Date-stamped : 25 Nov93 - 19:46 RSA v Ind, ODI2, Gwalior, 12 Nov 91, Report Wessels stands firm as SA totter Gwalior, Nov 12: The top-order batsmen clicked and the mainline bowlers did a highly competent job to see India wrap up the three-match one-day series against SA by winning the second international by 38 runs here today. Srikkant and Sidhu gave In- dia a rousing start, putting on 130 runs and except for a brief while when the SA batsmen showed some urgency to get on with the job in the middle overs of their innings. But Kapil and Manoj Prabhakar quickly pulled the game back and that inspired Srinath to put in his best to keep them in complete check. In the end, the visitors found a target of 224 a bit too much and could only manage 185 for eight in 45 overs. The overs had to be reduced because of a delayed start. When the teams arrived at the Roop Singh stadium, a thick fog made the visibility poor and play started an hour behind schedule. It was decided to make it a 45-over match. The toss did not give Azhar the choice and Clive Rice asked the Indians to bat first. Azhar must have been happy for it and also the way his personal choice for the Australian tour, Srikkanth batted. For a man returning to the side after two years, the former captain showed enough determination in scoring 68 off 86 balls. Importantly, he put the dreaded Allan Donald off by hitting him off his toes to the square-leg for his first of the 9 fours in his knock. Donald, who had problems with umpire S Ramani, who had called wide and later when he thought to have Srikkanth leg before. But the umpire was not impressed by his shouts off successive balls. Unruffled, Srikkanth got into his drive confidently though he did attempt a couple of times to heave across. A lofted coverdrive off Matthews gave him courage to discard his helmet. And when Donald came on for his second spell, he ondrove him for four and before that he flicked, swept and pulled Rice and Matthews. Sidhu, at the other end, looked solid and his square-driving was perfect. Once Donald was through with his first spell he batted fluently and saw left-arm spinner Clive Eksteen out of the attack after only two overs by lofting him over long off for a big six. In trying to hit over the infield, he was caught in the covers off Rice. His 61 off 91 balls had four fours besides the six. As always happens, after the long first-wicket stand, those followed could not get into the act straight-away. However, Manjrekar had no such problems. Coming into bat in the 28th over, he had once again proved how well he could adapt to the one-day stuff. Nothing rash about it, all superb timing. His slashing through the point region invari- ably left the deep fielders watching helplessly. His unobtrusive way of picking runs through gaps without resorting to any wild hitting saw him quietly reach his 50 in as many balls before the overs ran out. The adjudicators rightly chose him as the joint man-of-the-match along with Kepler Wessels whose equally deter- mined though chancy knock in the afternoon gave SA some hope. If India could not get more, it was becoz of Donald as he picked up the wickets of Azhar, Kapil and Amre with the last ball of the innings. The stump broke as he bowled Amre. The adjudicators could as well have added the name of Kapil for the man of the match award. He removed Jimmy Cook in the first over, forcing him to follow a lovely outswinger and three of his first four overs were maidens. Not to be undone, Manoj kept a tidy length and the SAs could score ony seven runs in the first seven overs. But in the next seven overs bowled by Tendulkar and Srinath, the score had a healthy look as 31 came. Wessels and newcomer Mandy Yachad at least saw to it, that they did not lose a wicket for 23 overs. Wessels should have been gone. Of all people, Azhar let him off, the first time at 22, and then on 33 and Tendulkar was the bowler to suffer. Eventually Raju proved the breakthrough getting the dogged Yachad leg before and soon Manoj, coming for his second spell, succeeded in convincing umpire Bansal that Kirsten was leg before but the batsman showed the bat to say that he got a nick. Then came the period of some anxiety for the Indians as Wessels and Kuiper swung their bats to add 46 runs in eight overs.It was too good to last and Kapil had him caught at mid-wicket. Earlier in the over, he was bowled and started to walk noticing that the umpire had called a no-ball. More, too, did not realise and be- fore he could react, Kuiper scampered home. Wessels, followed him soon, glancing Srinath to More. His 71 off 96 balls had noth- ing spectacular. He grafted his runs neatly, pushing and clip- ping. He hit six fours. With the match in their grasp, the In- dian fielding rose to great heights, Kapil taking a running one- handed catch at extra-cover to dismiss Richardson and substitute Pandit, plucking one from air on the long-on fence to cut short Rice's innings, who earlier hit a massive Sixer. Kapil finished with 2 for 27, four of these overthrows in the last over, and Manoj one for 19 in his nine overs. Raju the most expensive bowler, was also the most successful with the three for 43. (Source: The Times of India) Thanks to V. Suresh Kumar on r.s.c. Contributed by probal (probal@*rutgers.edu)