Indian box-office hit — Opens with a flourish, ends in a scramble

The mood became more sombre with India needing 18 from 18 balls with six wickets in hand. A hushed silence fell on the capacity crowd at the IPCL Stadium with Robin Singh and Saba Karim needing to score six of Jacques Kallis’ final over.

With four runs to score off as many balls, Lance Klusener at mid-on dropped a sitter gifted by Singh. Next ball, Klusener missed the stumps by inches giving Karim a lease of life. With two runs from a couple of balls remaining, Singh mistimed a drive, the ball ballooned and precariously fell between mid-off and long-off. A diving Singh just completed the second run. The 20,000-strong crowd heaved a collective sight of relief. The series was dead but India lived.

So gripping was the climax that the heroics in the preceding acts took a back seat. For the Indians, it was a day when the captains — present and former — navigated the ship. Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin took charge. As the rivals feared and a nation awaited, Tendulkar, after relinquished the crown, was in his element.

His 122, the 25th century in ODIs, saw through the crucial middle-order that was vital in winning the match despite the mess up in the final overs. Ganguly’s 87 from 84 balls, though numerically inferior, was a shade more aesthetic than Tendulkar’s innings. Azharuddin’s 39 too was impressive — two cover drives and an off-the-legs glances — were impressive and also nostalgic.

Earlier, Ganguly lost his fourth straight toss and this saw South Africans blasting at the beginning and at the end of the innings. Openers Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs started in ominous fashion, scoring with the first 10 overs fetching 70 runs. Javagal Srinath, returning after his war-fatigue break, was in a Monday mood.

Four no balls and 43 runs in the first spell highlighted his indiscipline. Kirsten was going strong but suddenly, he had a bout of tunnel vision. His run out at the score of 72 came about after he blindly ran, turning a deaf ear to Kallis at the other end.

The final blast was provided by Jacques Kallis. The all-rounder, who snicked, probed, grafted initially, clubbed and lofted towards the end. The last five Indian overs cost 51 runs and South Africa finished at 282. The target at that stage seemed huge. But huge is a relative term when it comes to Indian wicket.

Scoreboard

South Africa
Gary Kirsten run out (Ganguly) (92b, 130m, 6×4) 72
Herschelle Gibbs lbw Joshi (31b, 69m, 5×4) 37
Jacques Kallis not out (107b, 133m, 4×4, 2×6) 81
Hansie Cronje c Agarkar b Joshi (27b, 33m, 2×4, 1×6) 26
Nicky Boje c Joshi b Kumble (10b, 11m) 9
Dale Benkenstein b Srinath (28b, 29m, 1×4) 27
Lance Klusener not out (9b, 2×4, 13m) 14
Extras: (5lb, 7w, 4nb) 16
Total: (for five wickets in 50 overs) 282
Fall of wkts: 1-99 (Gibbs, 15.2 overs), 2-136 (Kirsten, 26.4), 3-181 (Cronje, 35.4), 4-199 (Boje, 39), 5-256 (Benkenstein, 47.2)

Bowling: Srinath 9-0-60-1 (4nb, 1w), Agarkar 10-0-61-0 (2w), Kumble 9-0-32-1 (1w), Joshi 10-0-69-2, Robin 3-0-12-0, Tendulkar 9-1-43-0

India
Saurav Ganguly c Pollock b Strydom (84b, 110m, 2×6, 12×4) 87
Sachin Tendulkar c Elworthy b Kallis (138b, 195m, 12×4) 122
Rahul Dravid c Cronje b Boje 3 (10b, 22m) 3
Mohd Azharuddin c & b Kallis (49b, 82m, 3×4) 39
Ajay Jadeja b Pollock (10b, 20m) 5
Robin Singh not out (7b, 21m, 1×4) 10
Sunil Joshi b Pollock (2b, 2m, 1×4) 4
Saba Karim not out (2b, 6m) 2
Extras: (3nb, 31b, 5w) 11
Total: (for six wickets in 49.5 overs) 283
Fall of wickets: 1-153 (Ganguly, 24.3), 2-176 (Dravid, 30), 3-256 (Tendulkar, 45.1), 4-267 (Azhar, 47.4), 5-273 (Jadeja, 48.4), 6-277 (Joshi, 49).

Bowling: Pollock 9-0-54-2 (1nb, 1w), Elworthy 7-0-52-0 (2nb, 3w), Kallis 8.5-0-50-2 (1w), Cronje 6-0-33-0, Boje 10-0-53-1, Strydom 9-0-48-1.

Result: India won by four wickets.
India win series 3-1.
Man of the match: Sachin Tendulkar.