SA dig their own grave

The Indians were busy taking a victory lap around the ground in the car that Harbhajan Singh had just won for being the Man of the Series.

The Indians were busy taking a victory lap around the ground in the car that Harbhajan Singh had just won for being the Man of the Series. That8217;s when two men from the South African camp, after giving a brief glance to the celebrating party, moved towards the pitch. Bowling coach Vincent Barnes takes Robin Peterson, the benched spinner, to have a good look at the 22 yards that deprived them of a treble in the sub-continent.

Graeme Smith8217;s men came to India after wins in Pakistan and Bangladesh for their toughest test. A win here would have made them the second-best Test side, but that was not to be. With India bringing out a magic brown carpet at the Green Park, South Africa return with a drawn series 8212; and the realisation that there are some mysteries in world cricket that still remain unsolved. India8217;s eight-wicket win means that South Africa remain one step behind India on the Test podium.

Experience counts

As India achieved a modest winning target of 62, unbeaten at the crease were two of their most experienced Test players. The smiles on the faces of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid made the undisputable position the seniors have in this Indian team quite clear. On a tricky spinning track, it was the old masters 8211; Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman 8211; who stood firm.

Ganguly8217;s 87 in the first innings got him the Man of the Match. A few South Africans attempted to copy the Ganguly template today but it turned out to be too complicated to master at such short notice. Smith, who wasn8217;t a bitter loser, spoke about the clinical display by the Indians and didn8217;t harp on the pitch. 8220;They bowled superbly. It8217;s not easy to score quickly when one delivery is going through the top and the next is keeping low. They kept us under pressure and made us work for our runs,8221; he said.

Perfect script

Yesterday, Ganguly had spoken of how he would like the game to unfold. Hopefully, he said, Ishant Sharma and S Sreesanth could work some magic and extend the lead to about 50. Then, he said the bowlers needed to take a couple of wickets before the lead got exhausted.

As things turned out, that8217;s exactly how the script unfolded. As edges fell between fielders and a few copybook strokes by the tailenders reached the fence, India took their lead to 60. And before the South Africans could overcome the deficit, a couple of their batsmen were back in the hut.

The South Africans did keep their heads down and dug trenches to put up a fight, but they were stuck without ammunition. On a pitch where attack was the best defence, the South Africans got bogged down.

Staying positive

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MS Dhoni had a few things to say about the art of batting on such a track. 8220;To play positively on such wickets is very important. You can get out irrespective of whether you are playing your shots or not, so you have to keep scoring. The way Sourav batted was crucial,8221; he said.

Dhoni rotated his bowlers regularly, increasing the odds of one of his spinners or a pacer coming up with an unplayable delivery. Sehwag came up with a couple, as did Sharma. But the man with the most tricks on this unpredictable track was Harbhajan. South Africa could just manage 121 runs in their second innings, leaving India a target of 62.

Under normal circumstances, that would be a stroll, but on the Green Park minefield, danger was always lurking around. But Sehwag ran a blazing first lap with 22 off 12 balls to take the pressure off, leaving Dravid and Ganguly to finish things off.

The South Africans will certainly be wiser at the end of this series. If nothing else, Barnes and Peterson, studying the pitch, will ensure they return better prepared.