Centurion, Day 4, Lunch
Monday, November 26, 2001

Shiv Sunder Das and Connor Williams showed nice mental application, but one can't say the same for their technical attributes. Das has made a noticeable and decisive movement in his shuffle, moving back on the crease to be more comfortable when the ball is pitched short of length. However, when the ball is pitched up he tends to play a shade late - as we saw today. This is exactly how he got out in the first innings and he has to work to iron out the flaw.

Williams looked competent on the front foot but there are chinks in his armour which were shown in the way he got out to a nothing ball angled outside the off stump. He tends to gets erect and stiff on the back foot and often plays away from his body. One positive thing about his performance was the eagerness he showed to get on strike in his first match at the highest level. While overall it was a decent effort, I must confess that what little I have seen of him has not convinced me of his potential in top-class cricket.

As far as South Africa are concerned, much depends on how they retain their intensity and interest in a match which they have always approached as unofficial. If their interest levels drop, and with Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman to follow, India could flex their batting muscles in the afternoon.

But as things stand now, South Africa still hold all the aces.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to H Natarajan

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