Port Elizabeth, Nov. 16 :    Port Elizabeth, Nov. 16:  SOUTH AFRICA 237/5 Two wickets in 19 deliveries with the second new ball, late on Day I, helped India break South Africa's hold on the second Test. Yet, the talking point was as much ona roll Herschelle Gibbs. unbeaten 155 . the highest against India . as Sourav Ganguly's decision to field just two quicks. Indeed, when it came to the crunch, the Indian captain wasn.t guided so much by conditions as reputation. And, so, despite a rea sonably green surface and a blus tery ambience at St George's Park, there was no place for Ashish Nehra. It's reasonable to say the absence of a third quick was felt within the first hour itself. Never before in his 20 months as (fulltime) captain did Sourav have to make as tough a decision as the one this morning and, it ap pears, he was influenced by coach John Wright into retaining senior pro Anil Kumble and dropping Nehra. A very tight call but, then, Sourav should have been guided by instinct and conditions. More so, as it was obvious South Africa would be inserted if the toss was won by India. In the event, that's what Sourav did. He called .tail. and the coin landed tailup, shrinking the smile on Shaun Pollock's face. Having said that, it's not easy dropping somebody of Kumble's class (280 wickets in 62 Tests), though many will continue to argue a horsesfor courses policy must be consis tently followed not selectively implemented. Bottomline, of course, is Sourav has made the debatesparking decision and can only hope for the best. Though the going was far from good till tea (167 for three), a wick et apiece by Jawagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar in the final session neutralised South Africa's head start. Gibbs was on a character filled 155 (363 minutes, 283 deliver ies, 21x4, 1x6), his second hundred in as many Tests, and Pollock yet to score. Gibbs, whose body language conveys business, surpassed Daryll Cullinan's 153 not out (Eden Gardens, 199697) . the pre vious highest versus India. .For much of the year, I.ve been play ing positively, irrespective of the surface. Today, it wasn.t any dif ferent,. he remarked, soon after stumps. Flourishing on a difficult day, it's been a classic opener's knock. Srinath, mean and tight, fin ished the day with three for 51. Ac tually, at times, he was brilliant . hitting the right length and get ting the ball to swing. Gibbs him self paid tribute . .Don.t think he bowled a loose delivery.... In an era when compliments from the opposition are rare, that's special. The breakthrough, in the morning, had come early with Sri nath inducing top gun Gary Kirsten to drive away from the body. An alert V.V.S. Laxman held clean after Virender Sehwag was found wanting. Kirsten, by the way, couldn.t capitalise on a .let off . from umpire Russell Tiffin, who rejected a deadcertain ap peal for legbefore from Srinath. Sehwag, incidentally, had a bad day. Kirsten's dismissal brought the dangerous Jacques Kallis to the crease and, not surprisingly, a firm partnership ensued. Both Gibbs and Kallis, however, had trouble reading Harbhajan Singh's awaygoing deliveries. They added 70 before Srinath struck again, in his second spell (at the stroke of lunch), to evict Kallis. The batsman played a wee bit late and managed a thick in sideedge which disturbed the tim ber. Lunch was taken at 91 for two, with Gibbs on 56 and Neil McKen zie on four. Sourav clearly felt the need of a third specialist quick and the move to bring himself on (first change) didn.t quite work. The captain was smacked for 21 in two overs.He didn.t return. While Srinath was quick and controlled, the same couldn.t be said of Agarkar. He should have made the most of the juice in the wicket, not to speak of the swing assisting easterly from the sea. The wicket he got late in the day, dour (even boring) Boeta Dippe naar's, was via a perfectly pitched outswinger. The second session found Gibbs accelerate, till he reached 90, but the period also saw McKen zie's dismissal to a beauty from Harbhajan. Beaten in the air, the otherwise gifted McKenzie was made to look an absolute novice. That wicket apart, the one high point was Gibbs. hundred.He took 32 minutes and 23 balls to move from 90 to 100, but the significance of his effort can be gauged from the total when he got to that fifth hundred: 154 for three. Gibbs has been having a great 2001 . five fifties and three hundreds in the last 15 innings. Gibbs was specially brutal whenever the Indians either pitched short or offered width. Some of his drives through cover, off the backfoot,were glorious.He swept with confidence, too. Off the field, this 27yearold is colour ful and controversial, on it he is dynamism personified. Harbhajan, predictably, had bowled 23 overs without a break, till tea. He remained disciplined while attacking but, when ends were switched after the break, found himself being slogswept for six by Gibbs. The wicket, however, has nothing in it for spinners. The first to depart in the final session was Dippenaar, while Sri nath sent back Lance Klusener . much to his teammates. relief . with one which forced the south paw into two minds. Eventually, he offered a regulation catch in the slips cordon. If anything, Klusener enjoys feasting on the Indian attack. Knowing Sourav, he will be looking ahead not back but, still, having survived the first day South Africa can get real solid to morrow. Deep to open A member of the team man agement has confirmed wicket keeper Deep Dasgupta has been assigned the second opener's role. That this would be so was re ported by The Telegraph Wednesday. If there's a change, it will only be if the South African innings continues well into the second day, thereby taking much out of Deep. Meanwhile, Nehra and Zaheer Khan,who was particularly unim pressive in the Bloemfontein Test, made way for Harbhajan and Agarkar. The South Africans did n.t tinker with their winning XI.