da bet7： South Africa’s greater desperation prevailed on a tense weather-interrupted final day, leaving the series beautifully poised going into the final Test at Cape Town
Dileep Premachandran in Cape Town31-Dec-2006
Virender Sehwag is unlikely to find a place in the starting XI at Cape Town © AFP
If you’d told the average Indian at the end of the catastrophic one-dayseries that they’d be heading to Cape Town, and the most beautiful groundin the world, on level terms in the Tests, you might have been greetedwith an incredulous look or two. But a month on, the team arrives atNewlands with more than a tinge or two of regret. Having won so convincingly against all odds at the Wanderers, they had more than their fair share of opportunities at Durban. But South Africa’s greater desperation prevailed on a tense weather-interrupted final day, leaving the series beautifully poised.When they look back at the Kingsmead game, India will be able to isolatetwo or three key moments where the game slipped away. On the opening day,Sachin Tendulkar gave Ashwell Prince a reprieve at slip. Prince, then on41, went on to make a doughty 121, putting together a priceless 73 withthe last two batsmen on the second morning.When India batted, Tendulkar provided a measure of atonement by managing his first half-century of the year. But with the situation incontrol, he played a distinctly ordinary shot to give South Africa a toein the door. The tail wagged as it has done all series, but a deficit of88 was always going to be hard to bridge.They still gave themselves a chance, with the outstanding Sreesanthsparking a collapse that saw South Africa lose six second-innings wicketsfor 44. But again, they couldn’t finish the task, with Shaun Pollock’sunbeaten 63 buttressed by valuable cameos from Andrew Hall andthe impressive Mornè Morkel.The vagaries of the weather, and the grey skies that descended everyafternoon meant that survival was still very much an option, but India’sbatting the second time was as woeful as it could possibly have been.Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s brave 47 delayed the inevitable and offeredtantalising glimpses of light, but the abject failure of the top order puttoo much pressure on those that followed. With Makhaya Ntini leading theline splendidly, South Africa always had that little bit in reserve.India’s bowlers could still feel proud of their efforts, with Sreesanthtaking his series tally to 16 wickets, and the attack will be furtherstrengthened by the return of Munaf Patel in Cape Town. VRV Singh bowledwith real pace and menace in patches, but has yet to acquire theconsistency needed at this level. If his ankle gives him no trouble, Munafwill be a far tougher proposition, capable of extracting steep bounce offa naggingly accurate length. With Zaheer Khan causing all manner ofproblems with the new ball, and Anil Kumble applying the tourniquet, SouthAfrica certainly won’t enjoy facing India’s four-man attack.Unfortunately, rapid strides on the bowling front have gone hand-in-handwith a steady regression on the batting side of things. Wasim Jaffer gotgood starts in both innings at Kingsmead, but his partnership withVirender Sehwag has been a non-starter all tour. The team management isn’tin favour of drastic action – there was a great deal of heartburn oversending Irfan Pathan home – but Sehwag’s wretched form demands drasticmeasures. Expect Gautam Gambhir to be padding up at Newlands.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s fingers received some painful blows and it remains to be seen if he makes the starting XI © AFP
The other less likely change could be behind the stumps. Despite a coupleof fingers on his right hand being terribly bruised, Dhoni showedtremendous courage both with the bat and the big gloves in Durban, thoughyou could clearly see him grimacing each time he collected a delivery sentdown at nearly 140 km/h. With Dhoni being such an integral part of theWorld Cup plans, he might not be risked unless the team management iscertain that he can handle five more days of finger-pounding. Though theman himself would be loathe to miss out, Dinesh Karthik is a more thancapable deputy.South Africa’s problems also centre around their top order. Graeme Smithfinally made some runs in Durban, but if Jacques Kallis returns from aback injury, Hashim Amla might have to make way at No.3. The other optionis Jacques Rudolph, though he did fail in both innings in the tour gameagainst the Indians at Potchefstroom.Depending on the surface at Newlands, South Africa may elect to give PaulHarris, the left-arm spinner, a game. If he plays, Andrew Hall could bethe one to sit out. The fourth pace slot will also come under the scanner.If he can convince the team that his fitness worries are behind him, DaleSteyn should return, with Morkel making way after a promising debut.The pitch will attract as much attention as the final XIs. A dry surfacethat was watered excessively ahead of the Test against Australia earlierthis year produced a three-day finish, with Stuart Clark routing the hostson his debut. But less than two months later, the game against New Zealandwas a run-fest, with both team scoring in excess of 500. South Africa willbe wary of a surface that’s too dry, given Kumble’s quality, but asSreesanth and Zaheer have shown already, even a fast and bouncy pitchwon’t be any guarantee of success. The various permutations should makefor one hell of a game.