Cricket: Donald again a destroyer

SOUTH AFRICA were on the brink of their first Test victory for 22 years after the fast bowlers Allan Donald and Brett Schultz had destroyed India's batting in Port Elizabeth yesterday. India, 63 behind on first innings, were reduced to 71 for 6 in their second, a lead of only eight runs by the close on the third day of the third Test.

Donald followed up his first innings return of 5 for 55 with 3 for 28, while Schultz had figures of 2 for 8. Their exploits built on Hansie Cronje's magnificent 135, his maiden Test century, in South Africa's first innings total of 275.

Cronje batted for all but the first 10 balls of the innings in a stay of nearly nine hours that earned South Africa a vital lead on a pitch offering conspicuous turn to the Indian spinners Venkat Raju and Anil Kumble, who each took three wickets.

Donald and Schultz, though, extracted some unexpected bounce as Woorkeri Raman and Sachin Tendulkar were dismissed for first-ball ducks. Mohammad Azharuddin, India's troubled captain, then showed scant disregard for footwork when on seven to guide a catch to Kepler Wessels at slip.

India had slumped to 31 for 6 before Kapil Dev, Azharuddin's main rival for the captaincy, produced his most responsible innings of the tour with an unbeaten 33. He guided India past their previous lowest score of 42 - against England at Lord's in 1974 - and into the lead in an unbroken 40-run partnership with Manoj Prabhakar (10).

(South Africa won toss)

INDIA - First Innings 212 (M A Azharuddin 60; A A Donald 5-55)

SOUTH AFRICA - First Innings

(Overnight: 163 for 3)

W J Cronje b Kumble. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135

B M McMillan lbw b Raju. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

J N Rhodes c Prabhakar b Kumble. . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

D J Richardson run out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

O Henry lbw b Kapil Dev. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

C Matthews c Azharuddin b Kapil Dev. . . . . . . . . . . 17

A A Donald b Kumble. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

B N Schultz not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

Extras (b2 lb13 nb6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275

Fall (cont): 4-171 5-182 6-185 7-215 8-259 9-274.

Bowling: Kapil Dev 24-6-45-2; Prabhakar 15-3- 57-1; Kumble 50.3-16-81-3; Raju 46-15-73-3; Tendulkar 1-1-0-0; Shastri 2-1-4-0.

INDIA - Second Innings

R J Shastri c Richardson b McMillan. . . . . . .5

W V Raman b Donald. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

S V Manjrekar lbw b Donald . . . . . . . . . . .6

S R Tendulkar c Richardson b Schultz. . . . . . 0

*M A Azharuddin c Wessels b Donald. . . . . . . 7

P K Amre c Richardson b Schultz. . . . . . . . .7

Kapil Dev not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

M Prabhakar not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Extras (lb2 nb1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Total (for 6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Fall: 1-1 2-10 3-11 4-20 5-27 6-31.

To bat: K S More, A R Kumble, Venkatapathy Raju.

Bowling: Donald 14-4-28-3; Schultz 9-5-8-2; McMillan 7-2-14-1; Matthews 4-1-17-0; Henry 2-1-2-0

Umpires: D Shepherd (Eng); R Koertzen and W Diedricks (SA).