Steyn guns down India for 76, South Africa in command

AHMEDABAD: India's much-vaunted batting line-up was blown away for an embarrassing 76 well inside the first session and their spineless capitulation allowed South Africa take the driver's seat in the second cricket Test here on Thursday.
    
After Indian captain Anil Kumble won the toss and decided to bat first, the Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera witnessed an abject batting surrender as the hosts were shot out for a dismal 76 runs in just 20 overs well inside lunch with only Irfan Pathan (21 not out) and MS Dhoni (14) managing double-digit scores on day one of the Test.
    
Dale Steyn (5-23) and Makhaya Ntini (3-18) breathed fire on a wicket that had a tinge of green on it but certainly no demons to justify the stunning batting collapse.
    
In their reply, South Africa overcame Harbhajan Singh's three-wicket burst to finish the day at a comfortable 223 for 4 to take a 147-run first innings lead.
    
Jacques Kallis (60) and AB de Villiers (59) were in the middle when stumps were drawn.
    
Anil Kumble's side suffered the ignominy of being the first Indian team to be shot out before lunch on the first day of a Test.
    
The star-studded batting line-up lasted just 109 minutes, second-shortest in terms of overs after India's infamous 'Summer of 42' collapse against England at Lord's in 1974 in bowler-friendly conditions. On that occasion, India's second innings lasted 17 overs, three less than today's.
    
The paltry total was India's lowest at home against the visitors and their second-worst ever after the 75 made against the West Indies at Delhi in 1983.

By stumps, the visitors had taken an iron grip on the match, after a brief wobble when they lost three wickets quickly to the off spin of Harbhajan.
    
Kallis was unbeaten on 60 off 124 balls that included five fours and a six, while de Villiers's unbeaten 59 came off 102 balls and had seven fours in it. The duo have put on 106 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket in 147 minutes and 205 balls.
    
It was a nightmarish performance by the Indian team which was sans Sachin Tendulkar who skipped the match with groin injury.
    
Ntini started the demolition job and struck three times in six balls without conceding a run in his deadly spell to leave India gasping at 30 for four within the first 45 minutes.
    
Ntini first had Jaffer poking at a ball that came in slightly to edge low to Graeme Smith.
    
Then the most experienced bowler in the Proteas' attack struck two big blows in the space of three balls which sent V V S Laxman (3) and Sourav Ganguly (0) packing.
    
Laxman shouldered arms to a ball that pitched wide, seamed and then swung back to rattle the stumps while the left-handed Ganguly was in two minds whether to play or leave the ball and ended up inside-edging it on to his stumps.
    
In between, Steyn struck the biggest blow as far as his team was concerned by sending back Virender Sehwag, their tormentor and triple centurion in the Chennai Test, for 6.
    
From 16 for no loss in the fourth over, the Indian score slumped to 30 for four by the eighth. It was left to former captain Rahul Dravid and Dhoni to pull the team out of the woods with a stand of 23, the highest in the innings.
    
The Indian 'keeper took over the attacking reins with Dravid stone-walling at the other end before the latter was castled by Steyn with the first ball of his second spell.
    
In the alarming situation, Dhoni played a poor shot to get out. He tried to cut wildly and was caught behind off Morne Morkel, who then dismissed Kumble for a duck two balls later to leave the home team at a sorry-looking 55 for 7.
    
Steyn then snapped up the tail by scalping Harbhajan Singh (1), R P Singh (0) and S Sreesanth (0) to terminate the innings eleven minutes before the lunch break.
    
In contrast, the visiting team's openers, captain Graeme Smith (34) and Neil McKenzie (42) by themselves overhauled the meagre Indian total before tea by putting on 78 runs at better than five-an-over, indicating further there was nothing wrong with the track.
    
The left-handed Smith was trapped leg before by S Sreesanth in the first over of his second spell with half an hour to go for tea. When on three, Smith was let off at short leg by Sourav Ganguly off Sreesanth.
    
McKenzie departed on the stroke of tea, which was taken at 100 for two, by edging Harbhajan to Rahul Dravid in the lone slip.
    
The off-spinner struck twice in the post-tea session to send back Hashim Amla (60), also a centurion at Chennai, and Ashwell Prince (0) cheaply.
    
But Harbhajan, who had taken three wickets on either side of tea in 20 balls for 11 runs, and the rest of the Indian attack were then thwarted by Kallis, an accomplished player in the sub-continent, and the fleet-footed de Villiers who put on a century, unfinished stand to help their team consolidate their strong position.