South Africa go into final day as favourites by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Event:

South Africa in Australia 2008/09

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DateLine: 29th December 2008

 

South Africa has ended the day with one step short of a historic triumph. Since their readmission in cricketing fraternity the Antipodean tour has always brought tears and desperation for them. Any of their modern day greats as Alan Donald, Shaun Pollock to name some have never tasted a series triumph in the Southern hemisphere. Tonight the South African team will retreat into their beds dreaming of the success that is just a step away. But stranger things have happened and it is to be seen whether the tag name of chokers associated with them will come back to haunt them.

 

Dale Steyn breathed fire and smoked out the openers as Australia suffered a horror start when the three batsmen had departed before they had erased the 65-run deficit. Steyn, who took 5 for 87 in the first innings, backed up with and was well supported by his team-mates as they tried to set up a series-winning victory. Ricky Ponting was trying to revive Australia and was the most comfortable by far of a struggling outfit.

 

It was a travesty of justice that he was dismissed for 99, one short of his thirty eighth century and his second of the match. If he had scored that vital single he would have achieved that feat for the fourth time in his career and the third time against the same team. As of now he is the second player to record a century in the first innings and a 99 in the second and to give him company he has Geoffery Boycott who was the first player. With his dismissal it was his team that suffered the most as he was holding the stuttering innings together and as well as scoring runs. Matthew Hayden, whose position in the team has become a point of debate, started the day by taking the attack to the bowlers and sped to 23 off 28 balls with a mixture of encouraging and frightening shots. Just as he was looking comfortable he drove straight to Duminy at short cover. Two overs later Steyn bowled an almost unreachable delivery outside off stump which Katich, for some reason known only to him, did well to nick behind for Boucher to take the catch and his dismissal left Australia tottering at 2 for 40.

 

More shock was to follow as Australia still 16 behind when Michael Hussey's nightmarish match continued when he was the victim of an Aleem Dar howler. Morne Morkel's sharp bouncer made Hussey to take an evasive action and the ball thudded into Hussey's helmet flew to Hashim Amla at square leg; Dar convinced the ball had brushed Hussey's glove raised the dreaded finger. Hussey was in a state of shock, while Ponting stood in the middle dazed with what he witnessed.

 

Dale Steyn produced two more brutal bursts to continue his stunning game as he restricted Australia just when they were rebuilding. Steyn who had captured Hayden and Katich in two overs in the morning then returned to knock over Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds in space of six balls to limit the recovery. The picture was more promising for Australia during Ponting's bright 96-run combination with Clarke (29), but when it ended with Clarke's careless cut went straight to Neil McKenzie at cover and Steyn struck again five balls later when Symonds edged towards Kallis at second slip. Australia were 5 for 145 and the lead was a meagre 80. Brad Haddin could not restrain himself and flashed at a wide delivery from Makhaya Ntini on 10 and Australia sunk further.

 

Ponting did his best to keep the side in with a hope of setting a threatening victory target however, he was on the verge of being stranded after Brett Lee was bowled by Jacques Kallis who collected his 250th Test victim.

 

Post-tea session, Ponting had Johnson for his company and the pair slowly rebuilded the innings. It was slow going but for the first time in the innings Ponting had a partner who looked very much assured as himself. With the way Johnson batted it seems that he has put up his case to bat higher up in the order. The pair batted serenely till Ponting entered the nineties that the fluency of the partnership came to a grinding halt. Ponting got stuck in the nineties for about forty minutes or so and Smith quickly sensing Ponting's fidgety batting began to close on him. On 99 Smith smartly placed himself at short extra cover and Morkel bowled full on a drivable length, Ponting obliged by driving firmly into the lap of Smith thus ending his resistance. Hauritz hung around for sometime before he was cleaned up by an off-cutter from Kallis and then the local boy Siddle gave Steyn his tenth wicket of the match when he feathered an edge through to the keeper.

 

For Steyn, it was a seminal moment as he picked up the tenth wicket of the match and also played a brilliant knock of 79 surpassing even his own expectations. He struggled to find his radar at Perth but at MCG he was an unstoppable force which cowed down the once formidable Australians in their den. By collecting the tenth wicket of the match he got the 150th Test victim in his thirtieth test match. Australia were all out for 247 and that left South Africa needing 183 to win with a full day's play left.

 

Smith and McKenzie strode out into the middle to face six overs and Brett Lee, braving his foot injury opened the bowling along with Siddle. Smith was in a murderous mood as he flayed the wayward bowling and raced off his blocks to reach 25 which was studded with five boundaries. McKenzie prodded and missed and had his heart in his mouth when he was bowled neck and crop by a ripper of a delivery from Brett Lee. Australians rose in celebration and McKenzie threw his head back in disappointment only to see Doctrove's hand extended to signal the no ball, as Brett Lee had overstepped. The opening duo saw through the six overs and reduced the target by 30 runs and tomorrow they will resume batting with 153 needed in 90 overs.