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Tournament’s leading run-scorer credits ignoring criticism for her upturn in form

Vishal Dikshit11-Aug-2021India and Northern Superchargers batter Jemimah Rodrigues says she handled criticism by “ignoring it” as she overcame a few “tough months” in international cricket this year to emerge as the Hundred’s leading scorer after nearly 80% of the tournament’s league matches had been played.Rodrigues started the tournament with a scintillating and unbeaten 92 off 43 balls, studded with 17 fours and a six, to script a dramatic come-from-behind win for her team, and followed it with two more half-centuries – 60 off 41 and 57 off 44 – to accumulate 241 runs in five innings, averaging 60.25 and striking at 154.48.This purple patch came after Rodrigues had been dropped from India’s T20I side in England following her single-digit scores in the two ODIs she played before that.”For me the best way to handle criticism is to ignore it, not even go online or read stuff because it’s difficult when you are doing your best and working hard, nobody knows what you’ve gone through, the tears, the heartbreaks, the sweat you’ve put out to be where you are,” Rodrigues said while commentating on on Tuesday. “And someone sitting miles away posting stuff on social media…it’s tough, and the way I handled this time to stay away from it as far as possible so I can focus on my game and be in the right head space.”Rodrigues, 20, had been one of the most promising Indian talents after making her international debut in 2018 but found herself in a rut in 2021 when cricket finally resumed for India after a year-long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the ODIs against South Africa at home, she managed scores of 1, 9 and 0 before scoring 30 and 16 in the T20Is. In England a few months later, she played only the second and third ODIs and laboured to 8 off 15 and 4 off 21 before being benched for the T20I series. She was part of the Test squad too but missed out on a debut even as five of her team-mates were handed their maiden Test caps in Bristol.Jemimah Rodrigues is the leading run-scorer in the Hundred•Getty Images

Coming into the Hundred, she was averaging only 9.71 across seven international innings this year with a tally of 68 runs and an unimpressive strike rate of 61.26.”It’s been a rollercoaster ride for me, I’ve had ups and downs,” Rodrigues said of coping with the pressures of being an India player. “That’s what cricket is all about, it teaches you so much, changes you personally not just as a player, as a human being.”I’m still learning how to find that balance because it’s not easy. The last few months were pretty tough but it’s good to be back and somewhere it’s important to find that balance in cricket.”Rodrigues further said the one-year gap she got after the 2020 T20 World Cup final against Australia also helped her “get back to basics”.”It was very difficult [to not play for so long] and sometimes it was annoying because we’re so used to living off our suitcases, travelling, going around the world and playing cricket,” she said. “The first two months were good because we needed a break and got a lot of time to spend with our family but after that my family was also fed up asking, ‘when is Jemimah going (laughs)?’ OK, they didn’t say that.”We couldn’t wait [to play]. And after that we watched a few matches, like the England and Australia women’s teams were playing and we were like, ‘when will we get to play?’ because there were a lot of [Covid-19] cases in India so it was very tough for us to practice, to get a ground. I used to practice in my building in a small lane, with a plastic ball so that the cars wouldn’t break. So it was tough times and it taught me a lot and helped me get back to my basics.”Jemimah Rodrigues used the time she had off during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic to ‘get back to basics’•Getty Images

With the men’s IPL set to resume in the UAE next month, Rodrigues also hoped for the return of the Women’s T20 Challenge too, which is usually played around the playoffs stage.”It’s high time we start the women’s IPL (Women’s T20 Challenge),” she said. “We all are very excited for it and the BCCI is doing a lot to get it started. Hopefully this time it starts soon because it’s only going to boost women’s cricket in India, and you never know you’ll get the likes of Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, all these players coming out. Like Shafali made her [India] debut after playing the Women’s T20 challenge. So hopefully we’ll have the Women’s T20 Challenge soon.”India have finished runners-up twice in the last three women’s global tournaments – the 2020 T20 World Cup and the 2017 ODI World Cup – and Rodrigues said it was the 50-over tournament in 2017 that made a “drastic change in women’s cricket in India”.”Things have changed a lot. After the 2017 World Cup, I personally saw a drastic change in women’s cricket in India. I used to go to a ground and there were 200 boys and I was the only girl. But now when I go there, there’s a special net only for girls right where I practice. That’s one of the most pleasing sights for me, that young girls taking up sport and parents coming up and telling ‘ (I want my daughter to play for India).’ Things have changed a lot.”

Former Queensland quick Gannon was the leading Shield wicket-taker last season

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2020Nathan Coulter-Nile and AJ Tye have lost their state contracts with Western Australia while Cameron Gannon, the leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield last season, has had his move confirmed.Gannon, who played T20I cricket for the USA last year having qualified through his mother’s side of the family, took 38 wickets at 20.92 for Queensland in the 2019-2020 campaign, which was truncated by a round due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and becomes one of the more significant off-season deals.The cutting of Coulter-Nile, who a year ago was part of Australia’s World Cup squad but lost his CA contract in April, had been flagged and he is expected to look for opportunity interstate. In the BBL he plays for the Melbourne Stars.Tye, like Coulter-Nile, is very much a white-ball specialist and has not played a first-class match since 2018. One of the focuses of Adam Voges, the Western Australia coach, was to rebalance the squad with an eye on Sheffield Shield cricket after a poor second half to last season when they were hit by injuries.Legspinner Liam O’Connor has earned a contract after taking a five-wicket haul on his Western Australia Shield debut last season while pace bowler Lance Morris has been upgraded to a senior contract. “We identified at the end of last season that our bowling depth in Shield cricket and our spin stocks needed a boost and we’re really pleased with our new additions to the squad,” Voges said. “It’s exciting to have Cam [Gannon] come across to the West. He had a terrific season in red-ball cricket being the leading wicket taker in Sheffield Shield cricket and will bring experience and leadership to our young bowling group.”We were strong in the Marsh Cup last year and will be looking to start the season well in 50-over cricket. Our focus, no doubt, will be to improve our Sheffield Shield results, we were disappointing at the back end of last season and will be looking to rectify that this year.”In the women’s squad, which won the WNCL title last season, Victoria legspinner Alana King has made the move across the country. Allrounder Heather Graham has switched to Tasmania and New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine won’t be available due to international commitments.”We are thrilled to have Alana join us from Victoria, she’ll bring a wealth of experience to the group having played state cricket for a number of seasons now and provides us with another attacking option with both the bat and ball,” head coach Becky Grundy said.Western Australia men’s squad Ashton Agar*, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Jake Carder, Hilton Cartwright, Sam Fanning (rookie), Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Liam Guthrie, Aaron Hardie, Bradley Hope (rookie), Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Mitchell Marsh*, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Lance Morris, Liam O’Connor, Joel Paris, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson*, Corey Rocchiccioli (rookie), D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman*CA contractedWestern Australia women’s squad Megan Banting, Nicole Bolton, Zoe Britcliffe, Mathilda Carmichael, Piepa Cleary, Sheldyn Cooper, Ashley Day, Amy Edgar, Molly Healy, Alana King, Emma King, Taneale Peschel, Chloe Piparo, Georgia Wyllie

Performance of lower-order batsmen throughout the match is something to keep in mind, says Ganesh Satish

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2019″Confident, but not getting carried away,” Ganesh Satish said of the mindset in the Vidarbha camp at the end of the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy 2018-19 final against Saurashtra in Nagpur.On a pitch assisting spin and showing signs of variable bounce, Vidarbha are in a strong position – Saurashtra, chasing 206 for victory, are 58 for 5. A steep ask from here on, and that explains Satish’s confidence. But the three completed innings so far have seen the last three wickets add 116, 123 and 66 runs respectively. “So we’re not getting complacent. We’re taking it one wicket at a time,” Satish said of his team, despite them being the defending champions and playing the game at home in Jamtha, Nagpur.Vidarbha have Aditya Sarwate to thank to a large extent for getting them into a position from where they can realistically hope to defend their title successfully. With Vidarbha stuttering in their second innings, Sarwate got in and hit 49 to take them to 200 and set Saurashtra a tricky target. Then, following up his five-wicket haul in the first innings, the left-arm spinner picked up the first three Saurashtra wickets in the second innings, including, Cheteshwar Pujara for the second time in the match. This time for a five-ball duck.”Throughout the season, and even last season, he’s consistently performing. He’s always getting crucial runs for us, and obviously with the ball – 50-plus wickets. It’s really a great achievement,” Satish said.The target of 206 would qualify as a low one, especially against a team that chased down a tournament-high 372 in the quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh and then a steep 279 against Karnataka in the semi-final.”We knew we had to be positive. We knew there was some help for the spinners, so we knew we were always in the game,” Satish explained. “If you see even last year, we defended a couple of low totals. So that gave us confidence. The coach and the senior players, we spoke about it, that anything can happen. These low targets are never easy to chase, especially in such a high-pressure game. Anything can happen … a couple of quick wickets. So we were just thinking of getting a couple of quick wickets and putting some pressure on them.”They certainly got those wickets quickly enough, and with the pitch not getting any easier to bat on, it might be tricky for Saurashtra to claw back from here.”It’s a bit difficult to make runs. If you look to block, it’s not easy to get wickets as well. But it’s not easy to score runs, you’ve got to rotate the strike, take singles on this wicket. After a while, the ball does get softer, and the odd ball does, but not every ball. So you feel you’re in, but one good ball, that’s all it takes,” Satish said. “I think the bounce is okay, I don’t think that’s changed, it’s the speed of the wicket, it’s a little slow now.”Saurashtra’s Dharmendrasinh Jadeja said that Sarwate’s accuracy was the reason behind his success, but said that his own team was let down because not everyone contributed. That said, he believed Vidarbha were still in the reckoning to post a come-from-behind win.”Sarwate was just bowling at one spot, and the wicket was doing the rest – whether turning or not,” Dharmendrasinh said. “That was my plan too, to deliver at one particular spot on the pitch.”This was a crucial game for us, and we needed everyone to perform together. That didn’t happen, but we still have hope. We just need one good partnership. Sheldon’s wicket, just four overs before the stumps, did hurt us, but Sheldon was just playing his natural game.”

The Sri Lanka captain said the team is prepared to field a fifth bowler or an allrounder in keeping with their “changed” attitude to win the match

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur23-Nov-20172:12

We can pull off miracle in India – Chandimal

Conditions in Nagpur will not assist seam-bowling to the extent they did in Kolkata, according to Dinesh Chandimal, the Sri Lanka captain. There is a fair amount of grass on the VCA Stadium pitch as well, in line with India’s desire to test themselves in pace-friendly conditions ahead of their tour of South Africa. Chandimal, however, felt there would be a more even contest between bat and ball here.”We saw so much grass at Eden Gardens,” he said. “This is much less. This looks a good Test pitch. It’s a challenge for us as a team. We are looking forward to the game.”He went on to explain what he meant by a “good Test pitch”: “The first few days will be good for batters. Then it might turn. That’s the kind of wicket I think that is.”Sri Lanka were the dominant side for most of the first Test – until the last innings in which they slipped to 75 for 7 before bad light saved them – and Chandimal felt it was the result of their changed attitude since a 0-3 home series defeat to India in July-August. Sri Lanka, he said, are now looking to win Test matches and series, and are prepared to play a fifth bowler or allrounder to be able to do this.”We learned a lot from the last Indian series in Sri Lanka,” he said. “The most important thing is we came here to win the series. Our attitude has changed. As I said every time our fielding also has made a huge difference – there’s a lot of energy.”We have looked at a six-five combination or six-four – plus [an] all-rounder. That’s the combination we are looking at. Most importantly we have come here with a mindset to win a Test match.”Despite all the help for the quicks in Kolkata, Lahiru Gamage did not enjoy a hugely productive Test, only picking up three wickets in 40.3 overs. Chandimal, however, backed Gamage to come good through the rest of the series.”Calcutta was his second game [in Test cricket],” he said. “His first game was in Dubai and he did well against Pakistan. You can have a bad day and you can have a bad game. He is a really good player. He has a lot of experience, having played quite a bit of domestic cricket. I am sure he will be a good asset, especially when bowling on a wicket like this. We will make a call on the side tomorrow morning.”

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has accused the Shashank Manohar-led ICC of “arm-twisting” the Indian board and not taking it seriously

Arun Venugopal10-Sep-20162:50

‘Felt like the captain left a sinking ship’ – Thakur

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has said the board is being “arm-twisted” on two fronts: as a result of the Lodha committee’s recommendations for structural reform, and due to the change at the top of the ICC, where Shashank Manohar has taken charge as the independent chairman. Thakur also took exception to Manohar’s remarks that his priorities lay with the ICC and not the BCCI. Manohar had suggested that it wasn’t his responsibility but that of the BCCI representative to look after the board’s interest at the ICC table.”I think these [Lodha] recommendations and [the] change in ICC [regime] are arm-twisting BCCI both at home and at the ICC which is not good for Indian cricket,” Thakur said. “The situation of BCCI – a global leader till the recommendation of the Lodha committee… now with the new ICC regime they are trying to sideline the BCCI, one of the most important stakeholders in global cricket today. Just [because of] one recommendation, we are not taken seriously.”Thakur, who is in Greater Noida to watch the final of the Duleep Trophy, told reporters that the BCCI, by virtue of being a “global leader”, had an obligation to look after the interest of smaller boards. He reiterated the BCCI’s concerns over the budget for next year’s Champions Trophy in England, which the Indian board felt was three times as much as what was allotted to India for the World T20 earlier this year.”Yes, BCCI should look after its interests, but BCCI does not only limit itself to look after BCCI’s interests,” Thakur said. “If he [Manohar] is saying that he has got nothing to do with the BCCI, BCCI is one of the 105 members and one of the most important stakeholders of the ICC today. And, that is why we have raised the issue – when the others kept mum – that we want to go through the Champions Trophy budget.”Compare the World [T20] Cup with the Champions Trophy – we had 56 matches, Champions Trophy has close to 15 matches; we had eight venues, they had only three venues; it was a 49-day event and the Champions Trophy is only a 20-day event. So the per-match cost is three times higher. Every single penny saved is every single penny earned, not only for BCCI but for 105 countries.”When you talk about the two-tier Test system, BCCI could have got benefits by joining hands with those associations like Australia and England, but we stood by countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and to an extent like West Indies.”Thakur questioned Manohar’s motives for amending the ICC constitution, which played a part in his being elected unopposed as the first independent chairman of the world body. He contended that Manohar hadn’t taken all members into confidence before the amendments were made.”Mr Shashank Manohar was on the board to make certain changes, amendments. As the president of the board he should have taken into confidence all the BCCI members which he did not,” he said. “The amendments were made and he became the independent chairman. Once he has become the independent chairman, he left the BCCI when BCCI needed him the most.”

Alastair Cook has dropped a strong hint that Moeen Ali will open the batting alongside him during England’s Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates next month

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-20151:35

Cook suggests openers could change after UAE

Alastair Cook has dropped a strong hint that Moeen Ali will open the batting alongside him during England’s Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates next month, with Alex Hales set to front up for the tour of South Africa in December and January.Moeen and Hales are competing for the vacancy created by Adam Lyth’s failure to cement the role during the Ashes, in which he scored 115 runs at 12.77 in the course of the five-Test series.Moeen, who has been picked primarily as a spinner throughout the summer, is being considered for a promotion on the slower surfaces of the UAE, partly in order to make extra room to include an extra slow bowler.Adil Rashid, the Yorkshire legspinner, could make his Test debut against Pakistan, although Samit Patel, a renowned player of spin, is also considered a strong option, having been belatedly added to the squad following a thumb injury to Surrey’s Zafar Ansari.”The conditions are quite unique and I think we have to cover our bases quite a bit,” Cook told Sky Sports News. “We might have to do a short-term option; it might be that Mo opens the batting in this series and doesn’t open in South Africa, or Alex takes his chance in the warm-up game and we go with that balance of the side.”We have options, we’ve got to be pretty clear early on in the tour what we’re going to do. We have got our ideas but we haven’t chatted with the lads.”Moeen, who has batted at No. 8 since the Lord’s Test against New Zealand in May, admitted he would love the chance to open alongside Cook, a role he has performed with some success in one-day cricket.”I’m pretty happy wherever,” he said. “I’d love to open in the UAE if I got the opportunity, but I’m happy at eight. If the captain and the coach wanted me to open I’d be happy to do that.”Whoever gets the job will become Cook’s seventh opening partner in three years, since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012, following on from Nick Compton, Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson, Jonathan Trott and Lyth.”It’s a little bit frustrating,” said Cook. “The guys all had a really good taste of it and all did okay without anyone grabbing it and making it their own, and that’s the chance for whoever gets it next.”It’s a big step from county cricket to international cricket and opening the batting as well, you’re playing against the best bowlers with the new ball. It’s a pretty tough job. No one has quite nailed their opportunity.”

A round-up of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge matches played on March 14, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKnights won a nailbiter against the Warriors in Port Elizabeth, as they held on to a six-run margin, with Dean Elgar starring with both bat and ball. With this result the Knights moved up to second place, still eight points behind the Lions. Knights chose to bat, but lost both openers cheaply with the score on 9. Obus Pienaar and Elgar combined for 37 runs to add some stability, before Pienaar was dismissed. Elgar and Pite van Biljon put together 61, with Elgar finishing unbeaten on 61, as Knights reached 114 for 4.Warriors in response looked set to overhaul the target as they moved along at the required rate. Contributions from Ashwell Prince (37) and Davy Jacobs (30) helped steer the ship. However, once Elgar came on to bowl, the match began to shift in the Knights’ favour, as he picked up both Prince and Jacobs, then followed it up by picking off Samit Patel and Adrian McLaren. In the final over, the Warriors required 15 runs, and a tight over from Jandree Coetzee ensured they held on by six runs.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA four-wicket haul by Calvin Savage helped Dolphins beat Cape Cobras by 22 runs in Durban. Dolphins were put into bat, with opener Divan van Wyk and Cody Chetty involved in a 42-run stand for the second wicket, to assure Dolphins a good start. Daryn Smit’s unbeaten 33 off 17 balls helped push the total to 158 for 7. Dane Piedt was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 16.Cape Cobras lost opener Yaseen Vallie for a duck, and simply couldn’t put together substantial partnerships, as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Dane Vilas played a lone hand with 47 off 40, but the rest of the batting crumbed as Mthokozisi Shezi and Savage combined to pick up six of seven wickets. The required run-rate was beyond them throughout their 20 overs, with Savage picking up 4 for 33.

Sri Lanka Cricket are set to replace current coach Geoff Marsh with Graham Ford, the former South Africa coach, ESPNcricinfo has learned

Tariq Engineer22-Jan-2012Sri Lanka Cricket are set to replace current coach Geoff Marsh with Graham Ford, the former South Africa coach, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The decision, which is expected to be announced after the one-day series against South Africa, is the latest by the board to revamp the set-up around the national team – the selection panel was replaced last week and it is believed the captaincy is also set to change hands.Ford earlier this week resigned as head coach of the Dolphins, the Durban-based franchise, saying he wanted to “follow my dreams of involvement at an international level”.He will be the third coach appointed by Sri Lanka since Trevor Bayliss stepped down after leading them to the 2011 World Cup final. Marsh was appointed for two years in September, 2011 and was in charge for the tours against Pakistan and South Africa. His appointment appeared to end a period of upheaval following Bayliss’ exit. Stuart Law, who was Bayliss’ assistant, took over for the England tour before quitting to coach Bangladesh. Rumesh Ratnayake then took over for the home series against Australia, before Marsh’s appointment.Ford took over as coach of South Africa from Bob Woolmer in 1999 and held the position till 2001. He moved to Kent as director of cricket in 2004, and in 2006 he returned home to take charge of the Dolphins. In June 2007, he was offered the challenge of coaching India but declined. In 2009, he withdrew his name from the shortlist of candidates for the England coaching job.Sri Lanka has come in for much criticism since reaching the World Cup final, having lost every Test and ODI series they have played since then and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan might also be replaced by Mahela Jayawardene following their poor performance in South Africa. When asked in Kimberley, on the eve of the fourth ODI, whether he would accept the job if offered, Jayawardene said, “I will have to think about it. I will need some time.”Phone calls to SLC president Upali Dharmadasa went unanswered while secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said he could not comment on the matter.Sri Lanka have lost three and won one of the five Tests they played under Marsh’s stewardship, though that win was their first ever in South Africa. They have also lost seven of the nine ODIs they have played. When he took over, Marsh had said he was keen to extend his two-year contract to help Sri Lanka win another World Cup. Instead, his term has lasted just four months.

Cricket Kenya has announced preparations for next year’s World Cup will conclude in India by playing friendly matches against regional teams including Gujarat and Baroda

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2010Cricket Kenya has announced preparations for next year’s World Cup will conclude in India by playing friendly matches against regional teams including Gujarat and Baroda.They will then head to the UAE to take part in a training camp organised by the ICC which starts on January 28.Cricket Kenya’s chief executive Tom Sears said he hoped Jonty Rhodes, who worked successfully with the Kenyans earlier this year, would be in Dubai to link up again. “There’s no doubt our players have learnt a tremendous amount from him and his input can make a real difference to our overall performance.”The team returns to India after Dubai for the tournament proper, and is likely to face West Indies and Netherlands in warm-up matches.

The Sehwag storm struck South Africa with full force and pretty much blew everything in its way to a 13th 150-plus score

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga15-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
HawkeyeVirender Sehwag brought up his 19th century in 87 balls•Getty Images

The Sehwag storm struck South Africa with full force and pretty much blew everything in its way to a 13th 150-plus score. Amid the mayhem, it was easy to forget the cool, pleasant breeze that was Sachin Tendulkar’s 92nd international century – his fourth in four Tests. They added 249 runs for the third wicket and kept South Africa wicketless for 57.4 overs but, once the two quietened, South Africa struck back with three quick wickets to retrieve some of the momentum in the match.Sehwag rattled them with a vicious assault on the new ball, put behind him the Gautam Gambhir run-out and, after a brief quiet, punished them some more. His 87-ball hundred would have been even faster but for a relative lull of 10 off 21 balls. Tendulkar enjoyed playing in the shadow of Sehwag’s strike-rate, kept scoring at an even pace and, unlike Sehwag, didn’t give South Africa a single chance.Two critical moments in the first session determined the flow of the game. Sehwag – 43 off 21 then – had the fastest Test fifty and a few other records in sight when he ran Gambhir out, and he chastised himself by playing disciplined cricket for a while. Around the same time Morne Morkel indulged in some reverse-rattling, took out M Vijay, troubled Sehwag with accurate bouncers and induced an edge only to see JP Duminy – at first slip because of the finger injury to Graeme Smith – drop him on 47. Sehwag could have gone at an even more frenetic rate but for the run-out. South Africa could have been in control had Sehwag fallen then.Sehwag’s onslaught started when Dale Steyn failed to get any swing. Somehow the ball didn’t come out right, the seam wobbled, and Nagpur was a distant memory. When there is no swing, Steyn’s pace is his biggest enemy so today the faster they came the faster they went. Nor did he get the Morkel’s bounce, which meant that when Steyn went for the ribs, Sehwag could easily flick it past midwicket.The storm started with that gentle little flick and then came three boundaries in three balls in the third over: placed over point, whipped to square leg, and slashed past point. Morkel got the treatment in his third over too: three boundaries through the off side, one off a delivery that clocked 152.6kmph. Wayne Parnell replaced Morkel immediately, and immediately he was carved for a four and a six into the rubble of a stand under reconstruction.The next ball Sehwag faced he hit an off-drive for four, and then came the run-out. It was time for drinks and Sehwag threw away his protective gear in disgust. That was when Morkel came back but his charged-up, accurate burst seemed to have ended with that dropped chance.When Sehwag came back from lunch, the cautious approach had been thrown out and he was blazing away again. For company he had Tendulkar. If you were a bowler, there was nowhere to hide.Sehwag showed that to Steyn early in his second spell. Punch, whip, steer, 10 runs off three deliveries. Steyn to Sehwag then: 11 balls, 25 runs, five boundaries. Tendulkar joined the fun, defending everything full but steering Steyn for two boundaries. Paul Harris, meanwhile, didn’t have the luxury of a big score, bowled round the stumps, and was slog-swept and hit inside out by Sehwag for a six and a four.Back came Morkel, the best bowler on the day, to be given the worst sort of treatment a best bowler can be given. This time Tendulkar took the lead. Two fullish deliveries, two clips to the on side, one to the left of square leg, one to the right. In his next over, he gave Sehwag width with three deep fielders on the off side. One to the left of deep point, and one to the right. Sehwag 89 off 72, Tendulkar 38 off 61. India were 165 for 2 in 30.2 overs, with the bonus of South Africa’s two best bowlers negated.In between the hard-hitting there was some toying, with paddles from outside off, reverse-sweeps, clips past midwicket as Sehwag reached his hundred and Tendulkar his fifty without further incident. Harris eventually started bowling over the wicket, and was called wide 12 times because, unlike in Nagpur, he was not looking to get wickets here.The runs slowed down post tea. When Sehwag was 128, AB de Villiers, the replacement keeper, missed an easy stumping. By the time Duminy made good his mistake, getting Sehwag in his first over, it might just have been too late. Not quite. Harris went round the wicket in the next over – inexplicably it took him until the Sehwag dismissal to do so – and got a false shot out of Tendulkar.Steyn came back right away, got his swing back, and beat S Badrinath in the man-versus-boy contest. VVS Laxman struggled to fight the momentum and edged Harris in the next over. It flew wide of slip, the light deteriorated and India ended the day retaining the upper hand despite that late South African surge.