Jacques Kallis
After 13 days of competitive cricket, the battle between the top two teams in Test cricket came down to the final day’s play of the third Test in Cape Town. India needed 340 runs to win while the Proteas needed 10 wickets and both of them had 90 overs to do it in.
Scoring at nearly 3.8 runs an over on a difficult track on the last day against the best bowling attack in the world was always going to be a huge ask and the Indians decided to play safe. Gambhir and Sehwag saw off the danger of the new ball as they scored only 26 runs in the first hour’s play. A typically uncharacteristic Sehwag knock was finally brought to an end in the 12th over when he edged Morkel to first slip. Dravid and Gambhir however eased the nerves, if any, playing out the next 16 overs till lunch adding only a further 27 runs.
There was no change in the Indian tactics post lunch as Gambhir and Dravid were happy to defend and block as they played out the next 20 overs scoring at about 2 per over. With tea time looming, South Africa finally struck, Tsotsobe providing the breakthrough getting rid of Dravid as India went into the third session at 114/2.
If South Africa had any hope of picking up eight Indian wickets in the final session, it was all thwarted by Sachin Tendulkar. Steyn had dismissed Gambhir but Tendulkar played out 91 balls to remain unbeaten on 14 while Laxman stroked his way to 32. With eight overs still left to play, both the teams agreed to call off the game.
The draw was India’s first ever in the Rainbow Nation and the leveled series kept alive Dhoni’s record of not losing a Test series as captain. Jacques Kallis deservedly picked up the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series awards and despite a drab final day’s play, the series lived up to its hype of being a clash between the best teams in the world.
Tags: Cape Town, Cricket, India, Jacques Kallis, SA, South Africa, Test Cricket, Test Series
