Another see-sawing day of 4-day cricket has set up another potentially hot contest in the brewing between South Africa A and India A. While the hosts were able to make it through the entire day, the Indians fought hard and kept their progress in check.

After choosing to bat first, SA were dealt an early setback when skipper Pieter Malan was sent back after a tentative defensive prod off pacer Navdeep Saini carried to Gowtham at first slip.

Sarel Erwee and Zubayr Hamza looked to repair the early damage. However, Hamza’s quest for quick runs was his undoing, and it was back to the drawing board for SA. Fortunately, Erwee found excellent support in Tony de Zorzi, and they stitched together a strong 111-run partnership. It took a sharp run-out from Upendra Yadav to break the stand, and after Erwee’s dismissal 10 overs later, Khaya Zondo stepped up to the plate.

Zondo scored the third half-century of the innings, and looked positive for much of his stay at the crease. However, the two previous wickets opened the floodgates for the visitors, who dismissed Senuran Muthusamy without scoring.

A burgeoning rescue knock from Sinethemba Qeshile was cut short towards the end of the day, when he gingerly edged one to the keeper off Deepak Chahar.

Navdeep Saini was the pick of the Indian bowlers, with 3 wickets. He was the most threatening of the pacers, maintaining tight lines for the majority of his spells. Chahar chipped in with a wicket of his own, and left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar claimed two wickets in his 22 overs.

Fortunately, SA still has a little more batting left, with the likes of Jansen, Migael Pretorius, and Subrayen all capable of swinging a few lusty blows down the order. The only question is who will prevail – will the South Africans be able to reach the psychological milestone of 300 or will the Indians wrap things up without any difficulty?

SA A 249/7 in 89 overs (Erwee 75, de Zorzi 58, Zondo 56 – Saini 3/42)

Photo: Cricket South Africa