Sreesanth, who had a verbal byplay with the South African skipper in Durban after an ordinary first Test in Centurion, was given a friendly ribbing by the Cape Town crowd on day one of the final Test.
“I love Cape Town and the crowds in South Africa,” he reflected innocently enough, then quickly went on to, “Smith woke me up, thanks to him. I was a bit asleep in the series. He said to me (in Durban) that I wasn't good enough and I thought I was good enough to get him out and that's what happened.”
South Africa had reached 232 for four at stumps after being put in on Sunday, and Sreesanth said the game was still wide open. “If we can get a couple of breakthroughs with the second new ball, it will be game on. We have to stick to our basics because in any form of cricket, patience is the key. We want to be humble in our process. There is not much pace off the pitch but if you hit the right target, there is a bit in the wicket. Zak and Ishant are bowling really well. All I have to do is cut down the boundary balls, not give runs and help them.”
Sreesanth bowled two excellent spells on Sunday after a slow start. “It was helpful conditions and if I could, I would take this atmosphere all around,” he remarked. “I come from a place where the wickets are flat and I enjoy bowling on any wicket. In my first over today, I was a bit lazy but I improved. I always run in hard and give it my very best. Sometimes you get into good rhythm and sometimes you don't. The best I have bowled in this series was in Kingsmead on the fourth day.”
Hashim Amla was just beginning to assert himself when he fell to a short ball from Sreesanth, top-edging a pull one over after another top-edge soared for six. “Even when he hit the six, I was happy that he played the ball rather than left it alone. I was bowling 118-130 kmph, slowed down my pace and tried to hit the right areas because that's what Zak told me. Maybe Amla was a bit overconfident. That's good for us,” he said of the bearded batsman’s uncharacteristic rush of blood.