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Sunday, Jan 07, 2007
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South Africa has the last laugh

S. Dinakar

PROVING A POINT: Graeme Smith silenced his critics as he came up with crucial knocks in both the innings to enable South Africa win the series 2-1. — PHOTO: AFP

Cape Town: Strategic brilliance and stronger nerves enabled South Africa clinch the decider on a cloudy final day of rain and wind at Newlands.

Greame Smith's men have triumphed 2-1 in the three-Test Castle series, roaring back from a shock defeat in the first Test. Creditably, the resilient host won the third Test by five wickets on a surface favouring India, and after losing a critical toss and batting last.

South Africa read the flow of the game better than India. The promotion of Shaun Pollock to the No. 4 slot proved a masterstroke.

The side got the batting combinations right. The two partnerships between right-left pairs — Shaun Pollock and Greame Smith and Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince — ended the Indian hopes. The Indian bowlers could not adjust their line well enough.

Pollock and Smith set up the win. Kallis and Prince closed out the match.

Agonising defeat

For India, this was a particularly agonising and painful defeat. The side had at least three opportunities to put the Test beyond South Africa. It missed them all.

The Indian bowling lacked sting, it was let down by ordinary fielding too. Sachin Tendulkar's assorted spin should have been utilised more.

India missed a specialist finger spinner. In hindsight, the match script could have been different had Harbhajan been included. Virender Sehwag's off-spin was inadequate.

Anil Kumble, with the weight of expectations on him, tried too hard. He had to be slower through the air. He went wicket-less on a final day pitch of the sub-continental kind.

The dynamics of the match changed after play resumed after a 185 minute-break caused by rain, with the host at 55 for two. The outfield got slower, and Kumble had difficulty gripping the ball.

Zaheer began ordinarily, pitching short and being pulled by Pollock when Dravid had set an off-side field for him.

He settled down to bowl with verve, denying the batsmen width.

Graeme Smith (55, 84, 6x3) attempted to cut a ball too close to his body and 'keeper Dinesh Karthik held a brilliant catch.

The skipper and Pollock raised 72 runs for the third wicket in 14.5 overs.

PHOTO: AP

CELEBRATION TIME: The South Africans are ecstatic after their 2-1 series win over India. It must be doubly sweet for them as they came back strongly after losing the first Test.

Quick blows

Pollock (37, 56b, 5x4) was soon snaffled up in the slips. Zaheer had struck two quick blows.

Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince found survival hard initially. Kallis found a Kumble googly missing his stumps by a whisker, then barely managed to dig out a Zaheer yorker.

And Kumble was spinning his deliveries into Prince from the rough. The South African pair had the last laugh, though.

It must be said that the cloud-cover did not help Kumble. He required sunshine on Saturday for the pitch to turn drier, enabling him gain more purchase. Instead, the moisture in the air had an opposite effect on the surface.

The use of the roller also firmed up the pitch in the early stages of the morning. As that effect began to wear off, Kumble got one of his deliveries to rear at Smith from round the wicket from the press box end. Soon rain came pouring down.

In the 10.4 overs of play before rain-interruption, South Africa, 111 for two, had added 56 runs through the third wicket pair of Smith and Pollock.

Pacemen Zaheer and Sreesanth erred in line, were taken for runs on the on-side by Smith. Sreesanth struggled for consistency.

The tenacious Prince (38 not out) and the solid Kallis (32) put on 77 for the fifth wicket. Smith was adjuded the Man of the Match, and Pollock, the man of the series.

SCOREBOARD

India _ 1st innings: 414.

South Africa _ 1st innings: 373.

India _ 2nd innings: 169.

South Africa _ 2nd innings: A.B. de Villiers c Karthik b Zaheer 22, G. Smith c Karthik b Zaheer 55, H. Amla lbw b Kumble 10, S. Pollock c Laxman b Zaheer 37, J. Kallis c Dravid b Zaheer 32, A. Prince (not out) 38, H. Gibbs (not out) 0, Extras (b-11, lb-l, nb-5): 17; Total (for five wkts. in 64.1 overs): 211.

Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-55, 3-127, 4-132, 5-209. India bowling: Zaheer 21-2- 62-4, Sreesanth 13-2-50-0, Kumble 25-4-74-1, Munaf 1-0- 2-0, Sehwag 1-0-8-0, Tendulkar 3.1-2-3-0.

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