Openers power South Africa to 206 for 2 at tea

Chennai, Mar 26 (PTI) Indian bowlers toiled on a flat pitch without much success as South Africa rode on half centuries by Neil McKenzie (94) and captain Graeme Smith (73) to cruise to 206 for two at tea on the first day of the first cricket Test against India here today.

At the break, Hashim Amla (31) was joined by Jacques Kallis (3) in the middle and they would look forward to build on a solid platform provided by the openers.

McKenzie fell just six runs shy of a well-deserved ton just before tea when Harbhajan Singh had him caught by Rahul Dravid at the lone slip after a 156-ball knock that included 18 hits to the fence.

Earlier, Anil Kumble earned the breakthrough for India but not before Smith had reached 73 off 97 balls with the help of 13 boundaries.

The attacking left-hander was caught by VVS Laxman at short mid-wicket.

For the Indian bowlers, it has been a tough day when they toiled on an unresponsive pitch under a searing sun that necessitated frequent drinks break.

After Smith won an important toss and decided to take first strike on the pitch, India's new ball attack of RP Singh and S Sreesanth looked pretty pedestrian, even though the Kerala speedster did beat Smith's tentative bat on a couple of occasions.

Smith proved lucky when a diving Dhoni could not properly pouch an inside edge and spilled it while getting on his feet.

Smith and McKenzie looked in a positive frame of mind as they negotiated both pace and spin with aplomb, maintaining a healthy run rate of four per over. RE AY TUS TUS 03261437 DEL

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