Another South African tour, yet another no-show by Indian batsmen.
Chasing a competitive target of 249, India was bowled out for 91 in 29.1 overs by South Africa in the second ODI of the MTN series under lights at Kingsmead, Durban, on Wednesday.
The hosts won the match by 157 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Andre Nel razed the Indian line-up, grabbing four wickets for 13 runs in eight overs after Shaun Pollock's opening burst had given the hosts an ideal start.
Sachin Tendulkar's 35 was the only notable knock in the Indian side, as the batting collapsed without a whimper.
Jacques Kallis proved South Africa's trump card; he claimed three wickets for three runs after scoring an unbeaten 119 and was deservedly named man of the match.
Zaheer Khan, on comeback trail, had reduced the hosts to 63 for three, before Kallis and A B deVilliers (41) steadied the innings with an 87-run partnership.
Kallis, though scoring a shade slower, was the only easing factor in the stop-start batting effort by the Proteas.
South Africa innings:
Zaheer Khan, playing his first match since February, grabbed the wicket of South Africa captain Graeme Smith in his first over. Starting with two wides, he hit the deck short of length and got the ball to seam into the left-hander and trap him leg before wicket.
Zaheer bowled with pace and fire to make a striking return to the team. Having impressed in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, he again found the hard pitch in Durban to his liking. Though he gave away a few runs in his opening spell (36 in 6 overs), he got India the crucial early wickets.
The left-arm paceman also claimed Loots Bosman lbw in the 10th over. Having thrashed a shot and wide delivery over point, Bosman fell to a fuller next delivery and was caught unprepared by the bowler.
Munaf Patel helped Zaheer by keeping a tight line and bowling to his field form the other end. The result: South Africa was never let off the hook in powerplays.
Out-of-form Herschelle Gibbs could not weigh in his contribution either; he was caught behind off Munaf for an edgy two, off 14 balls.
Even though South Africa were creaking at 82 for three after 20 overs, Jacques Kallis' composure was unsettling for the Indians. His experience, technique and attitude presented a daunting task for the bowlers. He went about his task clinically, prodding the gaps, getting in the odd boundaries and steering the team clear of further damage.
The South African batsmen, Kallis and AB DeVilliers, made the most of the small ground against the Indian slower bowlers. After completing their 50-run partnership, the two batsmen took charge of the bowling to record a string of boundaries. Though Kallis was circumspect against Sachin Tendulkar (introduced in 21st over) in the beginning, he opened up to score more freely and cracked two boundaries in the 29th over.
DeVillers, meanwhile, took Harbhajan Singh to task in the next over. He swept the off-spinner for four and followed it up with a slog for six over mid-wicket; Harbhajan conceded five wides on the next ball as South Africa went on to gather 17 runs from the over. From 99 for three after 25 overs, South Africa jumped to 136 in the space of five overs.
In 10 overs, Kallis and DeVilliers had turned the tide in South Africa's favour.
A flight of adventure from the latter pulled them back a little. The batsman tried to reverse sweep Dinesh Mongia, but missed the ball completely and could not get back into the crease in time as Mahendra Singh Dhoni dislodged the bails.
Tendulkar, filling in as the fifth bowler, did a remarkable job, conceding only 36 runs in his nine overs.
South Africa had been going at a steady rate but needed a push to give India a more than competitive total. Kallis, looking for his 14th ODI hundred, also slowed down considerably once in the 80s.
They had a short spurt of 22 runs in two overs as Zaheer conceded 12 runs in his first over on return and Mark Boucher spanked successive boundaries off Munaf.
The hosts suffered a blow, losing Boucher (23 off 21 balls), Justin Kemp and Shaun Pollock in quick succession. But Kallis, finishing at 119 not out off 160 balls, carried the team through.
With the help of Andre Nel's muscle, Kallis helped South Africa score 40 runs in the last five overs. Nel took the attack to the Indians, hitting two fours and a six to edge South Africa closer to 250.
The innings ended in anti-climax as Nel (22 runs in 12 balls) was run-out at the non-striker's end trying to back up. Kallis hit the ball straight to Agarkar; his partner strolling on the middle of the pitch. Nel made no effort to return as the bowlers coolly took off the bails.
India innings:
Shaun Pollock ended Wasim Jaffer's debut in three balls. The Indian opener clipped the ball on to his stumps while trying to drive through the off-side.
Makhaya Ntini added needle to the contest. Bowling fast and furious, the bowler climbed on to Sachin Tendulkar, badgering him with a flurry of short balls. Every time there was a stare, Tendulkar looked Ntini in the eye. The intensity was back.
Small ground, fast outfield, bouncy tracks and bowlers to match. It was enough to sharpen Tendulkar and bring him back into full flow. The Mumbai batsman, who had looked a little jaded in the Champions Trophy, displayed exquisite touch. Though his first boundary was a top-edge over the wicketkeeper, the drive off back-foot past point to Pollock even had the bowler following it in admiration.
Tendulkar once again brought his perfect timing and heavy bat into play as he unleashed a couple of fours through cover off Ntini. It was an example of how one man's brilliance could transform the game.
But the spark was cut off with the dismissal of Mohammed Kaif. The right-handed batsman failed to judge the bounce from Pollock and handed a difficult chance to Gibbs at backward point.
With Rahul Dravid coming on to bat, Tendulkar once again receded into his shell. The duo ambled to a 27-run partnership in seven overs.
In the space of three balls, India lost their top two batsmen and the batting disintegrated rapidly.
Charl Langeveldt opened the floodgates, as he broke through Dravid's defences. Langeveldt got the ball to move in sharply and sneak through the gap between bat and pad.
Nel then struck the decisive blow, knocking over Tendulkar's off-stump for 35.
The Indian batsmen's inadequacies were exposed brutally on the Durban track, as the last six wickets fell for a meager 29 runs.
On the eve of the match, the Indian captain had expressed confidence in his batsmen to handle the hot South African pace attack, but the promises came unstuck as his players showed neither the will or the talent to face the challenge.
India beefed up their batting strength, dropping Irfan Pathan to include an extra batsman for the match. But the numbers could not make up for the lack of quality.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (14), promoted to number five, and Suresh Raina (4) failed to shoulder the responsibility, cracking only after adding a 20-run stand. Nel had Raina fishing the ball to second slip and then angled in the ball to Dhoni, who edged it to the wicketkeeper.
The swearing, searing tall paceman gave another stand-out performance, intimidating the batsmen with pace and bounce to record figures of 8-2-13-4.
Smith had the luxury of five fast bowlers, and the South African captain attacked with a packed slip cordon and never let the pressure off.
Kallis, who earlier scored an unbeaten 119, wounded the Indians further with the ball. He claimed the wickets of Harbhajan Singh (1) and Dinesh Mongia (1) before cleaning up the last man, Ajit Agarkar.
