Ken Borland

The Stormers were clinical in gobbling up their chances in the first half but looked like being overwhelmed by the Bulls in the second before they staged a late comeback to win 30-26 in their United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Having surrendered an 18-0 lead and trailing 26-18 with 12 minutes remaining, replacement back Warrick Gelant inspired two breakaway tries that saw the Stormers snatch the spoils in the end.

The Stormers had raced into that 18-0 lead with a superb effort, their pack stepping up and dominating and flyhalf Manie Libbok pulling the strings well at flyhalf.

Wing Seabelo Senatla was dished up two tries by deft grubbers from Libbok, who also added two penalties.

With loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff feasting in the scrums, the Stormers were dominating that phase as well. But the momentum turned on a vital scrum decision just before halftime when Kitshoff was penalised for scrumming around the corner, which could have been a 50/50 call.

The Bulls kicked into the corner, piled on the pressure, forced a yellow card on flank Ernst van Rhyn, and then hooker Johan Grobbelaar scored from the rolling maul. Flyhalf Chris Smith’s conversion further ate into the lead as the visitors went into the break 18-7 up.

The second half was a bright affair as the Bulls dominated the third quarter with Morne Steyn coming on at flyhalf and provided a much-needed spark.

A dazzling move off a scrum, with many dummy runners involved, saw Steyn then pass inside to wing Madosh Tambwe, who came knifing through on the angle to score.

The sharp thinking of the veteran former Springbok flyhalf then led to another try just four minutes later. He tapped a penalty and ran, and then put in a big crossfield kick to wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, who fed scrumhalf Embrose Papier, who raced away for the try.

The Bulls were suddenly ahead 21-18 and matters looked even gloomier for the Stormers when Bulls eighthman Elrigh Louw powered through some lacklustre defence to score the home side’s fourth try.

But Gelant had arrived on the scene and began showing his immense talents. Shortly after the restart, he made a great break down the right and then put in a brilliant infield kick for scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies to score.

The Bulls lost Tambwe to a yellow card for an aerial collision just two minutes later, and it was down his wing that the Stormers surged, through Damian Willemse and Gelant, with Senatla also making some yards, before replacement scrumhalf Paul de Wet rounded off the try.

A disappointing display by the Bulls, in which they only really caught fire for 20 minutes, was completed when Steyn, trying another crosskick after the final hooter, put the ball in touch as Tambwe did not have much space, the ball bouncing away from him as the Stormers defence converged.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Johan Grobbelaar, Madosh Tambwe, Embrose Papier, Elrigh Louw. Conversions – Chris Smith, Morne Steyn (2).

Stormers: Tries – Seabelo Senatla (2), Herschel Jantjies, Paul de Wet. Conversions – Manie Libbok (2). Penalties – Libbok (2).

You know you have made an impression on the cricket field when AB de Villiers tweets about how excited he is to watch you bat, Ravi Shastri says you remind him of his childhood hero and Ian Chappell wonders why you weren’t playing Test cricket earlier.

Keegan Petersen was so impressive in South Africa’s Test triumph over India, taking the Man of the Series award for his 276 runs at an average of 46, scoring 41 more runs than anyone else, that the world has taken notice of the new number three’s performance against the top-ranked side.

De Villiers said “Keegan Petersen CAN play! I’m very excited with the composure, skill and technique I’ve seen against one of the best attacks in the world.”

Shastri, India’s former captain and the coach who made them a dominant force before he stepped down last year, called Petersen “a great world player in the making. My childhood hero Gundappa Viswanath comes to mind.”

Viswanath played 91 Tests for India and scored 6080 runs at an average of 41.93 between 1969 and 1983. He was a wristy stylist who was at his best when the conditions were at their toughest.

Former Australian captain Chappell, in his column for CricInfo, wondrered where Petersen has been all this time. “He has all the requirements of a Test No. 3, including a wide range of shots that he is prepared to play, plus a solid defence. So why is he only playing now?” he asked.

Out of the public eye, Petersen’s new-found fame has led to him being swamped with well-wishers, especially in his home town of Paarl, where he went with his family after the Test series.

“I don’t think my phone has ever been as busy as it has been for the last few days,” Petersen told The Citizen. “To have such legends talking about you, anything they say is really nice.

“It’s been a bit of a star-struck few days. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. My whole family and friends came to see me in Paarl, but I’m not complaining.

“It is their honour too. I am a product of my community and I owe a lot to them,” Petersen said.

Educated at New Orleans Secondary School, Petersen popped into his old school last week as the guest of honour to welcome the new pupils. It’s a close-knit school, well-known for its family values as much as the many sports stars they have produced.

And, in terms of his life outside of cricket, Petersen makes it clear that family is his priority.

“All my time outside of cricket goes to my family, my wife and three kids – two boys and a girl – because I’m away enough with cricket,” Petersen said.

“We enjoy watching movies, Netflix, having a braai or potjiekos. I’m not very outgoing but we enjoy going to the beach.”

Speaking of family, Petersen credits his father, Dirkie, as having been the major influence on his cricketing career. Currently a teacher at New Orleans SS, Petersen senior was a talented all-round sportsman playing fullback for the SA Tertiary Institutes rugby team and cricket for Paarl, alongside Adrian Kuiper and Marais Erasmus.

“He’s always been there through my career and probably knows my game better than I do,” Petersen junior said. “I don’t think he can throw anymore because he’s thrown me so many balls.

“I’m so grateful to him. He was a wicketkeeper/batsman, a decent player, but I only watched him at the back end of his career in club cricket.”

The 28-year-old Petersen said there were plenty of nerves to get over during the Test series against India. But he’s the sort of character who is comfortable pushing himself and rising to challenges.

He was a prolific scorer for Boland after making his debut for them in 2011/12, but struggled to gain a regular starting place in a powerful Cape Cobras batting line-up. So he moved to Bloemfontein for greater opportunity and flourished for the Knights. Last season he moved to the Dolphins – “to upskill myself in a new challenge on turning pitches” – and helped them to the four-day title.

Those butterflies were flying in perfect formation by the end of the Test series as any questions over Petersen’s place in the Proteas team were firmly erased.

Helping set up South Africa’s series-clinching victory over India in the second ODI in a sweltering Paarl on Friday did not come cheap for opening batsman Janneman Malan, who described his condition as being “critical but stable”.

On a day when the temperature reached 41°, Malan batted for two-and-a-half hours, scoring 91 off 108 balls, top-scoring as the Proteas chased down 288 with seven wickets and 11 balls to spare to complete remarkable back-to-back series wins over one of the superpowers of world cricket.

Malan put on 132 for the first wicket with Quinton de Kock, who blazed a quickfire 78, before solid 30s by Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen saw South Africa cruise to victory.

“It was way hotter than in the first ODI and it was always going to be a challenge for the body. But that’s what we work on our conditioning for. I feel critical but stable,” Malan, who cuts a rugged figure, said after the game.

His cricket brain was clearly as sharp as ever because he not only played a beautifully-judged innings for the situation, but also identified the two key areas where South Africa have had the edge over India in this series.

When India hammered the Proteas 5-1 in the 2018 ODI series here, spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal took 33 cheap wickets between them. This time it has been Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj and even Markram who have had the wood over the Indian batsmen.

“We’ve handled their total overs of spin better than they have handled our overs of spin, and that has been a big confidence boost for us,” Malan said.

“Our playing and use of spin has been coming along for a couple of years now, we’ve been working really hard to improve and have better plans. Especially when the pitches are slow and its spinning.

“So we are using our sweeps, making sure they are well-executed to get the percentages our way.

“The other key thing has been partnerships. We made them work for every run and our bowlers kept getting wickets. We’re very proud that we had a century partnership and then two fifty-run ones. Those are really good signs,” Malan said.

Some of South Africa’s fielding on Friday was bad enough for their fans to fall of their chairs in front of their TVs, but the key characteristic of this team is their tenacity, which they have shown time and again in shocking the much-fancied Indian team.

As captain Bavuma said after the game: “I think as a team we have a lot of self-belief and confidence in our ability. We go out there and fight for one another. We really try to put in a real team effort.

“We don’t rely on superstars or one or two performances. Coming into this series, no one gave us much of a chance, so that really gave us motivation,” Bavuma said.

A top-class batting display by South Africa carried them to an exceptional seven-wicket victory and another series triumph over a much-vaunted Indian team in the second ODI at Boland Park in Paarl on Friday.

Chasing a testing 288 for victory, a target which has never been achieved in the second innings in ODIs at Paarl, the Proteas began superbly with a commanding opening stand of 132 off 136 deliveries between Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan.

De Kock was in a rush, racing to a tremendous 78 off 66 balls with an array of great strokes that brought him seven fours and three sixes. He did not bat beyond the 22^nd over, missing a low full toss and falling lbw to Shardul Thakur, but he had given South Africa a fantastic platform.

Malan batted on as he and captain Temba Bavuma rammed home the advantage with a second-wicket stand of 80 at better than a run-a-ball.

Malan’s composed innings of 91 off 108 deliveries came to an end when he was bowled off his arm by a Jasprit Bumrah off-cutter, but it was another classy knock from a 25-year-old who has made such a great start to his ODI career that he has now scored 758 runs in his first 12 innings.

There was a slight wobble when Bavuma was caught-and-bowled by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who posed a consistent risk, for 35 in the next over. South Africa still needed 74 runs off 86 balls.

But a typically calm Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram, who both finished on 37 not out, took the Proteas home with 11 balls to spare. It was a morale-boosting return to form for Markram.

India, having won the toss and batted on a sweltering day, were off to a quick start as Lokesh Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan (29) added 63 off 73 deliveries. Off-spinner Markram made the breakthrough as Dhawan was well-caught by Sisanda Magala, who had endured a torrid time with the new ball, at deep midwicket.

In the next over, left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj claimed the vital wicket of Virat Kohli for a duck, beaten in the flight and chipping a catch to cover.

South Africa’s fielding had not been particularly sharp up till then and it then fell apart as four catches were dropped and an easy run out, in the early stages of the third-wicket partnership between Rahul and Rishabh Pant, was farcically botched.

But the tenacity of this South African team came to the fore as they put those horrors behind them.

Magala returned with an admirable second spell and removed Rahul for 55 and South Africa again struck in the following over as Pant, who had played brilliantly in scoring a fiery 85 off 71 balls, holed out off Tabraiz Shamsi.

De Kock took another brilliant leg-side stumping standing up to Andile Phehlukwayo  to dismiss Venkatesh Iyer for 22 and although Thakur (40*) and Ravichandran Ashwin (25*) added 48 in the last six-and-a-half overs, the Proteas would have been relieved to not be chasing more than 300 based on how badly they had fielded.

It was spin which once again turned the tide with Maharaj (9-0-52-1), Shamsi (9-0-57-2) and Markram (8-0-34-1) all doing excellent jobs. Lungi Ngidi, although wicketless, was the best of the seamers, while Phehlukwayo also did well.