For a large part of the day, it was quite hard to judge which of the sides was better, but at the end of that grim battle India gained a slender first innings lead, largely due to a gladiator-minded Sourav Ganguly.

If India found themselves at a relatively comfortable position of 288 for nine at close of second day on fizzer of a pitch, it was due to their batsmen's willingness to avoid the spectacular and embrace a practical approach. India are ahead by 23 runs with S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma at the crease.

The third wicket alliance of 78 runs between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid and a superbly carved fifty from Ganguly were the prime examples of the commonsense approach on Saturday. After the early departure of Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer, with just 35 runs on the board, India needed a partnership to steady the boat.

Variable bounce

Laxman and Dravid read the situation to perfection and played accordingly. There was variable bounce on the pitch and the South African bowlers, led by the irresistible Dale Steyn, were spitting venom, but the duo brought in all their experience to tackle the hazards.

Dravid and Laxman came nicely behind the line of the ball against the pace bowlers. When South African skipper Graeme Smith introduced left-arm spinner Paul Harris, they killed the spin, using the front-foot technique. The strategy to a large extent reduced the effectiveness of Harris on a pitch that gave him ample assistance.

Laxman, however, never hesitated to put away the loose ball, bringing his iron wrists into play with telling effect, and a drive that went past bowler Morne Morkel was an illustration of his timing. Just as it seemed that the pair would take India much closer to the South African total, Morkel inflicted a double blow. Dravid could not negate the vicious bounce that Morkel produced from the good length spot, and the ball slammed into his gloves before resting in AB de Villiers' hands. The Bangalorean left the field in disappointment and pain.

Unplayable delivery

Laxman, who received a reprieve on 44, soon completed his fifty, but could not convert it into something bigger.

Morkel came up with an unplayable one, the ball coming into the batsman and then straightening to clip the bails.
After reducing India to 123 for four, South Africa had every reason to believe that they were on top of the game.

But Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh had other ideas. The left-handed pair also cut out all risks while adding 65 runs for the fifth wicket.

Ganguly looked extremely composed from the very beginning and the tricky nature of the surface or persistent South African bowlers did not bother him. There is a touch of steel around Ganguly these days that blends nicely with his natural elegance. It was as if Ganguly was batting on a totally different pitch.

In good nick

Yuvraj too was in good nick, but the moment of his innings came when he had a run down with Steyn after hitting the latter for a couple of boundaries. Smith did a good job by replacing Steyn in the next over with Jacques Kallis to defuse the tension. Their alliance looked set for a longer duration, but the enterprising Harris was not to be denied for long. Yuvraj's ill-timed sweep was gobbled up by de Villiers in the deep.

The visitors' ambition of gaining the upper hand was then brutally thwarted by Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The pitch also seemed to ease out a bit at this stage and that helped the duo to score at a good pace, in fact the best during the Indian innings on the day. But Ganguly could not complete a well-deserved hundred.

With partners running out, he went for a mighty heave off Steyn that landed in the hands of Hashim Amla.

However, his innings was a crucial one in the context of the game.

With an exciting third day set to unfold on Sunday, the Indian bowlers will have a chance to turn the heat on the opponents.

SCOREBOARD

SOUTH AFRICA (I Innings) 265

INDIA (I Innings)

Jaffer lbw Morkel 15
(50m, 34b, 3x4)
Sewhag lbw Steyn 8
(21m, 14b, 2x4)
Dravid c de Villiers b Morkel 29
(151m, 106b, 4x4)
Laxman b Morkel 50
(138m, 103b, 7x4)
Ganguly c Amla b Steyn 87
(219m, 119b, 9x4, 1x6)
Yuvraj c de Villiers b Harris 32
(75m, 57b, 6x4)
Dhoni st Boucher b Harris 32
(74m, 54b, 5x4)
Harbhajan lbw Steyn 6
(32m, 21b)
Chawla c Smith b Ntini 4
(16m, 12b, 1x4)
Sreesanth (batting) 9
(13m, 7b, 2x4)
Ishant (batting) 0
(4m, 3b)
Extras (B-8, LB-4, W-1, NB-3) 16
Total (for 9 wkts, 88 overs) 288
Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Sehwag), 2-35 (Jaffer), 3-113 (Dravid), 4-123 (Laxman), 5-188 (Yuvraj), 6-248 (Dhoni), 7-268 (Harbhajan), 8-279 (Chawla), 9-279 (Ganguly).
Bowling: Dale Steyn 16-1-60-3 (w-1), Makhaya Ntini 19-6-41-1, Morne Morkel 13-1-57-3 (nb-2), Harris 29-7-89-2 (nb-1), Kallis 9-1-23-0, Amla 2-0-6-0.