India in South Africa

Just half and hour into play on the fourth morning and the writing was on the wall for India.
Two horrendous shots from the overnight batsman Das and Laxman saw them being dismissed within an over of each other and before you knew it India were 3 wickets down and struggling.
Tendulkar (15) and Ganguly (30) were probably weighed down by the situation and didn't last long.
The two debutants of the match Sehwag (31) and Dasgupta (4 of 42) balls held on for a while, but knowing India a batting collapse was inevitable.
They were finally dismissed for 237, 54 runs ahead that the home side knocked of in 15 overs for the loss of Gibbs earning them a victory by 9 wickets within 4 days.

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Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid will continue to open for the next two matches despite failing to perform in both innings of the first Test.
Speaking to the media at the presentation ceremony after the first Test skipper Ganguly confirmed this.
Ganguly did not come out to field when South Africa were picking up the winning runs as he had to put an icepack on his knee after he was hit by Hayward while batting.

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Virendra Sehwag has been awarded Rs one lakh by the Delhi and District Crickt Association (DDCA) for scoring a crucial century on debut in the just completed first Test in South Africa. The DDCA President Arun Jaitley said Sehwag, who plays for Delhi, had made the Association proud.

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The Delhi Police arrested a group of people who were allegedly betting on the ongoing India South Africa matches. A sum of 54 lakh was reportedly changing hands while the game progressed. Two computers, a colour TV, four telephones, three mobile phones and one calculator used in the racket were seized from them. The Delhi police made the arrests following a tip-off.

Miscellaneous

Tamil Nadu's middle-order batsman Hemang Badani has reportedly submitted a fitness certificate to the BCCI and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association as his back pain has subsided.
Badani will be testing his fitness by participating in the six-a-side tournament in Hong Kong from November 8 and later play for Tamil Nadu in their Ranji Trophy match against Goa from November 24.
The elegant left-hander, who struggled to find form in Sri Lanka, experienced back pain while playing the Moin-ud-Dowla tournament in Hyderababd and was undergoing treatment since September.

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The Sri Lankan media have taken strong offence to the abuses hurled at their batsman Mahela Jayawardene by Pakistan's fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. Akhtar was obviously upset by a hook for six played by the batsman a little while earlier and poured out abuses at the batsman on dismissing him a little while later. Sri Lankan journalists have condoned Akhtar's poor behaviour.

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The England and Wales Cricket Board is moving quickly to satisfy the demands from the players' union in order to remove the existing cloud over the tour to India. The Professional Cricketers' Association is seeking measures to ensure the tightest possible safety of the England team, which is due arrive in Mumbai on 13 November. A list of demands was submitted as a report by the PCA after they undertook fact-finding trip to India along with ECB Director of Cricket Operations John Carr. The Board is confident it can put all aspects in place and meet all safety concerns.

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Pakistan's current match-fixing inquiry headed by Justice Karamat Bhandari has asked the South African cricket chief Dr Ali Bacher to be a witness in the claims that the team's defeats by Bangladesh and India during the 1999 World Cup in England were fixed. It was Bacher who told the King Commission in Cape Town last year that Majid Khan, the former chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, had informed him that the two matches were fixed. Majid has repeated his allegations to the Khandari inquiry and former fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz supports his views. The players involved however insist they had played to the best of their ability.

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Elf Lubricants (India) Limited and former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar have signed a new three-year deal to train young boys at the Elf Vengsarkar Cricket Academy at the southern end of Mumbai's famous Oval maidan.
The CEO of Elf India said his company was committed to support junior cricket in India in association with Vengsarkar. Elf is associated with motor sports in other parts of the world.
Elf has been supporting Vengsarkar's Academy for the juniors in Mumbai, since 1995.

SCORES AT A GLANCE

INDIA vs SOUTH AFRICA (1st Test)
Played at Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein (3rd day)
Toss: South Africa

India:
327-7 (SR Tendulkar 155, VVS Laxman 32, V Sehwag 105,D Dasgupta 34; Hayward 3-70, Pollock 4-91)
237 (Das 62, Sehwag 31, Pollock 6-56)
South Africa:
563 (H Gibbs 107, G Kirsten 73, JH Kallis 68, N McKenzie 68, L Klusener 108, M Boucher 47; J Srinath 5-140, A Kumble 3-132)
54-1 (G Kirsten 30 not out, J Kallis 21 not out)

Result: South Africa won by 9 wickets
Man of the match: Shaun Pollock

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