Test 1, Day 1: South Africa wrest advantage from Pakistan

I watched the match from the afternoon session onwards. From the scorecard, it was obvious that the morning session had belonged to the South Africans. The 3 quick wickets in the evening session also brought back to the advantage to their end. South African have the upper hand right now.

Some observations from the first day's play...

1) I enjoyed Younis and Yasir's aggressive nature in the afternoon. It was a pleasant change against hostile bowling for once. It's too bad that they didn't get to their hundreds, but their approach was justified. They needed to keep the scoreboard ticking and target the bowlers. The plan quite obviously was to send a message to the South Africans that chin music won't intimidate the Pakistanis.

2) Faisal Iqbal is going from bad to worse. Younis and Yasir pulling and hooking as set batsmen was understandable, but Faisal looked shaky at best. Too bad Asim Kamal didn't get selected.

3 ) Ntini is tireless. What a player! He uses the crease so effectively. Kallis was a bit like Sami usually is. 1 great ball per over, and the rest are useless.

4) Nel wasn't such a moron. I guess I like him a bit more today. He is a competitive spirit I agree. But does he really have to do so much drama?

5) Tomorrows session is the difference between 270 all out and 350 plus. Inzy has the technique, but Kamran Akmal needs to stop swishing outside the off stump.

6) The pitch wasn't as demonic as was I expected. I was a bit surprised by our decision to bat first. Probably so that Kaneria gets a chance on a 4th or 5th day pitch in defending a total.

7) Inzi was so relaxed while playing. I realized that's usually the case, but he seemed really confidant. He was certainly enjoying the challenge. Though the new ball did give him some trouble. He's definitely out of the slump that he was in last season.