South Africa v India - First Test

St George's Park, Port Elizabeth

SAF: BA Richards, *TL Goddard, EAB Rowan, RG Pollock, AD Nourse, JN Rhodes, +JHB Waite, MJ Procter, PM Pollock, NBF Mann, AA Donald.
IND: *SM Gavaskar, NS Sidhu, PR Umrigar, VS Hazare, M Azharuddin, +FM Engineer, Kapil Dev, M Prabhakar, J Srinath, S Venkataraghavan, BS Bedi.

Debuts: EAB Rowan (SAF)
Umpires: CJ Mitchley & DL Orchard
Toss: India

Given the Indians' showing with the bat in the warm-up game in Bloemfontein, the first Test was expected to be a hard fought affair, but from the moment they folded for 223 in their first innings here the tourists were always fighting a losing battle in Port Elizabeth.

India picked only five specialist batsmen in what was seen by most as an attacking move, and when Gavaskar and Sidhu batted through the entire opening session for a partnership of 114, that move seemed to be entirely vindicated. However, the South Africans regrouped during lunch, and in overcast conditions they simply blew away the rest of the innings once Sidhu fell for 46 in the first over of the afternoon. Vijay Hazare was struck a sickening blow to the side of the head by Allan Donald having scored just 1, and his retirement seemed to undermine the confidence of the rest of the team; aside from the opening partnership, the next highest stand was a paltry 27.

Gavaskar went on to record a worthy century, but on what was a relatively flat wicket the remainder of India's batting was not up to the challenge laid down by the hosts. Mann, in for the injured Tayfield, bowled an economical spell towards the end of the innings, and South Africa were batting within the first hour of the second morning. India's 223 looked well below par, but the Springboks slumped to 48-3 before a methodical century stand between Pollock and Nourse got the innings back on track. Pollock eventually edged Prabhakar into the slips for 46, and when Nourse departed shortly after for 67, South Africa were 171-5 and in danger of conceding their advantage. The tail wagged though, and led by Peter Pollock's 35 the lead was taken on a rain affected third morning. Manoj Prabhakar's second beamer of the innings, both at Peter Pollock, spiced up proceedings in the afternoon, and the St George's Park crowd was very quick to make its feelings known, although fortunately for Prabhakar the innings did not last long after Pollock's dismissal.

South Africa were all out for 268, a disappointing total after dismissing India so cheaply, but their lead of 45 was to prove more than handy as the tourists batted with even greater ineptitude than on the opening day. Only Gavaskar (48), Azharuddin (44) and Srinath (11) made it into double figures, and with four players recording ducks India were bundled out for a pitiful 123 shortly before lunch on the fourth morning. Goddard picked up four wickets as a succession of rash drives kept John Waite and the slips busy, and Mike Procter returned figures of 3-35 off 23 unforgivingly probing overs; the fact that a knee strain kept Donald from bowling at least gave India some respite.

Tight bowling from Bedi and Venkat made South Africa wait until after tea to hit the winning runs, but their eight wicket victory when it came was thoroughly deserved. India had been outplayed, and their performance with the bat was a great disappointment, with only Gavaskar providing any meaningful resistance. If South Africa can hold on to their lead then they will become the official number one ATG team at the end of the series, and given India's showing here one would not bet against the crowning of new kings in two Tests' time.

Scores
IND 1st Inns 223 (Gavaskar 102, Sidhu 46)
SAF 1st Inns 268 (Nourse 67, RG Pollock 46)
IND 2nd Inns 123 (Gavaskar 48, Azharuddin 44; Goddard 4-37)
SAF 2nd Inns 79-2

SOUTH AFRICA WON BY 8 WICKETS

Man of the Match: SM Gavaskar