debutant off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake and his senior slow-bowling partner Rangana Herath off consecutive deliveries to complete his five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka were reduced to 124 for eight.

Mathews staged a lone fightback, adding 61 runs for the ninth wicket with Shaminda Eranga (14) in an innings studded with 15 powerful boundaries as Sri Lanka crawled past the 200-run mark.

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Youthful India learn vital lessons in loss

India might have lost the brief Test series in South Africa but the experience garnered from two tough Tests against the top-ranked team will serve them in good stead in tough away campaigns to come over the next year, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Tuesday.

As they departed for home after losing the series 1-0, a relatively inexperienced side were also lauded for their potential by former captains Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri.

It was India's first Test series since the retirement of the great Sachin Tendulkar, who hung up his bat last month, and a first overseas Test series in two years since they lost 4-0 in Australia between December 2011 and January 2012.

"If you look at the overall series, I think it was fantastic," Dhoni told reporters.

"A Testing one for us because before leaving India, not many of our top order batsmen had played Tests outside of India so overall it was a good experience for all of them playing against a top side," said Dhoni after the second Test defeat in Durban on Monday which followed the drama of the high-scoring drawn first match in Johannesburg.

"I was happy with our performance," the skipper added. "When you consider how much experience South Africa have, we have learnt a lot from these two games. The new players learnt that Test games are about the full five days of cricket and every single one of the sessions has the potential to have a big impact on the whole game itself."

India's inexperienced top order proved competitive under a barrage of hostile bowling on green-top wickets alien to condition in India, providing much more resistance than pre-tour predictions had forecast.

Among the leading performers were Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, who enhanced their credentials with the bat, while Cheteshwar Pujara was the top scorer in the two-Test series with 280 runs in his four innings.

Dravid and Shastri, acting as television analysts, said the potential shown by India's batsmen augured well for the future.

"They can go home feeling they can achieved much even if they lost," said Dravid, while Shastri told television viewers many positive lessons had been absorbed and would come in useful when India play away in New Zealand, England and Australia over the next 12 months.

India next play in New Zealand, starting with five one-day internationals from Jan. 19-31 and two Tests in February. Later in 2014 they have a five Test series in England and four in Australia.

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Youthful India learn vital lessons in loss

India might have lost the brief Test series in South Africa but the experience garnered from two tough Tests against the top-ranked team will serve them in good stead in tough away campaigns to come over the next year, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Tuesday.

As they departed for home after losing the series 1-0, a relatively inexperienced side were also lauded for their potential by former captains Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri.

It was India's first Test series since the retirement of the great Sachin Tendulkar, who hung up his bat last month, and a first overseas Test series in two years since they lost 4-0 in Australia between December 2011 and January 2012.

"If you look at the overall series, I think it was fantastic," Dhoni told reporters.

"A Testing one for us because before leaving India, not many of our top order batsmen had played Tests outside of India so overall it was a good experience for all of them playing against a top side," said Dhoni after the second Test defeat in Durban on Monday which followed the drama of the high-scoring drawn first match in Johannesburg.

"I was happy with our performance," the skipper added. "When you consider how much experience South Africa have, we have learnt a lot from these two games. The new players learnt that Test games are about the full five days of cricket and every single one of the sessions has the potential to have a big impact on the whole game itself."

India's inexperienced top order proved competitive under a barrage of hostile bowling on green-top wickets alien to condition in India, providing much more resistance than pre-tour predictions had forecast.

Among the leading performers were Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, who enhanced their credentials with the bat, while Cheteshwar Pujara was the top scorer in the two-Test series with 280 runs in his four innings.

Dravid and Shastri, acting as television analysts, said the potential shown by India's batsmen augured well for the future.

"They can go home feeling they can achieved much even if they lost," said Dravid, while Shastri told television viewers many positive lessons had been absorbed and would come in useful when India play away in New Zealand, England and Australia over the next 12 months.

India next play in New Zealand, starting with five one-day internationals from Jan. 19-31 and two Tests in February. Later in 2014 they have a five Test series in England and four in Australia.

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'My call-up has come at the right time'

NEW DELHI: He was a part of the victorious U-19 World Cup squad in 2000 which had the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif who had made their international debut within a few months, but it took close to 13 years for Stuart Binny to break into the Indian team when he is nearing 30.

Ironically, he replaced Yuvraj Singh in the New Zealand-bound ODI squad but the 29-year-old Karnataka all-rounder feels that the call came at the right time.

"I think if I would have got a call back then, I wasn't ready for international cricket back then. But now after some consistent performances in the domestic circuit, I feel more confident about playing international cricket," Binny told reporters after having played a game-changing knock of 88 against Delhi at Feroze Shah Kotla here today.

With his father and former India all-rounder Roger Binny being a part of the national selection committee, Binny junior knows that his performance will be under scrutiny even more.

"Well, I can't say anything about that. When I got out there in the field, I only concentrate on my performance and nothing else. As far as my father is concerned, he is my first and only coach till date. Whatever I have learnt till date is from him as I picked up the game at his academy. People find our actions similar as he was the one who taught me how to swing the ball," Binny said asked about his father Roger's role in his career.

His first senior team tour is of New Zealand but Binny shared that his first junior international trip was also to New Zealand.

"When I made my India U-19 debut, the first tour we had was of New Zealand back then. It's funny that my frst trip with senior team is also to same country."

For Binny, the 2011-12 season was a breakthrough one as he scored more than 700 runs and picked up 25 wickets.

"That was the season where I felt that I was doing justice as an all-rounder as I scored runs and took wickets. I was converting my 40's and 50's into big hundreds," he said.

"Having toured with the India A team to South Africa earlier this year also helped. There were atleast 7-8 guys of the current India team who were there. They helped me get used to rigours of international cricket," Binny said.

He missed out on a couple of seasons after joining the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) but the time spent with Steve Rixon turned out to be useful.

"It were those two years that gave me a chance to reflect on my game. I knew the comeback wasn't easy but I had worked hard. I worked a lot with Hyderabad (ICL) coach Steve Rixon on various aspects of my game," Binny said.

For the burly all-rounder, it is the pressure situation that brings the best out of him as it happened today.

"Today it was around 73 for four and my natural game is to attack the bowling. Since I started using my feet and charging the spinners, they tried bowling a bit flatter. This helped me play those late cuts. Pressure situation brings the best out of me. This year, I started with a century but then couldn't convert the starts. I am happy this innings helped the team's cause," Binny stated.

He got the news during the tea-break and for the first few overs in the post-tea session Binny admitted it was difficult to concentrate.

"I was speaking to my partner (Karun Nair) and was pleasantly shocked. It took two to three overs to realise that I was in the team. Then Ashish (Nehra) came in to bowl and said that I am going to get at you. He is still pretty quick," he concluded.

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SA wins Kallis's final Test by 10 wkts

NEW DELHI: Chasing a meager 58, South Africa were 19/0 in their second innings before slipping into tea break on the final day of the second Test in Durban.

Scorecard

Dale Steyn struck straight away on the final day and spinner Robin Peterson took four wickets as India were bowled out for 223 in its second innings, setting a meager target of 58 runs, despite a fighting 96 by Ajinkya Rahane.

Steyn removed Virat Kohli off the first ball of the day and Cheteshwar Pujara (32) in his second over on the way to his 3-47. Robin Peterson took 4-74 and Vernon Philander grabbed his third when he bowled Rahane right at the end.

Dale Steyn claimed his 350th Test wicket in the form of Ishant Sharma. He became the second highest to take 350 wickets in Test after Muttiah Muralitharan.

Steyn struck straight away on the final day as South Africa took five wickets before lunch Monday to rapidly reduce India to 173/7.

Steyn removed Virat Kohli first ball of the day - to a questionable decision by umpire Rod Tucker - and bowled Cheteshwar Pujara for 32 off a superb delivery in the third over as India's two key batsmen departed early.

India limped to seven runs ahead of South Africa's first-innings total of 500 at lunch as Vernon Philander also dismissed Rohit Sharma lbw for 25, and spinner Robin Peterson sent captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja back for his 3-61.

Steyn's first delivery appeared to come off Kohli's upper arm but he was given out caught behind by wicketkeeper AB de Villiers to put top-ranked South Africa on a roll as it chases a final-day win over No. 2 India to mark veteran allrounder Kallis' retirement from test cricket.

Ajinkya Rahane was unbeaten on 50 for India and fighting bravely again after he made 51 not out in the tourists' first innings score of 334. But captain Dhoni and Jadeja didn't show the same application as the newcomer as they fell to poor shots in the last half-hour of the session to put South Africa three wickets away from victory.

The 38-year-old Kallis' surprise decision to retire at the ground where he made his debut 18 years ago added extra motivation for the South Africans to push on in a test that has lost time throughout to weather delays in the coastal city of Durban.

After taking six wickets in the first innings, Steyn's lifting delivery to start the last day missed Kohli's bat and gloves and the Indian batsman expressed his displeasure with the decision as he walked off. There was no doubt for Pujara, however, when he was bowled by Steyn off a ball that pitched on middle stump and seamed away to clip the top of off stump and India went quickly from 68-2 overnight to 71-4.

Philander also utilized seam movement off the five-day-old surface to get one to duck back into Sharma and trap him in front.

Rahane and Dhoni put on 42 runs as India's last recognized batsmen, but Dhoni tried to whip a shot through midwicket off left-arm spinner Peterson and was caught by Alviro Petersen.

Jadeja also attempted to attack Peterson and after sending one six down the ground tried a second big shot and lofted a simple catch to Morne Morkel, leaving the tourists' tailenders with two more sessions to save the game and the short series.

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South Africa close to win in final Test

NEW DELHI: South Africa beat India by 10 wickets to win the second Test, which is also Jacques Kallis' final, and series 1-0 at Kingsmead in Durban on Monday.

Scorecard

Dale Steyn struck straight away on the final day and spinner Robin Peterson took four wickets as India were bowled out for 223 in its second innings, setting a meager target of 58 runs, despite a fighting 96 by Ajinkya Rahane.

Steyn removed Virat Kohli off the first ball of the day and Cheteshwar Pujara (32) in his second over on the way to his 3-47. Robin Peterson took 4-74 and Vernon Philander grabbed his third when he bowled Rahane right at the end.

Dale Steyn claimed his 350th Test wicket in the form of Ishant Sharma. He became the second highest to take 350 wickets in Test after Muttiah Muralitharan.

Steyn struck straight away on the final day as South Africa took five wickets before lunch Monday to rapidly reduce India to 173/7.

Steyn removed Virat Kohli first ball of the day - to a questionable decision by umpire Rod Tucker - and bowled Cheteshwar Pujara for 32 off a superb delivery in the third over as India's two key batsmen departed early.

India limped to seven runs ahead of South Africa's first-innings total of 500 at lunch as Vernon Philander also dismissed Rohit Sharma lbw for 25, and spinner Robin Peterson sent captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja back for his 3-61.

Steyn's first delivery appeared to come off Kohli's upper arm but he was given out caught behind by wicketkeeper AB de Villiers to put top-ranked South Africa on a roll as it chases a final-day win over No. 2 India to mark veteran allrounder Kallis' retirement from test cricket.

Ajinkya Rahane was unbeaten on 50 for India and fighting bravely again after he made 51 not out in the tourists' first innings score of 334. But captain Dhoni and Jadeja didn't show the same application as the newcomer as they fell to poor shots in the last half-hour of the session to put South Africa three wickets away from victory.

The 38-year-old Kallis' surprise decision to retire at the ground where he made his debut 18 years ago added extra motivation for the South Africans to push on in a test that has lost time throughout to weather delays in the coastal city of Durban.

After taking six wickets in the first innings, Steyn's lifting delivery to start the last day missed Kohli's bat and gloves and the Indian batsman expressed his displeasure with the decision as he walked off. There was no doubt for Pujara, however, when he was bowled by Steyn off a ball that pitched on middle stump and seamed away to clip the top of off stump and India went quickly from 68-2 overnight to 71-4.

Philander also utilized seam movement off the five-day-old surface to get one to duck back into Sharma and trap him in front.

Rahane and Dhoni put on 42 runs as India's last recognized batsmen, but Dhoni tried to whip a shot through midwicket off left-arm spinner Peterson and was caught by Alviro Petersen.

Jadeja also attempted to attack Peterson and after sending one six down the ground tried a second big shot and lofted a simple catch to Morne Morkel, leaving the tourists' tailenders with two more sessions to save the game and the short series.

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South Africa close to win in final Test

NEW DELHI: India crashed to a humiliating 10-wicket defeat in the second cricket Test after their young batsmen surrendered meekly to give South Africa a 1-0 series triumph in Jacques Kallis' farewell match, on Monday.

Scorecard

Needing to bat out the entire fifth day's play at the Kingsmead to force a draw, the Indians had the worst possible start by losing Virat Kohli in the very first ball and never really recovered from the jolt to be bundled out for 223.

Ajinkya Rahane stood bravely amidst the ruins with a gutsy 96 and was the last man out. India were pegged back after losing five wickets in the morning session.

Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson (4/74) was pick of the bowler for the hosts with a four-wicket haul while pacemen Dale Steyn (3/47) and Vernon Philander (3/43) scalped three batsmen each.

South Africa then chased down the small 58-run target in 11.4 overs overs as skipper Graeme Smith (27) hit a six and a four off Rohit Sharma to record their first win at Kingsmead. Alviro Petersen remained unbeaten on 31.

The victory was a befitting farewell gift to their retiring hero Kallis, who himself had a memorable match by cracking his 45th Test hundred.

Smith's cover drive to fence triggered off celebrations in the home camp with the players hugging each other and shaking hands while the spectators also cheered the team.

For the Indians, it turned out to be a heart-breaking end to the tour, having been drubbed in the One-day series as well. The loss was all the more disappointing since the team had fought gallantly in the thrilling drawn Test in Johannesburg.

It is the fifth time that India have lost a Test series on South African soil, managing a 1-1 draw only once in 2010-11 rubber. India have never won a series in South Africa and now have lost nine of the last 10 overseas Tests.

Rahane played a fine rearguard innings scoring 96 runs off 157 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, a lone hand with none of the frontline batsmen making an important contribution in order to save the match.

After Steyn and Peterson did the early damage, Philander chipped in and Morne Morkel (0/34) provided able support as the Indians lost five wickets for 105 runs in the morning session.

Starting at 173 for 7 after lunch, all that was left for Rahane and Zaheer Khan to do was delay the inevitable as long as possible. And they did it for nearly 10 overs, as Rahane started farming the strike.

With the Proteas pacers unable to get the breakthrough and the second new ball fast approaching, Peterson was brought on in the 76th over and the move paid off two overs later, with Zaheer being trapped LBW. He scored three runs, but faced 41 balls, and put up 35 runs with Rahane.

Rahane then brought out his shots in order to get to his maiden Test hundred, as he raced to the 90s. At the other end, Steyn got Ishant Sharma (1) in the 85th over and celebrated his 350th Test wicket with vigour. And in the very next over, Rahane was bowled by Philander, a huge swipe gunning for glory missing and the stumps shattered.

Resuming the day on 68 for two, India had their two best batsmen -- Pujara on 32 and Kohli on 11 -- at the crease, and any hopes of seeing the day out rested on their shoulders.

But all of it came to nought as Kohli was out on the first delivery of the day when Steyn bowled a short of length delivery outside the off-stump and the batsman played at it. Kohli, though didn't make contact, the ball seemed to have brushed his shoulder on its way to the keeper and umpire Rod Tucker adjudged him out.

This was his second bad decision after giving Jacques Kallis out LBW off an inside edge in the first Test at Johannesburg.

An irate Kohli walked off, but India's disastrous tale continued as 16 balls later, Steyn bowled a superb delivery to fox Pujara, who thought he had covered the line of the ball. But his off-stump was rocked back as the batting side's hopes were deflated.

Rohit Sharma (25), at the other end, meanwhile was looking to make a first mark on this tour. He was involved in a verbal duel with Steyn, and looked to be in control when he hit a four off him in the 43rd over and then a six off Peterson three overs later. But he innings was cut short by Philander, who trapped him LBW, the ball jagging back off the pitch in the 51st over.

Rahane was joined by skipper MS Dhoni (15) in the middle and they put on 42 runs for the sixth wicket. But just when it looked they could avoid further damage, Dhoni was out caught at midwicket off Peterson.

Ravindra Jadeja (8) played a horrific shot to hole out soon after, even as Rahane looked for some support from the tail-enders. He found that in Zaheer, who stayed on long enough to help him get his second half-century of the match.

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SA wins Kallis's final Test by 10 wkts

NEW DELHI: India crashed to a humiliating 10-wicket defeat in the second cricket Test after their young batsmen surrendered meekly to give South Africa a 1-0 series triumph in Jacques Kallis' farewell match, on Monday.

Scorecard

Needing to bat out the entire fifth day's play at the Kingsmead to force a draw, the Indians had the worst possible start by losing Virat Kohli in the very first ball and never really recovered from the jolt to be bundled out for 223.

Ajinkya Rahane stood bravely amidst the ruins with a gutsy 96 and was the last man out. India were pegged back after losing five wickets in the morning session.

Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson (4/74) was pick of the bowler for the hosts with a four-wicket haul while pacemen Dale Steyn (3/47) and Vernon Philander (3/43) scalped three batsmen each.

South Africa then chased down the small 58-run target in 11.4 overs overs as skipper Graeme Smith (27) hit a six and a four off Rohit Sharma to record their first win at Kingsmead. Alviro Petersen remained unbeaten on 31.

The victory was a befitting farewell gift to their retiring hero Kallis, who himself had a memorable match by cracking his 45th Test hundred.

Smith's cover drive to fence triggered off celebrations in the home camp with the players hugging each other and shaking hands while the spectators also cheered the team.

For the Indians, it turned out to be a heart-breaking end to the tour, having been drubbed in the One-day series as well. The loss was all the more disappointing since the team had fought gallantly in the thrilling drawn Test in Johannesburg.

It is the fifth time that India have lost a Test series on South African soil, managing a 1-1 draw only once in 2010-11 rubber. India have never won a series in South Africa and now have lost nine of the last 10 overseas Tests.

Rahane played a fine rearguard innings scoring 96 runs off 157 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, a lone hand with none of the frontline batsmen making an important contribution in order to save the match.

After Steyn and Peterson did the early damage, Philander chipped in and Morne Morkel (0/34) provided able support as the Indians lost five wickets for 105 runs in the morning session.

Starting at 173 for 7 after lunch, all that was left for Rahane and Zaheer Khan to do was delay the inevitable as long as possible. And they did it for nearly 10 overs, as Rahane started farming the strike.

With the Proteas pacers unable to get the breakthrough and the second new ball fast approaching, Peterson was brought on in the 76th over and the move paid off two overs later, with Zaheer being trapped LBW. He scored three runs, but faced 41 balls, and put up 35 runs with Rahane.

Rahane then brought out his shots in order to get to his maiden Test hundred, as he raced to the 90s. At the other end, Steyn got Ishant Sharma (1) in the 85th over and celebrated his 350th Test wicket with vigour. And in the very next over, Rahane was bowled by Philander, a huge swipe gunning for glory missing and the stumps shattered.

Resuming the day on 68 for two, India had their two best batsmen -- Pujara on 32 and Kohli on 11 -- at the crease, and any hopes of seeing the day out rested on their shoulders.

But all of it came to nought as Kohli was out on the first delivery of the day when Steyn bowled a short of length delivery outside the off-stump and the batsman played at it. Kohli, though didn't make contact, the ball seemed to have brushed his shoulder on its way to the keeper and umpire Rod Tucker adjudged him out.

This was his second bad decision after giving Jacques Kallis out LBW off an inside edge in the first Test at Johannesburg.

An irate Kohli walked off, but India's disastrous tale continued as 16 balls later, Steyn bowled a superb delivery to fox Pujara, who thought he had covered the line of the ball. But his off-stump was rocked back as the batting side's hopes were deflated.

Rohit Sharma (25), at the other end, meanwhile was looking to make a first mark on this tour. He was involved in a verbal duel with Steyn, and looked to be in control when he hit a four off him in the 43rd over and then a six off Peterson three overs later. But he innings was cut short by Philander, who trapped him LBW, the ball jagging back off the pitch in the 51st over.

Rahane was joined by skipper MS Dhoni (15) in the middle and they put on 42 runs for the sixth wicket. But just when it looked they could avoid further damage, Dhoni was out caught at midwicket off Peterson.

Ravindra Jadeja (8) played a horrific shot to hole out soon after, even as Rahane looked for some support from the tail-enders. He found that in Zaheer, who stayed on long enough to help him get his second half-century of the match.

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Kallis becomes third highest run-getter

DURBAN: South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis surpassed Rahul Dravid as the third highest run-getter in Test cricket after a 115-run knock against India in his farewell match on Sunday.

Most runs in Test

Kallis, who would be retiring from Tests at the end of the ongoing second and final game against India, now has 13,289 runs in the longest format.

That tally is one run more than Dravid, who retired last year after playing 164 Tests. Kallis, who is playing in his 166th Test, is now third behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) and Ricky Ponting (13,378) in the all-time list.

The South African, considered the best all-rounder in modern cricket, struck a fluent 115-run knock, which came off 316 balls and included nine fours, in his final Test.

"Hail King Kallis!Even his worst critic wudn't begrudge JK farewell ton-truly fantastic feat V normally relate 2 dreams!!" tweeted former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi, paying tribute to the 38-year-old.

"Handsome is that handsome does!Is thr any1 more handsome than Kallis in his final test?No 1 took so much workload as JK in last 3/4 decades!" he added.

Besides the mountain of runs he sits on, Kallis also has 292 wickets in Tests at an impressive average of 32.53, besides having 200 catches to his credit.

"100 for #Kallis in his last test. One of the greats," wrote New Zealand captain Ross Taylor.

"LEGEND ... #Kallis #GreatestEverAllrounder. #SAvInd," tweeted former England captain Michael Vaughan.

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2nd Test: SA stretch lead post lunch

NEW DELHI: Robin Peterson and Faf du Plessis stretched South Africa's first innings lead beyond 100 post lunch on the fourth day of the second Test against India at Kingsmead in Durban on Sunday.

Scorecard

Peterson reached his half-ton in just 44 balls with the help of nine boundaries.

The post-lunch session began after a delay of 15 minutes due to rain.

South Africa were 395/7 before slipping into lunch.

Zaheer Khan took his first wicket when he had Dale Steyn (44) caught behind by captain MS Dhoni.

Ravindra Jadeja registered his second five-wicket haul when he had centurion Jacques Kallis caught by Dhoni.

Kallis went for the slog sweep, but got a top edge and the ball went high up in the air for Dhoni to take an easy catch.

Kallis hit 13 fours in his 115-run knock before falling to Jadeja.

Playing his last Test, Kallis hit his 45th Test century to take South Africa past the Indian first innings score.

Kallis is only the fourth South African batsman after Pieter van der Bijl, Barry Richards and Lee Irvine to hit a century in his last Test.

This is Kallis's seventh century against India.

Kallis is second on the all-time list of century-makers in Test cricket behind India's Sachin Tendulkar, who finished with 51.

Kallis surpassed Rahul Dravid as the third highest run-getter in Test cricket during his knock.

Kallis now has 13,289 runs in the longest format.

That tally is one run more than Dravid, who retired last year after playing 164 Tests. Kallis, who is playing in his 166th Test, is now third behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) and Ricky Ponting (13,378) in the all-time list.

The South African, considered the best all-rounder in modern cricket, struck a fluent 115-run knock, which came off 316 balls and included nine fours, in his final Test.

Kallis announced on Christmas Day that he would retire from Tests after his 166th appearance for his country at Kingsmead -- the same ground he made his debut at as a 20-year-old prodigy in 1995.

The day's play started with Kallis and Dale Steyn resuming the South African first innings.

The cracks are still there on the pitch but they have not widened enough. The footmarks are getting bigger and will cause some problems for the batsmen. The spinners will enjoy bowling in the rough. The overcast conditions will help the pacers a bit provided they bowl well.

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Relieved Clarke lauds bowlers & Rogers

MELBOURNE: Australia captain Michael Clarke was left to thank his bowlers and centurion Chris Rogers for the hosts' escape in the fourth Ashes Test on Sunday, having risked his team's winning streak by opting to bowl first after winning the toss.

Australia completed a dominant win by eight wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday to take a 4-0 lead in the series but Clarke admitted his decision had haunted him throughout the match.

Credited for his aggressive captaincy and his setting of imaginative fields, Clarke has also shown himself a dab hand at calling the toss, winning it all four times in the series to date.

He had resolutely played the percentages up until Melbourne, putting his team in to bat in the three previous victories in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Clarke and his backroom colleagues gleaned something in the MCG's green-tinged pitch and overcast conditions in the morning that few others did, but immediately revealed his discomfort with the decision in a television interview after sending his team into the field on day one.

The queasy feeling can only have grown stronger as England survived to stumps at 226-6, with the hosts' best batsman Kevin Pietersen leading from the front.

"When you win the toss and bowl, the result always dictates whether you'll be criticised or applauded," Clarke told reporters.

"Was it the right decision or not? Well the result will say yes, but after the first five overs on day one, the wicket certainly played better than I expected it to.

"It certainly wasn't our bowlers I was second guessing, it was more the fact that I was hoping that the grass on the wicket and the overhead conditions were going to do a little more than they did."

Fortunately for Clarke, man of the match Mitchell Johnson intervened early on day two, tearing through the England tail to finish with five wickets and wrap up their innings for 255.

Despite wicketkeeper Brad Haddin's serial rescues, Australia's batsmen have also proved frail throughout the series and collapsed to be all out for 204, to concede a 51-run first innings lead.

Openers Alastair Cook and Michael Carberry appeared set to carry England to a dominant position, but Johnson intervened again, trapping the England skipper in front for 51 with a searing inswinger that turned the game on its head.

England limped to tea at 115/4 and were then duly routed in the final session of day three as spinner Nathan Lyon and their own scrambled shot selection handed the momentum straight back to the hosts.

The 36-year-old Rogers did the rest, cementing his place at the top of Australia's order for the foreseeable future with a glittering 116 as Australia mowed through the required 231 runs for victory before tea on day four.

Rogers had hitherto looked as comfortable out on the crease as with his place in the team, eking out runs through painstaking graft amid a litany of half-hearted prods and a smattering of false shots.

However, in Australia's second innings he emerged like an innocent man sprung from prison.

Rogers stunned home fans at the MCG by eclipsing the run-rate of his swashbuckling partner David Warner and unleashed a breathtaking array of cuts, pulls and drives for 14 boundaries in his 155-ball knock.

"I think it was a fantastic innings," Clarke gushed. "A match-winning innings and he deserves a lot of credit for it.

"As captain of the team I certainly haven't felt that Chris is under pressure for his spot ... I think Chris has done everything that I've asked as captain.

"He's an important part of this team and I think for his team mates it was very special to see him raise his bat for his hundred, and on his home ground the MCG as well."

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Kallis becomes third highest run-getter

DURBAN: South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis surpassed Rahul Dravid as the third highest run-getter in Test cricket after a 115-run knock against India in his farewell match on Sunday.

Kallis, who would be retiring from Tests at the end of the ongoing second and final game against India, now has 13,289 runs in the longest format.

That tally is one run more than Dravid, who retired last year after playing 164 Tests. Kallis, who is playing in his 166th Test, is now third behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) and Ricky Ponting (13,378) in the all-time list.

The South African, considered the best all-rounder in modern cricket, struck a fluent 115-run knock, which came off 316 balls and included nine fours, in his final Test.

"Hail King Kallis!Even his worst critic wudn't begrudge JK farewell ton-truly fantastic feat V normally relate 2 dreams!!" tweeted former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi, paying tribute to the 38-year-old.

"Handsome is that handsome does!Is thr any1 more handsome than Kallis in his final test?No 1 took so much workload as JK in last 3/4 decades!" he added.

Besides the mountain of runs he sits on, Kallis also has 292 wickets in Tests at an impressive average of 32.53, besides having 200 catches to his credit.

"100 for #Kallis in his last test. One of the greats," wrote New Zealand captain Ross Taylor.

"LEGEND ... #Kallis #GreatestEverAllrounder. #SAvInd," tweeted former England captain Michael Vaughan.

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Kallis resumes SA progress post tea

NEW DELHI: India managed just a wicket of AB de Villiers in the second session as Jacques Kallis's half-ton took SA to 267/4 at team on Day 3 of the second Test.

Scorecard

Kallis was batting on 61 while JP Duminy was unbeaten on 13 before the endo of the secodn session.

Ravindra Jadeja struck again post lunch to scalp AB de Villiers (74), breaking a solid 4th wicket stand.

de Villers was caught at slip by Kohli after his 127-run stand with Jacques Kallis. His 161-minutes stay at the crease was studded with nine boundaries.

Kallis reached his half-ton just after de Villiers's dismissal. It was his 59th Test fifty.

Earlier, Jadeja spun out both South African openers to give India early progress on the third day.

Jadeja had two of India's three strikes in the first session after South Africa had reached 103 without loss chasing 334.

Jadeja had Graeme Smith (47) caught at midwicket and Alviro Petersen out off an edge to slip for 62. One ball before Petersen fell, Hashim Amla was bowled by Mohammed Shami for 3 and India took those three wickets for just 13 runs.

The retiring Kallis received a guard of honor from the Indian fielders when he came out to bat at Kingsmead, the ground where he made his debut 18 years ago. He then pushed emotion to one side to share an unbroken 68-run stand with AB de Villiers to settle South Africa and cut its first-innings deficit to 153.

In his 166th and final test appearance, the 38-year-old Kallis _ one of the game's great players _ strode out with South Africa 113-2 and watched Petersen fall next ball to Jadeja, who has drawn turn out of the Durban pitch to be a danger throughout South Africa's reply.

Jadeja forced Smith to miscue a lofted shot for the initial breakthrough at the start of the eighth over, when Shikhar Dhawan took a good running catch to dismiss the South African skipper. Shami also found movement off the pitch to completely beat Amla, and Petersen nicked one to Murali Vijay at slip to put South Africa in trouble.

But after shaking hands with India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and being applauded by India's fielders and reserve players in the guard of honor, Kallis was responsible for part of the fightback alongside De Villiers.

Kallis was mainly watchful, but did send recalled slow left-armer Jadeja back over his head for successive fours to stamp his authority. De Villiers hit four fours in his 39 from 75 balls as South Africa chases a farewell victory for its veteran allrounder.

Kallis took his 200th test catch in India's first innings and would create a fairytale story if he finished with another century at the ground where he made his debut in 1995.

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Kohli sticks to 6th spot in ODI rankings

DUBAI: Virat Kohli retained his second position to be the highest-placed Indian batsman, while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan also maintained their respective sixth and 10th spots in the latest ICC ODI rankings issued, on Saturday.

India, meanwhile, held on to the top spot with 120 ratings points, while Australia continued to be in second place on 114 points, followed by England and South Africa.

Kohli with 859 points is placed behind South Africa's A B De Villiers, who is heading the list with 872 points.

Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez achieved a career-best ranking of 16th, a gain of 18 points, after finishing as the leading run-getter in the five-ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which concluded in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

In the bowling charts, Ravindra Jadeja has gained a position to be on sixth spot, while Ravichandran Ashwin remained static on 17th.

Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan still tops the bowling list. Jadeja continues to be at number five in the all-rounders' table.

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Kohli retains 2nd spot in ODI rankings

DUBAI: Virat Kohli retained his second position to be the highest-placed Indian batsman, while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan also maintained their respective sixth and 10th spots in the latest ICC ODI rankings issued, on Saturday.

India, meanwhile, held on to the top spot with 120 ratings points, while Australia continued to be in second place on 114 points, followed by England and South Africa.

Kohli with 859 points is placed behind South Africa's A B De Villiers, who is heading the list with 872 points.

Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez achieved a career-best ranking of 16th, a gain of 18 points, after finishing as the leading run-getter in the five-ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which concluded in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

In the bowling charts, Ravindra Jadeja has gained a position to be on sixth spot, while Ravichandran Ashwin remained static on 17th.

Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan still tops the bowling list. Jadeja continues to be at number five in the all-rounders' table.

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Duminy falls, but Kallis stands solid

NEW DELHI: Ravindra Jadeja struck again to dismiss JP Duminy, giving South Africa fifth blow at the score of 298 in the final session on the third day of the final Test before rain stopped the play.

Scorecard

Duminy was caught on his back foot in front of the stumps by Jadeja, who earlier scalped both South African openers and danger man AB de Villers.

Jacques Kallis, however, stood tall against India attack taking South Africa close to visitors total.

The visitors managed just one wicket even as retiring all-rounder Jacques Kallis and A B de Villiers' 127-run fourth wicket stand helped South Africa reach 267 for four at tea.

Countering the loss of three wickets in the first session, the two batsmen brought up their half-centuries in the post-lunch session and the Proteas now trail by only 67 runs, after India scored 334 runs in their first innings.

Kallis was unbeaten on 61 runs, off 180 balls with nine fours. JP Duminy (13) was giving him company at the other end after de Villiers departed following a 117-ball 74, studded with nine boundaries.

Ravindra Jadeja (3-77) was the pick of the Indian bowlers, with Mohammad Shami (1-62) the only other wicket-taker of the innings.

Zaheer Khan (0-46) and Ishant Sharma (0-65) toiled hard, but failed to provide any breakthroughs. Rohit Sharma (0-11) was again deployed in this session as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni seemed to be missing a second spinner on this dry pitch.

After the lunch break, Kallis and de Villiers looked set for a big partnership, starting from the 68-run mark.

South Africa started at 181/3 as the runs came in quickly. Both batsmen stroked boundaries at will, as the pace bowlers searched for some reverse swing. Zaheer was punished in particular, but de Villiers also aggressive intent against Jadeja, not letting the spinners settle down.

He brought up his half-century in the 62nd over of the innings. It was his 34th fifty in 89 Tests. The 100-run partnership came three overs later, as runs continued to come unabated.

In their eagerness to score quickly, South Africa almost lost a wicket when the two batsmen were involved in a huge mix-up in the 69th over.

De Villiers nudged the ball and set off for a run, then stopped, but Kallis kept going. Zaheer failed to hit the stumps, as the first hour after lunch resulted in 55 runs.

Jadeja finally broke their partnership, in the 74th over. De Villiers prodded forward and was caught at first slip by Virat Kohli. He scored 74 runs off 117 balls, with nine fours.

Duminy was the next man in and saw away the remaining session before tea without any fuss, putting on 27 runs for the fifth wicket.

At the other end, with the crowd roaring for him, Kallis brought up his half-century in the 76th over, off 131 balls hitting nine fours. It was his 59th fifty in his 166th and final Test.

In the morning session, Graeme Smith (47) and Alviro Petersen (62) looked to further increase their opening stand. The latter reached his seventh half-century in 28 Tests, but should have been out in the 24th over, fourth of the morning, even as the third umpire ruled him not out off a very close stumping call.

The 100-run opening stand came in the 27th over, and in the very next, Jadeja, who had been looking to take a wicket, finally struck.

Smith went for a big shot over mid-on, but only sent the ball in the air over mid-wicket which Shikhar Dhawan caught stupendously, running backwards. Shami then bowled Hashim Amla (3) off the last ball of the 33rd over.

Jacques Kallis came out to bat in his last Test and the Indian team lined up to salute the legendary all-rounder. At the other end, Jadeja induced an edge off Petersen that Murali Vijay held at first slip.

The first Test of the series, played at Johannesburg, was drawn, after a pulsating fifth day, wherein South Africa just stopped eight runs short of a world-record fourth innings' chase after India had set them a target of 458 runs.

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Pacers put Proteas on top against India

NEW DELHI: Ajinkya Rahane and captain MS Dhoni took the Indian first innings to 271/5 at tea on the second day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.

Scorecard

After the rain delay, Dale Steyn brought South Africa back into the match. South African pacers bowled good lines and kept the Indian batsmen in check.

Wicket-keeper AB de Villiers took a good diving catch down the leg side to dismiss Virat Kohli off Morne Morkel.

Kohli batted solidly for his 87-ball 46 before falling to Morkel.

Steyn dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma in his successive overs to dent the Indian first innings.

Steyn denied Vijay (97) a well-deserved century having him caught behind down the leg side by AB de Villiers and on the next ball Sharma shouldered arms to a delivery that was pitched on the middle stump and went on to crash into the middle stump to register a golden duck.

Steyn gave South Africa the much-needed breakthrough when he had Cheteshwar Pujara caught behind by AB de Villiers.

Pujara fell after scoring 70 runs and added 157 runs with Murali Vijay for the second wicket.

Constant rain washed out the morning session and forced an early lunch in the Test.

The start of the day's play was earlier delayed due to bad weather. However, things looked good to go when the umpires walked out to the center to inspect the ground only to return back as it started drizzling again.

India had reached a comfortable 181/1 before bad light stopped play on Day 1.

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British journo survives attack from Lee

SYDNEY: British journalist and talk-show host Piers Morgan has reportedly 'just about' survived a lively pace attack from Australian legend Brett Lee in the nets at the MCG after arrogantly claiming that he can 'ruin a great Australian career and legend'.

Morgan copped a beating, with at least three deliveries hitting him in the body although he kept coming and tried to attack Lee, even if he was never able to get anywhere near the ball.

According to News.com.au, Morgan's efforts earned him a round of applause from the big crowd watching on, including the current Australian pace attack who were not offered the opportunity to have a go.

Morgan later claimed that he would have a 'few bruises tonight' despite operating at '80 percent capacity', and he commended Lee, saying that the once fastest bowler in the world did well as he did not back away from his 'attack'.

It was the part of a challenge laid down by Lee after Morgan questioned the courage of England's batsmen in the face of an onslaught from Mitchell Johnson.

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Pacers put Proteas on top against India

NEW DELHI: Ajinkya Rahane and captain MS Dhoni took the Indian first innings to 271/5 at tea on the second day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.

Scorecard

After the rain delay, Dale Steyn brought South Africa back into the match. South African pacers bowled good lines and kept the Indian batsmen in check.

Wicket-keeper AB de Villiers took a good diving catch down the leg side to dismiss Virat Kohli off Morne Morkel.

Kohli batted solidly for his 87-ball 46 before falling to Morkel.

Steyn dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma in his successive overs to dent the Indian first innings.

Steyn denied Vijay (97) a well-deserved century having him caught behind down the leg side by AB de Villiers and on the next ball Sharma shouldered arms to a delivery that was pitched on the middle stump and went on to crash into the middle stump to register a golden duck.

Steyn gave South Africa the much-needed breakthrough when he had Cheteshwar Pujara caught behind by AB de Villiers.

Pujara fell after scoring 70 runs and added 157 runs with Murali Vijay for the second wicket.

Constant rain washed out the morning session and forced an early lunch in the Test.

The start of the day's play was earlier delayed due to bad weather. However, things looked good to go when the umpires walked out to the center to inspect the ground only to return back as it started drizzling again.

India had reached a comfortable 181/1 before bad light stopped play on Day 1.

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Rahane, Dhoni steady India against SA

NEW DELHI: Ajinkya Rahane and captain MS Dhoni took the Indian first innings score over the 300-run mark after tea on the second day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.

Scorecard

After the rain delay, Dale Steyn brought South Africa back into the match in the second session of the day. South African pacers bowled good lines and kept the Indian batsmen in check.

Wicket-keeper AB de Villiers took a good diving catch down the leg side to dismiss Virat Kohli off Morne Morkel.

Kohli batted solidly for his 87-ball 46 before falling to Morkel.

Steyn dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma in his successive overs to dent the Indian first innings.

Steyn denied Vijay (97) a well-deserved century having him caught behind down the leg side by AB de Villiers and on the next ball Sharma shouldered arms to a delivery that was pitched on the middle stump and went on to crash into the middle stump to register a golden duck.

Steyn gave South Africa the much-needed breakthrough when he had Cheteshwar Pujara caught behind by AB de Villiers.

Pujara fell after scoring 70 runs and added 157 runs with Murali Vijay for the second wicket.

Constant rain washed out the morning session and forced an early lunch in the Test.

The start of the day's play was earlier delayed due to bad weather. However, things looked good to go when the umpires walked out to the center to inspect the ground only to return back as it started drizzling again.

India had reached a comfortable 181/1 before bad light stopped play on Day 1.

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2nd Test: Bad light stops play on Day 1

NEW DELHI: India were 181/1 in their first innings with Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease when bad light stopped play on the first day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday.

Scorecard

With Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel targeting the Indian batsmen's bodies and the light deteriorating, the umpires decided to take the batsmen to safety and rightly so as it was very dark at Kingsmead.

Vijay and Pujara hit half-centuries to take the Indian first innings to 163/1 at tea. India scored 87 runs in the second session without losing any wicket.

Pujara reached his fourth half-century with a classic cover drive off Robin Peterson that raced past the boundary for four.

Vijay reached his fourth half-century soon after lunch.

The second session started with Vijay and Pujara resuming the Indian first innings after lunch.

Morne Morkel gave South Africa their first breakthrough when he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan.

After electing to bat first, India got off to decent start courtesy Dhawan and Vijay who looked determined to face the South Africa pacers by putting up a bright 41-run stand for the opening wicket.

However, Morkel was successful in forcing Dhawan (29) to edge the delivery towards third slip where it was comfortably taken by Robin Peterson.

Earlier, Indian skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat.

India made one change for this match as bringing in Ravindra Jadeja in place of R Ashwin. On the other hand, South Africa brought in Robin Peterson for Imran Tahir.

"The wicket looks good, slightly on the dry side, but it will have pace and bounce for the fast bowlers," Dhoni said at the toss.

"It's been an emotional few days, we hope that he gets celebrated in the next five days and we can really put in the performance that is fitting for the man who has done so much for South African cricket," South Africa captain Graeme Smith said at the toss.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (Capt.), AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn.

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Vijay and Pujara make South Africa toil

NEW DELHI: India were 181/1 in their first innings with Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease when bad light stopped play on the first day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday.

Scorecard

Vijay and Pujara hit half-centuries to take the Indian first innings to 163/1 at tea. India scored 87 runs in the second session without losing any wicket.

Pujara reached his fourth half-century with a classic cover drive off Robin Peterson that raced past the boundary for four.

Vijay reached his fourth half-century soon after lunch.

The second session started with Vijay and Pujara resuming the Indian first innings after lunch.

Morne Morkel gave South Africa their first breakthrough when he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan.

After electing to bat first, India got off to decent start courtesy Dhawan and Vijay who looked determined to face the South Africa pacers by putting up a bright 41-run stand for the opening wicket.

However, Morkel was successful in forcing Dhawan (29) to edge the delivery towards third slip where it was comfortably taken by Robin Peterson.

Earlier, Indian skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat.

India made one change for this match as bringing in Ravindra Jadeja in place of R Ashwin. On the other hand, South Africa brought in Robin Peterson for Imran Tahir.

"The wicket looks good, slightly on the dry side, but it will have pace and bounce for the fast bowlers," Dhoni said at the toss.

"It's been an emotional few days, we hope that he gets celebrated in the next five days and we can really put in the performance that is fitting for the man who has done so much for South African cricket," South Africa captain Graeme Smith said at the toss.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (Capt.), AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn.

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Vijay and Pujara make South Africa toil

NEW DELHI: India were 181/1 in their first innings with Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease when bad light stopped play on the first day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday.

Scorecard

Vijay and Pujara hit half-centuries to take the Indian first innings to 163/1 at tea. India scored 87 runs in the second session without losing any wicket.

Pujara reached his fourth half-century with a classic cover drive off Robin Peterson that raced past the boundary for four.

Vijay reached his fourth half-century soon after lunch.

The second session started with Vijay and Pujara resuming the Indian first innings after lunch.

Morne Morkel gave South Africa their first breakthrough when he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan.

After electing to bat first, India got off to decent start courtesy Dhawan and Vijay who looked determined to face the South Africa pacers by putting up a bright 41-run stand for the opening wicket.

However, Morkel was successful in forcing Dhawan (29) to edge the delivery towards third slip where it was comfortably taken by Robin Peterson.

Earlier, Indian skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat.

India made one change for this match as bringing in Ravindra Jadeja in place of R Ashwin. On the other hand, South Africa brought in Robin Peterson for Imran Tahir.

"The wicket looks good, slightly on the dry side, but it will have pace and bounce for the fast bowlers," Dhoni said at the toss.

"It's been an emotional few days, we hope that he gets celebrated in the next five days and we can really put in the performance that is fitting for the man who has done so much for South African cricket," South Africa captain Graeme Smith said at the toss.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (Capt.), AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn.

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2nd Test: Bad light stops play on Day 1

NEW DELHI: India were 181/1 in their first innings with Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease when bad light stopped play on the first day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday.

Scorecard

With Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel targeting the Indian batsmen's bodies and the light deteriorating, the umpires decided to take the batsmen to safety and rightly so as it was very dark at Kingsmead.

Vijay and Pujara hit half-centuries to take the Indian first innings to 163/1 at tea. India scored 87 runs in the second session without losing any wicket.

Pujara reached his fourth half-century with a classic cover drive off Robin Peterson that raced past the boundary for four.

Vijay reached his fourth half-century soon after lunch.

The second session started with Vijay and Pujara resuming the Indian first innings after lunch.

Morne Morkel gave South Africa their first breakthrough when he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan.

After electing to bat first, India got off to decent start courtesy Dhawan and Vijay who looked determined to face the South Africa pacers by putting up a bright 41-run stand for the opening wicket.

However, Morkel was successful in forcing Dhawan (29) to edge the delivery towards third slip where it was comfortably taken by Robin Peterson.

Earlier, Indian skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat.

India made one change for this match as bringing in Ravindra Jadeja in place of R Ashwin. On the other hand, South Africa brought in Robin Peterson for Imran Tahir.

"The wicket looks good, slightly on the dry side, but it will have pace and bounce for the fast bowlers," Dhoni said at the toss.

"It's been an emotional few days, we hope that he gets celebrated in the next five days and we can really put in the performance that is fitting for the man who has done so much for South African cricket," South Africa captain Graeme Smith said at the toss.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (Capt.), AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn.

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Maturity of Kallis will be missed: Coach

DURBAN: South African coach Russell Domingo today said his team would "sorely" miss the "maturity" of Jacques Kallis in the dressing room and they have a challenge to manage the legendary all-rounder in a way that he could be in peak form before the 2015 ODI World Cup.

Kallis announced his retirement from Test and first-class cricket on the eve of the Boxing Day Test against India but expressed wish to play the 2015 World Cup for South Africa.

"The impact Jacques has made on South African cricket has been immense, not just as a player but as a human being. I'm not sure we will ever see another player of that stature very soon. Jacques' calmness, maturity and presence in the change room will sorely be missed and hopefully he will still be able to play a role in this team's success in the near future," Domingo said.

Going through a lean patch of late, Kallis has featured in 165 Tests for South Africa, scoring 13174 runs at an average of 55.12. He struck 44 centuries and also took 292 wickets.

Domingo said it would be an important challenge for the team to selectively manage the 38-year-old cricketer, leading up to the 2015 ODI World Cup.

"He has ambitions of playing in the 2015 World Cup and it will be important for us to manage him accordingly so that he is in prime form leading into the tournament," he said.

Haroon Lorgat, Cricket South Africa's chief executive, was effusive in his praise for Kallis and said "it is fitting that his final Test should be on the same ground as the one on which he made his debut against England back in 1995."

"He has been a stalwart for many years and South Africa's recent triumphs and greatness have been built around him. He is a legend and his statistics speak volumes. Jacques has been ever present for the Proteas in the past 18 years," Lorgat added.

Kallis' teammates took to the twitter to pay glowing tributes to him. A number of Proteas players hit the right superlatives for one of the greatest all rounders of the game.

"It's been emotional few days knowing JK retiring. All I can say what a privilege to have played with the great man!" wrote South African skipper Graeme Smith.

"Hopefully, we can give him the send off he deserves over the next 5 days!gonna miss him immensely @jacqueskallis75 love you and grateful," he posted.

Opener Hashim Amla tweeted: "An amazing career from arguably South Africa's greatest sportsman. Lookin forward to one last game in whites with this legend."

South African middle-order batsman J P Duminy said it was an honour to share the dressing room with Kallis.

"Been an honour to share a changeroom with 1 of the gr8's of the game. May we give u the send off u thoroughly deserve."

Off-spinner Johan Botha wished Kallis "all the best" for his last Test in whites.

"All the best with your last Test @jacqueskallis75 !!Get "Slaz Door" going for 1 big score to finish!!Going to miss you in whites," he posted.

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Jacques Kallis, the greatest all-rounder

DURBAN: Jaques Kallis, one of the greatest all rounders of the game, on Wednesday announced his retirement from Test cricket.

The 38-year-old Kallis had made his debut against England in December 1995 and is third big player to quit Test cricket this season after Australian Ricky Ponting and Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar.

Going through a lean patch of late, Kallis has featured in 165 Tests for South Africa, scoring 13174 runs at a stunning average of 55.12. He also took 292 wickets and 199 Test catches, proving what a quality cricketer he has been for his team in the last 18 years.

With 44 hundreds under his belt, Kallis was closest to Tendulkar's record of 51 Test centuries and the possibility of surpassing incredible figure by any batsman has diminished further.

He is the greatest all-rounder the game has seen, atleast in terms of statistics, leaving behind Sir Garfield Sobers (8032 runs, 235 wickets, 109 catches in 93 Tests) and Sir Ian Botham (5200 runs, 383 wickets, 120 catches in 102 Tests.)

Kallis is currently fourth on the list of leading run-getters in Test cricket, behind Tendulkar (15921 runs in 200 Tests), Ricky Ponting (13378 runs in 168 Tests) and Rahul Dravid (13288 runs in 164 Tests).

"It wasn't an easy decision, with Australia around the corner and the success this team is enjoying, but I feel the time is right. I don't see it as goodbye, I still have a lot of hunger to push South Africa to that World Cup in 2015 if I am fit and performing," Kallis said in a statement.

Following Kallis' retirement, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will remain the only active players, who feature in the top-10 century scorers in the Test cricket.

Tendulkar leads the list with 51 centuries and is followed by Kallis (44), Ponting (41), Dravid (36), Sunil Gavaskar (34), Brian Lara (34), Sangakkara (33), Steve Waugh (32), Jayawardene (31) and Matthew Hayden (30).

Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene are already 36 years of age and their chances to surpass Tendulkar in the list look remote.

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Maturity of Kallis will be missed: Coach

DURBAN: South African coach Russell Domingo today said his team would "sorely" miss the "maturity" of Jacques Kallis in the dressing room and they have a challenge to manage the legendary all-rounder in a way that he could be in peak form before the 2015 ODI World Cup.

Kallis announced his retirement from Test and first-class cricket on the eve of the Boxing Day Test against India but expressed wish to play the 2015 World Cup for South Africa.

"The impact Jacques has made on South African cricket has been immense, not just as a player but as a human being. I'm not sure we will ever see another player of that stature very soon. Jacques' calmness, maturity and presence in the change room will sorely be missed and hopefully he will still be able to play a role in this team's success in the near future," Domingo said.

Going through a lean patch of late, Kallis has featured in 165 Tests for South Africa, scoring 13174 runs at an average of 55.12. He struck 44 centuries and also took 292 wickets.

Domingo said it would be an important challenge for the team to selectively manage the 38-year-old cricketer, leading up to the 2015 ODI World Cup.

"He has ambitions of playing in the 2015 World Cup and it will be important for us to manage him accordingly so that he is in prime form leading into the tournament," he said.

Haroon Lorgat, Cricket South Africa's chief executive, was effusive in his praise for Kallis and said "it is fitting that his final Test should be on the same ground as the one on which he made his debut against England back in 1995."

"He has been a stalwart for many years and South Africa's recent triumphs and greatness have been built around him. He is a legend and his statistics speak volumes. Jacques has been ever present for the Proteas in the past 18 years," Lorgat added.

Kallis' teammates took to the twitter to pay glowing tributes to him. A number of Proteas players hit the right superlatives for one of the greatest all rounders of the game.

"It's been emotional few days knowing JK retiring. All I can say what a privilege to have played with the great man!" wrote South African skipper Graeme Smith.

"Hopefully, we can give him the send off he deserves over the next 5 days!gonna miss him immensely @jacqueskallis75 love you and grateful," he posted.

Opener Hashim Amla tweeted: "An amazing career from arguably South Africa's greatest sportsman. Lookin forward to one last game in whites with this legend."

South African middle-order batsman J P Duminy said it was an honour to share the dressing room with Kallis.

"Been an honour to share a changeroom with 1 of the gr8's of the game. May we give u the send off u thoroughly deserve."

Off-spinner Johan Botha wished Kallis "all the best" for his last Test in whites.

"All the best with your last Test @jacqueskallis75 !!Get "Slaz Door" going for 1 big score to finish!!Going to miss you in whites," he posted.

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Punjab beat Delhi as Viru, Gauti fail

NEW DELHI: Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag couldn't stand up and be counted when it mattered the most as Punjab recorded one of the most inspiring victories in recent times beating Delhi by 98 runs in a Ranji Trophy group league game to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive.

Chasing a target of 327, Delhi were all out for 228 on the final day with Rajat Bhatia scoring a gutsy hundred on a difficult track.

Punjab will take a lot of positives from this game as despite being shot out for 74 in the first innings, they came back to win the match.

Punjab now have 23 points from seven games and will be aiming for six points as they try to get a last-eight berth.

For Delhi, it's almost end of the road as they are at fifth place with 19 points and even an outright win with bonus points against Karnataka won't ensure a knock-out berth.

Delhi began the day at 60 for three and Gambhir (30) poked at an away going delivery from Manpreet Gony to Gurkeerat Singh in the slip-cordon.

Virender Sehwag (12) played a nice drive off Gony and also fended a short ball that sailed over slips for another four. But he again disappointed trying to hit Jaskaran Singh over mid-on. However, trying to check his shot, the ball just lobbed towards mid-on for a simple catch.

With Gambhir and Sehwag out in the first session, Delhi were reduced to 82 for five. But nightwatchman Ashish Nehra (16, 128 balls) showed a lot of character as he was involved in a 82-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Bhatia.

Bhatia, who hit his 14th first-class hundred, faced 182 balls laced with 16 fours in the process.

Once off-spinner Gurkeerat Singh removed Nehra and wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul Yadav (0) off successive deliveries, victory was just a matter of time. It was Bhatia, who was the last man to be dismissed when he edged a Gony delivery to wicketkeeper Gitansh Khera.

Opener Jiwanjot Singh, whose century was the game changer, said that it was satisfying to score a ton that helped Punjab in such a big victory.

"Our hopes of qualifying for the quarterfinals are alive after this win. This century is satisfying as the wicket was difficult to bat on and the opposition had quality bowlers. Also a lot of people said that opposition will sort me out in my second season. So it was a big boost to my confidence. Also words of encouragement from coach Bhupinder Singh Senior helped," Jiwanjot told reporters at the end of the match.

Bhatia, who batted with lot of focus despite taking a lot of blows on the body, said that not being able to score more than 150 in the first innings hurt Delhi.

"When we had the opponents out for 74, we shouldn't have taken the foot off the pedal. We had no business to get only 76-run first innings lead. The wicket was difficult but we should have at least scored more than 200. That would have released the pressure," a dejected Bhatia said.

Asked about the number of blows he took on his body with a swollen forearm showing the pain that he sustained, the all-rounder said, "I took four blows on my body while they were bowling. The most painful one was the fifth, which is this defeat. This is something that I am finding difficult to digest."

Brief Scores: Punjab: 74 & 402 Delhi: 150 & 228 (Rajat Bhatia 100, Virender Sehwag 12, Gautam Gambhir 30, Yuvraj Singh 3/45, MS Gony 3/51).

Punjab won by 98 runs. Points: Punjab 6; Delhi 0.

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SA seek better fortunes at Kingsmead

South Africa will seek to arrest a dismal Durban run of four straight defeats at Kingsmead when they host India in the second and final Test on Thursday, four days after their epic draw in Johannesburg.

The Proteas are at a loss to explain their miserable run at one of the country's premier Test grounds, where they have not won since beating West Indies in 2008.

Australia, England, India and Sri Lanka have all enjoyed handsome triumphs in Durban over the world's top ranked Test team since then and vice-captain AB de Villiers cannot fathom the poor run.

"I am confused about Durban. I don't know what to expect," he told reporters.

"I am going to play it like I always play my cricket. I am going to take it one ball at a time and use my experience to adapt as quickly as I can. So will the whole team."

De Villiers suggested it would be a good toss to win, with a lively pitch expected for the first part of the Test.

"I think there will be a bit of movement on the first day. Batting first always seemed the better option in the past.

"I don't expect as many cracks as there was at the Wanderers. It will probably be a bit more green, a bit firmer, and there may be a bit of turn towards the end of the Test."

South Africa's overall record at Kingsmead is symmetrical - they have won 13, lost 13 and been involved in 13 draws.

Durban-based fast-bowler Kyle Abbott should come into the side for Morne Morkel, who suffered an ankle ligament strain in the first Test at the Wanderers, but it is the spin department that will give the selectors the most pause for thought.

LACKED CONTROL

Imran Tahir went at five runs an over in the first Test and was a pressure release for the Indian batsmen. De Villiers defended the Pakistan-born 34-year-old.

"Immi (Imran Tahir) has bowled really well in the last few months. He didn't have a great game at the Wanderers but that is part of sport. We know what he is capable of," De Villiers said.

"It's always tempting to get Immi into your starting XI, even if you play on a road. Even on glass, he can get you wickets.

"He seems to run through the tail easily. It's a tough decision to make. We lacked control at the Wanderers, not just from Immi, from all the bowlers."

While there has been a furore at home over the team's decision to settle for a draw in the first Test where they were eight runs short of a world record victory target of 458, little has been made of India's inability to close the game out.

The tourists had 136 overs to take 10 wickets on a wearing pitch with variable bounce but managed just seven against a defiant display of batting by the hosts.

Questions around India's team selection also centre on the spinners, with Ravichandran Ashwin bowling 42 wicket-less and expensive overs.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha is the other option, though he has never bowled in Test matches outside the sub-continent.

The workload of the entire Indian bowling unit in Johannesburg was heavy, with 35-year-old Zaheer Khan bowling over 60 overs. That might have a bearing on MS Dhoni's decision if the Indian captain wins the toss.

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SA seek better fortunes at Kingsmead

South Africa will seek to arrest a dismal Durban run of four straight defeats at Kingsmead when they host India in the second and final Test on Thursday, four days after their epic draw in Johannesburg.

The Proteas are at a loss to explain their miserable run at one of the country's premier Test grounds, where they have not won since beating West Indies in 2008.

Australia, England, India and Sri Lanka have all enjoyed handsome triumphs in Durban over the world's top ranked Test team since then and vice-captain AB de Villiers cannot fathom the poor run.

"I am confused about Durban. I don't know what to expect," he told reporters.

"I am going to play it like I always play my cricket. I am going to take it one ball at a time and use my experience to adapt as quickly as I can. So will the whole team."

De Villiers suggested it would be a good toss to win, with a lively pitch expected for the first part of the Test.

"I think there will be a bit of movement on the first day. Batting first always seemed the better option in the past.

"I don't expect as many cracks as there was at the Wanderers. It will probably be a bit more green, a bit firmer, and there may be a bit of turn towards the end of the Test."

South Africa's overall record at Kingsmead is symmetrical - they have won 13, lost 13 and been involved in 13 draws.

Durban-based fast-bowler Kyle Abbott should come into the side for Morne Morkel, who suffered an ankle ligament strain in the first Test at the Wanderers, but it is the spin department that will give the selectors the most pause for thought.

LACKED CONTROL

Imran Tahir went at five runs an over in the first Test and was a pressure release for the Indian batsmen. De Villiers defended the Pakistan-born 34-year-old.

"Immi (Imran Tahir) has bowled really well in the last few months. He didn't have a great game at the Wanderers but that is part of sport. We know what he is capable of," De Villiers said.

"It's always tempting to get Immi into your starting XI, even if you play on a road. Even on glass, he can get you wickets.

"He seems to run through the tail easily. It's a tough decision to make. We lacked control at the Wanderers, not just from Immi, from all the bowlers."

While there has been a furore at home over the team's decision to settle for a draw in the first Test where they were eight runs short of a world record victory target of 458, little has been made of India's inability to close the game out.

The tourists had 136 overs to take 10 wickets on a wearing pitch with variable bounce but managed just seven against a defiant display of batting by the hosts.

Questions around India's team selection also centre on the spinners, with Ravichandran Ashwin bowling 42 wicket-less and expensive overs.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha is the other option, though he has never bowled in Test matches outside the sub-continent.

The workload of the entire Indian bowling unit in Johannesburg was heavy, with 35-year-old Zaheer Khan bowling over 60 overs. That might have a bearing on MS Dhoni's decision if the Indian captain wins the toss.

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IPL 7 auction to be held on Feb 12

NEW DELHI: IPL franchises will be allowed to retain five cricketers during the 2014 Indian Premier League auction to be held on February 12 with the option of buying back a limited number of players through the newly introduced 'right to match' provision.

After a series of discussions, the IPL Governing Council today came up with a number of regulations related to Players' Contracts, Squad Compositions and the Retention of Players in advance for the 2014 Auction.

"The Pepsi IPL 2014 Player Auction will be held on 12 February, and if necessary, 13 February 2014. The venue of the auction will be announced soon," BCCI said in a release.

"A franchise may sign up to a maximum of 5 players (either capped or uncapped, no more than four of whom may be capped Indians) who were in its squad in 2013, including those who were unavailable during the season and those who were taken as temporary replacements."

Regarding the Salary cap, the Governing Council said the franchises will be charged Rs 12.5 crore, Rs 9.5 crore, Rs 7.5 crore, Rs 5.5 crore and Rs 4 crore for respectively the first, second, third, fourth and fifth capped players retained and it would be "irrespective of the IPL league fee that is agreed between the two parties and which is set out in the player contract."

Apart from the cricketers who are retained in advance, all other players will have to enter the 2014 player auction process if they want to play in the IPL in 2014, the release said.

According to the new regulations, the format of the 2014 Player Auction will be broadly similar to last year but each franchise will have a number of 'rights to match' which it may exercise during the course of the auction for those players who were in its squad in 2013.

"The number of 'rights to match' available to a franchise will depend on the number of players that the franchise retained in advance," the release said.

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'India had more positives from 1st Test'

DURBAN: Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara today sought to play mind games ahead of the second cricket Test against South Africa, saying the visitors had more positives to take from the epic drawn first Test and would like to "build on the gains" from that match.

"If we consider the last match, we have had more positives than South Africa. We batted first when the ball was doing a bit and we batted well. When they batted in the first innings, there wasn't much help from the track, still we came back with our bowling," Pujara said at the pre-match press conference here.

"In the second innings, they had the opportunity to bat in better conditions. On the last day, we were expecting some more movement from the cracks but it didn't happen. They were lucky enough to survive," India's No 3, who scored an impressive 153 in the first Test, said.

Pujara said that India had a better chance of winning the first Test but it was one partnership between AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, that didn't go their way.

"We had very good chance to win the match. But it was one good partnership in a session that didn't go our way. So emotionally and mentally, coming out to play in Durban is a good thing for us. It is a new match and we have to start from scratch. We have to forget what happened in Johannesburg and focus on our plans for this game," Pujara said.

Pujara did not shy away from stating that South Africa didn't go for victory as they didn't have confidence in their tail-enders when asked about the impressive show by the Proteas while chasing a target in excess of 450.

"Only two of their batsmen, Faf and AB scored runs in the whole match. We are confident that we can get their batsmen out. Also, if you notice, they didn't go for victory in the end, so they are not confident about their tail-enders getting runs," the Saurashtra batsman pointed out.

Pujara also said that although it was a very close game, the recovery process after such a taxing encounter hasn't been a problem.

"Nevertheless, it was a very exciting finish and you expect such close contests from Test cricket. There is no problem with our recovery and we are training a lot. So we are fit enough to prepare for the next game."

India fell short by just three wickets in the end, but Pujara asserted that their bowlers had done well even in coming out of the game with a draw after setting a 458-run target.

"It was just one session on fifth day, which changed the game. The one between lunch and tea when we didn't get any wickets. That was the crucial session for us. If we had got one wicket - either Faf or AB - then we would have had a very good chance of winning the match.

"Obviously credit goes to them that they batted well, but apart from that we bowled really well in all other sessions," said Pujara, giving due credit to the efforts of Zaheer Khan, Mohamad Shami and Ishant Sharma.

He also had kind words for lone spinner in the attack, Ravichandran Ashwin, who didn't pick a wicket in the two innings.

"There wasn't much help for the spinners. But with the kind of line and length he bowled, he was getting a little bit of turn despite fast bowlers getting more help from the Wanderers' pitch.

"Ashwin bowled the right areas and Faf was struggling to play him. He didn't score many runs against Ashwin, if you see. The fast bowlers were mainly supposed to pick wickets for us and he just had to hold the line and length. In the end, Ashwin did his job for us," Pujara tried his best to defend the Tamil Nadu tweaker who has not done well on overseas tours.

Pujara didn't shy away from asking questions as to how Morne Morkel's replacement Kyle Abbott, who hasn't played much international cricket will fit in the scheme of things.

"It will a huge difference for them because the replacement bowler (Kyle Abbott) hasn't played much with this team. Even in Abu Dhabi, he didn't play against Pakistan. So it will be a bit of a bother to them because Dale Steyn is used to bowling with Morkel in a partnership".

Pujara did admit that Imran Tahir's poor show and Morkel's injury helped the Indian team's cause.

"Tahir didn't bowl well in that match. South Africa will be disappointed in his bowling because he had to do a specific role and he couldn't do it. Indian batsmen are always good against spinners and we did score many against Tahir and Duminy, and they had to bowl because Morkel was injured".

Dale Steyn didn't have a great Test match but Pujara by no means would like to underestimate the fast bowler.

"Of course, it is good for us that Steyn didn't pick any wickets in the match. But he's a very good bowler and nobody in our team will under-estimate him for this match. When you score runs, you get to know about the bowlers' strategy and their lengths."

Pujara said that his first overseas Test hundred has given him a lot of confidence.

"It becomes a bit easier in the next game, but I am not saying that I can walk in there and do the same in this match as well. I will have to work hard obviously, but I had the confidence to score runs overseas because I have been on many A-tours to Australia, England and here as well earlier in the year," he said.

Irrespective of the bowling attack, his partnership with Kohli at number four will once again be crucial to India's fortunes when they bat together in the second Test.

"We had two perfect partnerships. Let us hope we can continue to bat well together in this match as well," Pujara signed off.

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Not easy to retire like Swann: Bhajji

NEW DELHI: Graeme Swann's sudden decision to retire might have taken everyone by surprise but spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that for an Indian cricketer, the decision to quit doesn't happen overnight as the pressures and demands are much higher in this cricket-crazy country.

"I don't know what were the conditions that prompted Swannn to take such a huge decision but it doesn't happen like that for an Indian cricketer. I am not comparing the pressures and rigours but if any Indian cricketer takes such a decision, he will be under intense media scrutiny which at times can get very difficult," Harbhajan said on the sidelines of Punjab's Ranji Trophy game.

Harbhajan, who is a veteran of 101 Test matches has had a roller-coaster ride in his 15-year-international career.

"In India, it is difficult for a cricketer to show that he is under some kind of stress. Here, you can only retire when you don't want to play anymore or the motivation is lacking. Having said that, I believe a quality bowler Swann could have played for a few more years," the 33-year-old spinner said.

Harbhajan termed Swann as a real match-winner for England who should have achieved more international success than 255 wickets from 60 Test matches.

"Look, he has helped England win a Test series in India. For a spinner outside the sub-continent, it is a big achievement. He has had success during the last Ashes series in England also. Whatever little I watched during the current Test matches, I don't think he bowled badly," Harbhajan explained.

"For a spinner growing up in England, it is challenging to become an off-spinner. The line and length needs to be altered on each of the four days of county cricket or five days of Test matches. The pitches in England don't have a set pattern. It changes with each day and accordingly the length varies. Swann did that with great efficiency," Harbhajan said.

"The amount of revolutions that Swann imparted at pace higher than what off-break bowlers bowled made it difficult for batsmen," he added.

Harbhajan, who is still overcoming from shoulder injury has started bowling at the nets although he has some "stiffness".

"Hopefully, we can post a good target for Delhi and win the match. I have started bowling and the pain is not there. But there is still some stiffness that needs to be monitored," Harbhajan said.

The feisty spinner is also turning entrepreneur with his brand of sports gear and apparels with branding of "Bhajji Sports".

"I have entered the sports equipment business with 'Bhajji Sports'. I am applying for ICC clearance so that cricket bats with 'Bhajji Sports' logos could be used for international matches. In domestic circuit, the Punjab team is already wearing Bhajji Sports dresses for the Ranji Trophy matches. I will soon have an official launch of my product line," he concluded.

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Wessels lauds India's 'brilliant' show

JOHANNESBURG: Hailing the technique and mental approach of the Indian batsmen in the first Test, former South African captain Kepler Wessels said the visitors are expected to continue their "brilliant" show in the second match, starting Thursday in Durban.

"They were brilliant, just brilliant in the first Test. There was a lot of talk before the series and both the Indian batsmen and bowlers were able to top that in this match with their performance on the field," Wessels, who also played ODI cricket for Australia, said.

He was referring to 'scared' and 'scarred', two terms often used in the build-up to this Test series by the Proteas, in particular by their limited-overs captain AB de Villiers and their premier fast bowler Dale Steyn during the preceding three-match ODI series. In particular,

Virat Kohli was the target for the latter, having been bruised by a Morne Morkel delivery in the first ODI, also at Johannesburg.

Kohli then replied with 215 runs in two innings, scoring 119 and 96 respectively. His positive attitude perhaps rubbed off on the other batsmen as well, with Cheteshwar Pujara scoring 153 runs in the second innings.

"The technique displayed by the Indian batsmen was just brilliant. They were excellent. Leaving the ball was a key feature of their innings. Their mental approach in building the innings and the way almost all of them went about constructing the innings, on both occasions, was quite something," said Wessels.

Both sides were in a winning position at different moments on day five. It was a Test match that went through more ups and downs than a roller-coaster ride. The match was drawn with eight runs and three wickets in the balance, and is already being celebrated as the greatest drawn Test match ever.

It is very tough to say which side was more disappointed on not winning the game, or maybe, both were equally happy to have walked away with a draw.

"You cannot blame either set of batsmen or bowlers. Batting in the first innings was tough and bowlers dominated. Bowling was tougher in both the second innings as the pitch eased out. The Indian bowlers didn't go wrong at all in the fourth innings. South Africa just batted well," he opined.

Even so, he felt that both attacks need better support. "Spinners couldn't do much here and South Africa missed that support after Morne Morkel's injury. The conditions in Durban should suit spinners a bit more, not a lot more, yet enough to give them a bigger role to play."

It sets up the second Test perfectly - a Boxing Day spectacle between the two top-ranked teams in the longer format of the game.

The Kingsmead Oval pitch has slowed down over the years and it could be seen in the second ODI wherein the Indian bowlers put in a great performance after being given a hiding in the first match. The batsmen though will need to forget their own performance from that match and it should be easy given how well they batted, thrashing the ODI ghosts in the first Test.

"The Durban Test will be a more even contest. India didn't have a lot of practice coming into this first Test. But the way they have played here, they will carry a lot of momentum into the second Test. The pitch in Durban should also be easier than this one, so I am pretty sure that India will bat well again," Wessels said.

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Kohli jumps to career-best Test rankings

DUBAI: Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli jumped nine places to achieve his career-best 11th spot in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen issued on Monday.

Kohli, who stroked 119 and 96 in the two innings in the first Test against South Africa, was the second highest-ranked Indian after Cheteshwar Pujara, another centurion in the same match in Johannesburg, who remained on seventh spot after earning 37 rating points.

South African AB de Villiers, one of the two South African centurions to help draw the Johannesburg Test, leads the rankings. He leads compatriot and second-ranked Hashim Amla by 25 ratings points.

Meanwhile, South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander has achieved the coveted number-one ranking on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after a stellar performance against India in the drawn Johannesburg Test.

Philander has dislodged teammate Dale Steyn, who had been at the top of table since July 2009 when he went past Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan. Overall, Steyn spent 186 matches at the number-one position, the second-most ever after Muralitharan.

Philander had entered the Test trailing Steyn by four ratings points. While Philander recorded figures of four for 61 and three for 68, Steyn managed just one wicket. The contrasting performances resulted in Philander gaining 13 ratings points and Steyn conceding 13 ratings points.

This swing means Philander now leads Steyn by 22 ratings points and the 28-year-old from Bellville will now start the Durban Test as the number-one ranked bowler in the world for the first time in his career.

Philander is now the seventh South Africa bowler to claim the number-one rank after Aubrey Faulkner (1914-1921), Hugh Tayfield (1955-1958), Peter Pollock (1969), Allan Donald (1998-1999), Shaun Pollock (1999-2003) and Steyn (2008-2013).

Overall Philander is the 74th bowler to head the Test bowling ranking.

Philander has also become the third South Africa bowler after Pollock and Steyn to break the barrier of 900 ratings points, considered a landmark for top bowlers.

Philander's total of 912 ratings points is the joint-sixth best ever, with England's Tony Lock and West Indies paceman Curtly Ambrose, and the best-ever by a South Africa bowler.

In the team rankings, New Zealand's eight-wicket win over West Indies in the Hamilton Test has helped it register a 2-0 series win and, thereby, gain seven ratings points to retain seventh position with 82 ratings points.

West Indies, on the other hand, has dropped behind Sri Lanka in seventh position in the table headed by South Africa (131 rating points). India are at second place with 119 rating points.

England off-spinner Graeme Swann, who retired from international cricket on Sunday, ended his Test career in 15th spot.

Swann's highest ranking with the ball was when he achieved the number-two position in March 2010. He reached a peak of 858 points later that year.

Swann also spent 41 matches and 111 days in 2011 as the top ranked ODI bowler, first reaching top spot on 3 July 2011. He has ended his ODI career in 24th rank on the bowling table.

He also spent 35 matches and 338 days as the top ranked T20I bowler, first reaching top spot on 30 December 2010. Swann has ended his T20 International career in 17th position.

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Kohli jumps to career-best Test rankings

DUBAI: Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli jumped nine places to achieve his career-best 11th spot in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen issued on Monday.

Kohli, who stroked 119 and 96 in the two innings in the first Test against South Africa, was the second highest-ranked Indian after Cheteshwar Pujara, another centurion in the same match in Johannesburg, who remained on seventh spot after earning 37 rating points.

South African AB de Villiers, one of the two South African centurions to help draw the Johannesburg Test, leads the rankings. He leads compatriot and second-ranked Hashim Amla by 25 ratings points.

Meanwhile, South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander has achieved the coveted number-one ranking on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after a stellar performance against India in the drawn Johannesburg Test.

Philander has dislodged teammate Dale Steyn, who had been at the top of table since July 2009 when he went past Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan. Overall, Steyn spent 186 matches at the number-one position, the second-most ever after Muralitharan.

Philander had entered the Test trailing Steyn by four ratings points. While Philander recorded figures of four for 61 and three for 68, Steyn managed just one wicket. The contrasting performances resulted in Philander gaining 13 ratings points and Steyn conceding 13 ratings points.

This swing means Philander now leads Steyn by 22 ratings points and the 28-year-old from Bellville will now start the Durban Test as the number-one ranked bowler in the world for the first time in his career.

Philander is now the seventh South Africa bowler to claim the number-one rank after Aubrey Faulkner (1914-1921), Hugh Tayfield (1955-1958), Peter Pollock (1969), Allan Donald (1998-1999), Shaun Pollock (1999-2003) and Steyn (2008-2013).

Overall Philander is the 74th bowler to head the Test bowling ranking.

Philander has also become the third South Africa bowler after Pollock and Steyn to break the barrier of 900 ratings points, considered a landmark for top bowlers.

Philander's total of 912 ratings points is the joint-sixth best ever, with England's Tony Lock and West Indies paceman Curtly Ambrose, and the best-ever by a South Africa bowler.

In the team rankings, New Zealand's eight-wicket win over West Indies in the Hamilton Test has helped it register a 2-0 series win and, thereby, gain seven ratings points to retain seventh position with 82 ratings points.

West Indies, on the other hand, has dropped behind Sri Lanka in seventh position in the table headed by South Africa (131 rating points). India are at second place with 119 rating points.

England off-spinner Graeme Swann, who retired from international cricket on Sunday, ended his Test career in 15th spot.

Swann's highest ranking with the ball was when he achieved the number-two position in March 2010. He reached a peak of 858 points later that year.

Swann also spent 41 matches and 111 days in 2011 as the top ranked ODI bowler, first reaching top spot on 3 July 2011. He has ended his ODI career in 24th rank on the bowling table.

He also spent 35 matches and 338 days as the top ranked T20I bowler, first reaching top spot on 30 December 2010. Swann has ended his T20 International career in 17th position.

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SA 331/4 at tea on Day 5 against India

NEW DELHI: Indian bowlers failed to get a single wicket post lunch as Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers batted through the session on the fifth and final day of the first Test at New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

Scorecard

Du Plessis (88*) and De Villiers (72*) added an unbeaten 134-run stand to take South Africa 331/4 at tea on Day 5, require 127 more runs to win the last session.

The duo defied the Indian bowling to stitch century stand and put South Africa in firm control.

Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers were batting well in tandem to score fifty apiece and leave India struggling for the wickets.

De Villiers took 85 balls to make his 34th Test fifty with the help of eight boundaries. Du Plessis smashed a boundary off Mohammed Shami towards deep square leg to reach his third Test half-century.

Earlier, India grabbed two wickets in the first session to reduce South Africa to 236 for 4 at lunch as the match remained wide open for a result.

Faf du Plessis (42) and AB de Villiers (25) were at the crease at the break at Wanderers, after Zaheer Khan (15-0-61-1) had dismissed Jacques Kallis to take his 300th Test wicket in his 89th match.

The Proteas scored 98 runs in the first session in 29 overs and need another 222 runs to win with two sessions remaining, while India need six more wickets. But, an injured Morne Morkel is doubtful to come out and bat after he twisted his ankle on Day three.

South Africa began the day at their overnight score of 138/2, with Alviro Petersen on 76 and du Plessis on 10.

Pacer Mohammed Shami (17-3-63-2) was the first bowler deployed by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India hunted for their second Test win at this ground in four Tests played here. He bowled with fire, moving the ball both ways despite the ball being 45 overs old.

Peterson started with a lazy shot on the very first ball of the day, an uncharacteristic one given how he played in the evening session of day four. Even as the batsman may have hoped to get his hundred, it was a pointer that perhaps this was not going to be his day.

And four overs later, Shami found a way past his defence. An incoming delivery kept low and Peterson got an inside edge onto his stumps. He was out for 76, without adding a run to his overnight score. In all, he faced 162 balls and hitting nine fours.

Shami was bowling a fiery five-over spell in first hour, which yielded 56 runs, and he had a loud appeal against Kallis turned down first ball. The ball seemed to be going down leg-side by a few inches and the great all-rounder escaped a golden pair. Kallis found his bearings thereafter, scoring at a quick clip with a streak of boundaries, and scored 31 of the 50-run partnership with du Plessis.

Kallis, however, seemed to be in a hurry chasing down a huge score and looked set, when umpire Rod Tucker wrongly adjudged him LBW off Zaheer in the 61st over. He was out for 34 runs off 37 balls, as a huge inside edge rocked his front pads.

But the umpire's finger went up and Kallis became Zaheer's 300th Test victim in his 89th Test. The veteran left-arm speedster is the fourth highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket, after Anil Kumble (619 wickets in 132 Tests), Kapil Dev (434 wickets in 131 Tests) and Harbhajan Singh (413 wickets in 101 Tests).

The 200 came up for South Africa in the 61st over, as de Villiers and du Plessis avoided further damage. Spin was introduced in the 65th over, with R Ashwin (21-3-49-0) coming to bowl, while Virat Kohli (2-0-7-0) was introduced into the attack with 15 minutes to go for lunch.

De Villiers survived an LBW appeal in the 71st over, bowled by Ashwin, but the ball appeared to be sailing above leg-stump. Shami bowled the final over before the break and the batsman survived another LBW call, with the ball seeming to sail just above the off-stump.

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