India off-key on flat pitch

The three-spin attack India picked — the skipper’s decision, Wright revealed — toiled for most of the day with few tangible results. ‘‘We beat them in the air’’, one of the spinners said after the day’s play, ‘‘but the ball is so slow off the pitch that the batsmen have enough time to react.’’

After a futile new-ball spell from Zaheer and Ganguly, who got neither swing in the air nor purchase from the pitch, it was over to the spinners with great expectations.

Yet the different combinations yielded low returns. Kumble and Harbhajan seemed the best bet; Bhajji was unlucky to see two catches (Smith and Hall) dropped on his bowling.

Ganguly then went for a left-left combo, Zaheer bowling around the wicket, Kartik bowling over. Both offered baits: the pacer concentrated on the off-stump with a vacant cover boundary while the left-arm spinner stuck to a leg line with an unguarded mid-wicket fence.

In the end, it was the old warhorse Kumble who, using a mix of patience and attack, picked up all four wickets to fall and, in so doing, exploded the myth that he can’t take wickets on a pitch lacking bounce or bite.

Relentlessly attacking the stumps, Kumble got two leg-before decisions. Kallis, the frequent sweeper, misjudged the length while Van Jaarsveld was hit on the back foot by a skidder. Though Smith called his and Jacques Rudolph’s dismissals ‘‘really unlucky’’, both owed much to the heavy topspin Kumble employs.

The last session, with the wicket standing firm, Kumble tiring after bowling 28 overs and even Sachin’s tricks not working, was barren from India’s point of view, a far cry from Mumbai and Chennai.

South Africa were comfortable, fair rewards for their graft through a long, hot, tiring day. This will be an absorbing Test match. There may not be any fireworks yet but, on the other hand, this may last all five days.