The wonderers : A Test that turned in the space of 10 deliveries

India,South Africa played out one of the greatest draws in Test history in Johannesburg.

The match had turned in the space of 10 deliveries. Having come together with their team staring defeat,Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers had batted South Africa into a position where they believed a world-record chase was within their grasp. Into the third session of the final day of a rivetting Test,History beckoned.

South Africa now required 56 runs to win with 13 overs to go and two centurions at the crease with India needing six wickets for the win. India were on the backfoot and the number of men manning the slips had dropped from four to one,with a significant more defending the boundaries. That was when de Villiers inside-edged Ishant Sharma onto his stumps. In the very next over,JP Duminy did the same against Mohammad Shami.

The equation had changed. The partisan South African supporters had just been silenced around the Wanderers. The minor Indian contingent in the stands had just found their voice. Now the visitors stood within four wickets of a famous overseas win,and they had 68 deliveries to seal it in. The pendulum had swung. India were back in front and now poised to go for the kill.

So close

Out walked Vernon Philander,fresh from a half-century in the first innings. At the other end,du Plessis,playing the innings of his life,had decided to shut shop. Or so you thought as he played out an over of Shami. Philander,though,had other ideas. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had brought in his field. The burly pacers response was connecting four meaty blows to the fence.

Three ferocious cut shots and a powerful pull shot,Philander had brought South Africa within 20 runs of their target with four overs remaining. The possession of the reins had shifted back into the home teams hands. The Wanderers was buzzing again. The Indian flags werent being waved with the same ferocity anymore.

On came Zaheer Khan,the 35-year-old veteran pacer who had bent his back in an eight-over spell at full tilt that had finished just half-hour earlier. But when du Plessis latched onto a short delivery and pulled it to the mid-wicket fence,you couldnt help but feel that the match was over. Just 16 required with 21 balls still left and du Plessis still in. Two balls later,another twist,one orchestrated by an unnecessary run-out.

Moment of madness

Having withstood the Indian onslaught for over six hours,du Plessis drove a ball to mid-off and set off for a run. But before his aching and weary body could make it into the crease,despite a full-blooded dive,Ajinkya Rahane had thrown down the stumps with a direct-hit. As du Plessis held his head in despair,the Indians had once more gotten a scent of victory. They now had 19 deliveries to bowl out South Africa. With the world record at stake,you just thought Philander and Dale Steyn,certainly not a rabbit with the bat,would still go for it. Instead,they opted to give it up. Incidentally,India didnt look too keen on going for the jugular either.

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While Steyn played out a maiden off Shami,Dhoni had all nine fielders placed on the boundary when Philander was back on strike in the next Zaheer over. One of the most exciting Test matches of modern times was now heading to an anticlimactic finish but not before Steyn hit the last ball for a six. In the draw,South Africa fell eight runs short of the record target,458.

Despite the badgering,the draw probably was a fair result. And there were no dearth of heroes in either camp. From Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli proving that the young India could withstand the challenges in foreign climes,a young Shami proving his mettle,an aging Zaheer giving his all with the ball and in the field and of course du Plessis showing why he is the master of the rear-guard rescue-act.

Quality AB

In fact,the Test had so many heroes that AB de Villiers,whose attacking century 103 off 168 balls in the fourth innings on the final day track,could well be the one that gets the least mention. Unfortunately,despite the quality of his knock,the timing of his dismissal was what had perhaps changed the nature of the Test.

Zaheer,fourth Indian to 300 Test wickets

Joburg: Zaheer Khan on Sunday became the fourth Indian bowler to claim 300 wicket in Test cricket when he dismissed Jacques Kallis on the fifth and final day of the opening cricket Test against South Africa at the Wanderers on Day Five.

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The 35-year-old Zaheer,who made his Test debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka in November 2000,picked up the wicket of Kallis,a LBW decision,in the 61st over of South African second innings in Johannesburg. The left-arm pacer,who took four wickets in the first innings,waved to the dressing room with the ball in his hand after joining Kapil Dev 434,Anil Kumble 619 and Harbhajan Singh 413 in the elite list. He is the 27th overall in all-time highest wicket-taker list.

Plagued by injuries and lack of form,Zaheer lost his place in the national team for most part this year but he worked hard on his fitness on a long programme that involved visits to Brive-La-Gaillarde and Bloemfontein. PTI