Daijiworld Media Network

Johannesburg, Dec 20 The beauty of Test match cricket is that the game has the potential to turn around when you least expect it. Day 2 of the first Test between South Africa and India was no different. Beginning overnight on a decent score of 255/5, India would have least expected to fold for as little as 280. But the visitors were undone by a fantastic spell from Vernon Philander who picked up wickets in quick succession. India managed to add only 25 to their existing total and had to head back into the pavilion in the first hour of the morning.

The South African innings was a different tale. They negotiated a tricky session before Lunch with ease. The Indian bowlers, although bowling a good line and length, were unsuccessful in providing early breakthroughs. Things turned around pretty quickly after Tea when Ishant struck in the same over to get rid of the big fishes - Amla and Kallis, Zaheer picked up his bunny Smith and Shami got into the action with the wickets of Duminy and de Villiers.

Pitch Report by Shaun Pollock: 'There is a wonderful cloud cover so the ball is going to swing. However, there is no moisture left on the pitch that was present yesterday. The areas of rough will get bigger as the day progresses and spinners will use that to their advantage. Ashwin from around the wicket to the left-handers could be particularly threatening. There will be a good amount of bounce as well.'

The conditions look perfect today and the bowlers will need to extract as much as possible from the pitch to break this stand. We will bring you all the action as the day progresses.

However, South Africa were again steadied by an all-round Philander who put up a 66-run stand along with Faf du Plessis. He is still going strong on a well-made 48, inching towards a hard-earned fifty. The Indian bowlers will have to display a fantastic performance similar to their counterparts if they have to get back in the game.

Amla: 'Good day's cricket. The partnership from Faf and Vern was very crucial. Fortunately the bowlers hit the right areas and we got the results. The wicket is doing a bit. The ball is swinging and nipping as well. There are a few cracks developing on the surface. It was bad judgement (his dismissal). There are two types of leaves, a good one and a bad one. That was a bad one from me. The positive of the day was that partnership between Faf and Vern. I think Faf at 7 and Vern's a good batsmen as well. We have confidence in them but it's never nice to lose wickets in a heap, thankfully they did well. The ball will do a bit in the morning session tomorrow. If Faf and Vern can hang in there it would be fantastic. Still early days in the Test match, there is a lot of time left and we haven't looked too far ahead. Hopefully tomorrow is a good day.'

Ishant: 'The way I am running in, the way I am bowling, I am enjoying a lot. Patience is the key on this sort of a track. We saw the ball was up and down on occasions, I am happy that we did well. In international cricket we need to hunt as a pack. I thought Ash did a great job with those couple of tight overs which helped the fast bowlers to do well. The wicket is on the slower side now. I hope that I can get a 5-wicket haul tomorrow.'

So you can't really seperate the sides at this point. Probably we can say 51-49 to India but a lot depends on how this 7th wicket partnership pans out. Good day for Philander today. He bagged three wickets in the morning and has backed it up with 48 runs with the bat. For India to gain the upper hand, their bowlers will have to do really well to gain any sort of slender lead.

So it is all up to the bowlers once again to wipe off the tail quickly tomorrow morning. South Africa had a dream start to the day as they bowled India out for 280 after they resumed at 255/5. Their openers then escaped unscathed to Lunch before Ishant removed Petersen in the post-lunch session. The Amla-Smith partnership added close to 100 runs and it looked like South Africa were heading towards a big first innings lead but Ishant came back into the attack once again and stunned the hosts with a fantastic spell. In the process, he was a on a hat-trick with the wickets of Amla and Kallis. Zaheer then trapped Smith for the 14th time in internationals before Shami Ahmed found the outside edge of JP Duminy. A lot of hope was pinned on AB de Villiers but he too didn't last long falling LBW to Shami.

Zaheer Khan and Shami Ahmed bowled well before Vernon Philander brought the hosts back with a gritty knock. He's on the verge of scoring his third Test match fifty and alongside Faf du Plessis, is looking very good to cut down on the deficit. A bit more luck and India could have had a few more wickets but they will have to blame themselves on a few occasions. The latest one being the dropped catch of du Plessis by Rohit Sharma at second slip in the closing stages of the day. With this 67-run ominous looking 7th wicket stand, South Africa could even gain a lead.

An excellent day's cricket comes to an end. 238 runs were scored while 11 wickets were taken. At the end of Day 2, one would have to say we aren't quite sure which side is still ahead in this Test match. The final session though was won by India, led by a spirited effort from Ishant Sharma who triggered a collapse bagging two wickets in a phase which saw South Africa lose 5 wickets for just 16 runs.