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Proteas close out dominant win despite Tendulkar

CENTURION, South Africa - South Africa produced a powerful allround performance in helpful home conditions to take a 1-0 series lead over India, sealing an innings and 25-run victory early on day five of the first test between cricket’s top two teams at Centurion on Monday.

Fast bowlers Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn took their combined match total to 14 with a wicket each as the No. 2-ranked Proteas needed just six overs on the final day at SuperSport Park to bowl top-ranked India out for 459 in its second innings — still 25 runs short of South Africa’s first-innings 620-4 declared.

Sachin Tendulkar had resisted with a sublime 111 not out for his record 50th test century and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni made a rapid 90 on Sunday.

But, India’s fate was virtually sealed when it was blasted out for 136 by fast men Morkel and Steyn batting first and South Africa responded with two half-centuries, two centuries and a double century from the five batsmen used for its huge total.

“The deficit was just too much to handle,” Dhoni said. “They way South Africa batted, they got too many. It was inevitable.”

Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers had centuries, after Morkel and Steyn shared eight wickets in India’s 136, to set up the home team’s dominant win in the first of three matches. Kallis scored his first career double century.

“I’m obviously very happy,” South Africa captain Graeme Smith said. “It’s a big series which has had a massive build up and it was nice to come out and perform and get a good victory.

“The batsmen were incredible, to take the game to India and play with such positivity was incredible.”

Kallis had 37 test centuries in 142 matches before finally reaching 200 for the first time.

“It has been a long wait but it was worth the wait,” Kallis said. “It was a very special moment and to top it all off we won the test match.”

India had threatened to make South Africa bat again when Tendulkar and Dhoni combined for a battling 172-run partnership on Sunday afternoon. But the visitors had slipped to 454-8 when a sudden thunderstorm ended play early, and added just five more runs on Monday morning as South Africa wrapped up victory in less than 30 minutes on the fifth day.

Morkel forced Sreesanth to edge to De Villiers in the slips in the day’s third over to collect his second wicket of the innings, finishing with match figures of 7-114.

Steyn followed up with a short, rising delivery soon after that forced 19-year-old debutant Unadkat to fend the ball to gully fielder Ashwell Prince for 4-105 in the innings and 7-139 in the match for the top-ranked test bowler.

Tendulkar remained unbeaten in his landmark hundred, having hit 13 fours and a six in a masterful 241-ball resistance that began early on day four.

But India, which is seeking its first series win in South Africa in its fifth attempt, has now won only one of 13 tests in the country and lost seven. The three-match series continues with the second test in Durban on Dec. 26, ahead of a final game in Cape Town beginning Jan. 2.

After winning a crucial toss on a pitch that was fast-bowler friendly early on, South Africa was dominant for much of a milestone-filled match at Centurion and made good its pre-series promise to test the world’s best team with aggressive quick bowling — and its inform batting lineup.

Second-innings partnerships of 137 between openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir and the stand between Tendulkar and Dhoni — and Tendulkar’s record century — were India’s brief highlights. Tendulkar also passed 14,500 test runs, over 2,000 more than anyone else, and Rahul Dravid was just the third batsman ever to 12,000 runs — after Tendulkar and Australia’s Ricky Ponting.

But South Africa had the match-turning performances.

On his home ground, Morkel returned a career-best 5-20 in India’s first innings to pass 100 test wickets. De Villiers then hit the fastest test century ever by a South African (129 from 112 balls), after Amla and Kallis had set the foundation, to power the Proteas to 620 — also its highest test total vs. India.

“It was a different track if you compare it first innings to second innings.” Dhoni said. “The job was half-done winning the toss, but their bowlers still bowled really well and the batsmen took the game away from us.

“Over the next two days it’s going to be important to rest, and take time off from cricket and then get back in the groove.”

Smith said: “We will take some time off then knuckle down for Durban and hope to make it 2-0. It was a great effort from the boys.”