Karthik was impressive on Test debut

Be that as it may, we saw some wonderful exhibition of controlled swing bowling from all of Cronje’s fast men, the captain included. And to think that Dr K Srikkanth had catered to national interests. Sachin Tendulkar played a gem of an innings on his home turf, missing the coveted century by three runs. However, this was no time to rave about individual brilliance as some of the top Indian batters appeared to be carrying the Australian hangover. Still, the South African commitment on the field was exemplary until the last Indian pair of Ajit Agarkar and debutant Murali Karthik displayed rare courage of sustenance. Had India gone up 1-0 in the series, the last-wicket partnership of Indians would have been talked of in glowing terms. I was very pleased with Karthik’s splendid temperament, both with the bat and ball. I have always admired the South Africans’ fighting qualities which seem to emerge from a combination of total physical fitness with awesome mental strength. But I could never figure out theirinability to conquer the turning track or the ball.

The moment Kumble got one to jump, Nayan Mongia asked for the helmet for his own safety. That was good enough signal to create a thousand doubts in the visitors’ dressing room. A sound opening partnership between Gary Kirsten and Hershelle Gibbs came to a naught with Tendulkar’s golden arm doing the unexpected. A fair assessment would be that main batsmen in both teams allowed the bowlers to come on top with some very poor shots. It was exciting to watch cricket with Asif Iqbal, Raj Singh Dungarpur and Dilip Vengsarkar even if much of the excitement resembled self-induced labour in a gynecology department.