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January 05, 2007 (Link to Scorecard)

The South African tour for India is coming to a grand finale on Sunday. It could be a win or a defeat for both sides as they continue to be evenly poised at stumps on the fourth day's play. The odds are slightly in favour of SA with 156 more to get in a full day's play. India needs to capture 8 more wickets to win the match and the series for the first time in this land. Chasing a target of 211, South Africa looked good right from the first ball in keeping the pressure on the Indian bowling, they almost went one down at the close but a late blow from Anil Kumble raised the hopes for a better tomorrow for Rahul Dravid's team.

Beginning their second innings this morning, India opted to send Virender Sehwag along with Wasim Jaffer.  Virender Sehwag clipped a down the legs delivery from Steyn to the boundary to give danger signals to the South Africans. But he soon lost his mind, driving at a wide outswinger from Dale Steyn to be caught behind. His opening partner, Wasim Jaffer joined him back into the pavilion, two balls later, but it wasn't his fault that he got out. It was an unplayable delivery from Makhaya Ntini, banged in short and landing on the seam, the ball took off to hit Jaffer on the gloves before it landed into AB de Villiers' safe hands in the slips. Jaffer tried his best to get his hands out of the way but that was a tough delivery that came back a long way. What happened after that was bizarre, there was no batsman to join Rahul Dravid in the middle for 7 minutes! Not that the batsmen were afraid of coming in the middle but it was due to a late communication on part of the fourth umpire to prevent Sachin Tendulkar from coming out to bat. The little master who was off the field yesterday for a considerable amount of time due to hip pain was not supposed to bat before 10:48 AM local time. Wasim Jaffer's dismissal came at 10:34! The South Africans were possibly stopped from appealing for a 'timed out' for the genuine reason. Poor Sourav Ganguly was the last second choice for coming out next, he had to pad up in a flash and come down. His first delivery was an outside edge, an unsettled poke which flew safely through the slip cordon. Then after the nerves settled down and the focus and determination was back.

Sourav was as expected got peppered with bouncers. But he stood there along with Dravid and as time went on, the partnership looked settled and the shouting and screaming from behind the stumps was soon vanishing with every run scored by the two batsmen. Ganguly's gutsy and busy partnership with Rahul Dravid had weathered the storm and at lunch, India were better placed than their opponents at 73 for 2, which is a second innings lead of 114. The Proteas needed wickets in a hurry in the afternoon session or they could well forget the series. Jacques Kallis was the bowler who provided the much needed breakthrough by inducing Sourav Ganguly to jab at an reversing outswinger to gully. Ganguly was again gone without scoring a big one, he made 46 from 89 balls with 5 fours which also included a superb pull off Ntini in the first session. Rahul Dravid was next to be dismissed, also in the forties. His wicket was the result of some big pressure building up due to the lack of runs produced with Paul Harris bowling outside the legstump and into the rough and Sachin Tendulkar did nothing but play dot balls after dot balls. Dravid lost his cool and had played his drive early to give a return catch to the left arm spinner.

After Dravid's exit, Laxman followed him soon through a run out. VVS Laxman was Very Very Slow Laxman today as he laboured in completing a second run which was called by Tendulkar to be run out at the striker's end. Laxman wasn't interested in that second run to begin with but was forced to run. Pollock's flat throw from the deep had sealed the fate of Laxman and India. If that wasn't enough, the struggling Tendulkar was given out wrongly lbw by Asad Rauf after the batsman was rapped on his pads by a big inswinger from Pollock that could have swung past the legstump. The World's Best Batsman as many people still believe scored 14 having faced 62 balls! So at Tea, India was hopelessly placed at 121 for 6 after being at 90 for 2 at one stage.

In the final session, Dinesh Karthik with a brilliant unbeaten 38 had managed India to set up a decent target of 211. Dale Steyn had polished the tail with three wickets which started off with Anil Kumble helplessly fending away a rising delivery to end a useful 26-run partnership with Dinesh Karthik. Zaheer did his best to hang on until he made a cardinal mistake of turning blind for a second run which wasn't on. Next man, Sreesanth was fortunate to get off with a streaky boundary, but very soon had edged Steyn into the slips. It was the last ball of Steyn's over that Sreesanth was dismissed but the umpires and every one concerned got their count wrong and an extra delivery was bowled in that over. Munaf Patel backed away from his stumps to tamely push Steyn to mid off to end the Indian innings at 169 all out in 64 overs. Dinesh Karthik didn't deserve to be stranded at the other end as he was playing one of the most important innings for his country. The little man got his runs through some sweetly timed drives along with some cheeky steers to thirdman and a reverse sweep off Paul Harris off the rough!

South Africa were off to a flier in their second innings with a first ball boundary with Zaheer straying down the legs to AB de Villiers. The two openers - Smith and AB de Villiers flayed the Indian new ball bowlers - Zaheer and Sreesanth who looked very flat. Just when things started to go in the homeside's way, Zaheer struck in the 10th over with a beautiful away going delivery that forced AB de Villiers to get a nick behind. The opening stand was cut to 36 with AB de Villiers making 22 out of those. South Africa batted for more than 6 overs after that in which they lost the wicket of Hashim Amla. The right hander did the mistake of going on the backfoot to Kumble to miss a skidder and to be plumb in front of the stumps. His wicket had also brought the close of an eventful fourth day's play. 

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