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Cricket Betting – South Africa V India

The test match down in Cape Town looks finely balanced at the end of Day 2 with India 220 runs behind with 8 wickets left.

I think India should be a bit disappointed to have let South Africa get to 362 all out after having them at 262/6. I thought that their ground fielding was fairly poor, especially when they needed to apply the pressure when Jacques Kallis was batting with the tail.

Kallis showed just why he is still by far South Africa’s best batsman, it was a brilliant innings and it only ended because he was chasing a wide ball while batting with the No.11.

Had he decent support at the other end who knows how many he could have made. All this while carrying an injury, it was an outstanding effort.

At the moment all 3 results are still on, South Africa need early wickets tomorrow to try and gain a 1st innings lead. The first session will be key to SA’s chances, if they are to have any chance Steyn and Morkel need to get amongst the wickets early on.

The draw is also still a very possible outcome as I can’t see either captain making any risky declarations. If SA can bowl India out for around 280-300, then when does Graeme Smith declare his 2nd innings? The problem with declaring against India is the Sehwag factor, as England found in 2009. Is any total safe?

India will be looking to just bat and bat on Day 3 and go past SA’s score and hopefully bring Harbhajan into play on Day 4. Paul Harris was troubling some of the Indian batsmen today, so what could Harbhajan do on a 4th or 5th day pitch?

Watching this match, I couldn’t help thinking that it is real competitive, hard fought test cricket at it’s best. South Africa fought hard to get to 362, against some testing bowling from the Indians.

India were then tested by Steyn and Morkel, as you would expect, and had to really fight to get to 142/2 at the close. They are showing that they are more than just flat track bullies at home, an accusation made about them (not by me) quite a lot.

South Africa have made sure that there are no batting paradises for India, in doing this they seem to have created more balance between bat and ball, which has provided a great test series so far. Let’s hope the next 3 days are just as good.

The Draw is now favourite at 9/10 with Stan James. South Africa are 13/5 with Bet365 and India, still the outsiders at 3/1 with William Hill.

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7 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    “Watching this match, I couldn’t help thinking that it is real competitive, hard fought test cricket at it’s best.”

    Yup…really absorbing stuff.

    And 2 tremendous Test match performances on the day! Brilliant batting by Kallis…must be easily one of his finest hundreds. I was actually a little worried that he might take SA past 400! Still, putting on 79 for the last 2 wkts was fantastic.

    The other brilliant show was from Sreesanth. Not a guy I admire…his behaviour can be pretty disgraceful at times…but the man has some serious talent. And just the most beautiful seam presentation in world cricket! Even gets the the great Allan Donald raving about it every time he’s on air. I’ll say it right now…if he’s fit and as focused as he’s been in the last 2 Tests, he’s gonna be a real handful in England.

    -BP

  2. Hi BP,

    Thnaks for the reply. I agree, I think Kallis could have batted for another day if he hadn’t been with the tail. He would never have chased that ball if he hadn’t been batting with the No.11

    As for Sreesanth, he is a man of undoubted talent. I think his actions have cost him quite a few caps already, he’s an if only bowler.

    If only he would cut out the silly stuff.
    If only he would knuckle down and concentrate on his bowling.

    I could go on. But if he can keep his head down I think he could be an important part of this India team for some time. He certainly looks good enough and India need reliable seam support for Zaheer.

    He played for my county, Warwickshire, a bit last season and did a decent job. I think they would have been happy at Warwickshire to have had him for the whole season. But with international commitments, sadly it wasn’t to be.

  3. Anonymous

    Yeah…I was pretty glad Sreesanth grabbed the chance to play in England…especially as Allan Donald was involved with Warwickshire at the time. What a dream come true for a young seamer! Glad to know he also managed to make a decent impression on his county.

    But more IMPORTANTLY…I really hope you managed to catch the MAGICAL ACTION at Capetown today! Dale Steyn was ON FIRE!!! I kid you not…he was bending it almost like Beckham!!! I mean the 10 overs just after lunch…with the new ball…oh man! Test match Nirvana!

    And the 37-yr old kid wasn’t bad either! Really had to guts it out today…lots of plays and misses against Steyn & co…but No. 51 would not be denied! Not just a batting grandmaster…a real competitor he is! As were Harbhajan and Zaheer. Just tremendous fighting cricket. What a Test match!

    Cheers!
    -BP

  4. I missed it, was back at work. I seen about an hour of the morning session before I left, Steyn looked good then as well. It was just Sachin taking the strike against him. There is not too many batsmen in world cricket who would have survived what I watched. If what he bowled after lunch was better, then I’m glad England’s batsmen weren’t facing it.

    I have just read some of the online reports about it, both Steyn and Tendulkar got great reviews.

    We all know how good Sachin is, there is no debate there. I know I called VVS the world’s best (Test) batsman the other day, but Sachin is certainly up there as well. I suppose on this form, it would be hard to say Sachin isn’t the best.

    But from Steyn’s point of view he is a total one off in world cricket at the moment. By that I mean he is the only out and out pace bowler left.

    I’ve moaned on this blog before about him bowling on flat uncompetitive wickets and how they are the death of bowlers of his type.

    Long may he continue. He’s another ex Warwickshire bowler, but I’ll be glad to never see him play for us again. He is too good to be playing county cricket. He should be protected from overkill.

    Could Harbhajan be the match winner from here? I didn’t see his 2 wickets, but if he’s getting the openers out, that suggests the wicket is taking spin. If India can get rid of Kallis and Amla early tomorrow then I think they will win the test.

  5. Anonymous

    I agree…Steyn is an absolute one-off in the game right now. The only one to rival him is Johnson on his day…but we all know how often that comes around! 🙂

    But that man Kallis too is unreal! Bhajji gave India a shot today reducing SA to 90/5…but Kallis was an immovable rock. And sadly the Indian bowlers ran out of gas today…can’t blame them though…ridiculous scheduling with just 2 days between the 2nd and 3rd Tests!

    India can still draw the game, I believe. And hopefully Steyn & co. too will be feeling the physical strain. Will still be tough…Gambhir got injured and may not be able to bat…

    Anyway, congrats to you & all English fans! I see that Strauss & co. are all set for another crushing win! And 3-1 would be a fair reflection of their tremendous campaign.

    -BP

  6. Thats true BP, on his day, MJ is unplayable, but at the moment that day only comes every 18-24 months!!

    It is some test series going on. I thought we had seen it all with Laxman, Tendulkar, Steyn and Kallis before today.

    I’m starting to rethink my remarks about VVS being the best, just look at Kallis at the moment, and Sachin!

    I’m probably going to get slaughtered by my fellow English for this, but the quality of cricket in Cape Town is far better than what is going on in Sydney.

    I really thought India would do it this morning, and they probably would off it if wasn’t for Kallis.

    Another wonder innings to get India home tomorrow? It looks difficult, but I wouldn’t bet against it on what we have seen so far!

  7. Anonymous

    Anything’s possible in cricket, I suppose!

    But realistically, even the draw is going to be a struggle. Gambhir is injured and probably won’t open. And the pitch has got quite a bit of wear and tear, and variable bounce now.

    I’m actually really looking forward to the battle again! Real gutsy cricket going on! And i think you’re right about the higher quality at Capetown…but that’s not England’s fault.

    -BP

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