Daijiworld Media Network
Durban, Dec 27 : Hello, and a warm welcome to one and all to Day 2 of the second and final Test at the Kingsmead, Durban.
On a pitch that was very unlike South African pitches, Indian batsmen made hay after deciding to bat first. Murali Vijay was unbeaten on 91 while Cheteshwar Pujara continued to make a strong pitch for himself, batting on 58. Bad light after Tea halted the Indian charge and they ended Day 1 at 181/1. Will India continue to torment South Africa on the second day as well?
09:16 Local Time, 07:16 GMT, 12:46 IST: Good news, the rain has stopped and the covers are being removed. We should have a start in a while.
09:06 Local Time, 12:36 IST: Cricket South Africa has tweeted that there is still a drizzle on, the covers are on and they do not expect play to start at 9:30 AM local time (13:00 PM IST).
08:58 Local Time, 12:28 IST: Let me start with some bad news. It is drizzling since morning at Durban and we might have a delayed start to the day's play.
It's been an excellent start to the Boxing day Test for India. Right from the toss, pretty much everything went right for Dhoni's men. They got first use of a flat wicket. The openers saw off the threat of the new ball and thereafter Vijay and Pujara hardly put a foot wrong. For South Africa, the only respite came in the form of bad light in the last session. That has eaten into some valuable time in the game.
16:45 Local Time, 14:45 GMT, 20:15 IST: Well it is stumps on day 1 now. Play will begin at 9:30 AM tomorrow to make up for lost time.
16:40 Local Time, 14:40 GMT, 20:10 IST: We are getting information that it is only a matter of time before play will be officially called off for the day.
15:34 Local Time, 13:34 GMT, 19:04 IST: Play has been stopped due to bad light. The umpires asked Smith if he was going to continue with pace. The South African skipper answered in the affirmative and that was that. South Africa will be only too happy to go out and have gone in very quickly. 9.3 is the reading on the light meter. It looks unlikely that the natural light will improve any time soon. We'll just have to wait around. The umpires are hanging around in the ground. We'll get you the updates as and when they come.