Over the last few days in the lead up to the Nagpur Test, South Africa had been sweating over Dale Steyn's fitness. They badly wanted their No. 1 hit man, who suffered a groin injury at Mohali, to play this game. In the end, however, they had to give up. Steyn couldn't pass the fitness test. It was a major setback. This is Jamtha where reverse swing has always been a source of encouragement for the fast bowlers. And Steyn is the best exponent of it by a distance. Five years ago, India had been Steyn-gunned here when he took 10 wickets in the match and helped South Africa defeat India by an innings. He still remains world's best. [related-post] Little wonder then that Morne Morkel had to field more questions about Steyn's fitness than his own bowling, two days before the third Test. He didn't mind. He has got used to living in Steyn's shadow. Morkel never complained. But he has suddenly been asked to play the lead. The big man performed commendably. The pitch was not tailor-made for him - far from it. Even thick edges hardly carried to the slips on the dustbowl. But Morkel used the reverse swing to very good effect. Murali Vijay has now become a prized scalp for any opposition bowler. The Indian opener once again got a start and was going well. Morkel got him with a special delivery. It was fast, pitched on good length and deviated enough to square up Vijay. The latter attempted a shot through the leg side but was done in by pace and late movement. The ball hit his back leg. Vijay was plumb in front. For Morkel that was just an opening act. His real impact would come later, after lunch, when the ball started to reverse a lot more. Ajinkya Rahane was beautifully set up. Morkel bowled a conventional outswinger and drew him into a forward push. The edge didn't carry. The next ball was almost identical, only that it moved the other way. It was a vicious reverse-swinging delivery that sneaked through the gate and rattled the stumps as Rahane went for an expansive drive. He was outwitted by the bowler. Morkel then removed Virat Kohli with the one that left him. After that it became a case of labouring towards a decent first-innings total for the hosts. They eventually reached 215, thanks to a 48-run seventh wicket partnership between Wriddhiman Saha and Ravindra Jadeja. And it might prove to be enough, for the Saffers have already started to crumble under spin barrage. But Morkel was the real hero of the day. He played the lead to perfection.
