Rain comes out to bat for India

Last evening, South African skipper Shaun Pollock said, "I don't believe in playing for the weather.' He then went on to state that he would like to bat until he had shut India out of the game, before giving himself and his bowlers a chance to wrap the series up 2-0.

This morning, play was supposed to start early -- as it happened, heavy rains forced it to start late. Overnight not-outs Pollock and Kallis came out and batted as if they had figured they wanted to bat the session -- but one brief rain interruption, then another much longer one, made up Pollock's mind for him.

Closure was applied -- and India were asked to make 395 runs to win.

Shiv Sundar Das watched Shaun Pollock run in and seam the ball away on a track that had been nicely juiced up by all that rain -- and for no reason you could see (unless congenital death wish is a reason), parodied a cut at the fifth in the series and touched it through to Boucher behind the sticks, to have India 0/1.

Rahul Dravid, thus, had to open anyway. At the other end, Deep Dasgupta impressed. He may not have the copybook technique of a Dravid, but he had something else, something more valuable -- a mind uncluttered by thoughts other than of the ball he was facing. It was interesting to see him come right forward to Pollock, to watch him leave the away seamer outside off, forcing the bowler to bowl closer to the stumps to him.

The batsmen were offered the light, well ahead of the scheduled close. They took the offer -- they would have had to be touched in the head not to.

Weather permitting, India has to bat out another 90, possibly 100, overs to bat tomorrow. The bowlers, and this track, can't stop them doing it -- the devils in their own minds, though, can.

Bottomline: What would a tough tour be without some humour? This tour has just begun to provide its quota.

Virendra Sehwag, match referee Mike Denness decides, needs to be hauled up for excessive appealing. It would be interesting to ask Denness what he thought Pollock was doing when he cuts loose with four appeals for the same ball, and on another occasion, yodels for a full minute. What was that supposed to be -- an operatic performance?

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