THE ULTIMATE DRAMA

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo 

Venue- New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg [December 2013]

In December 2013 Indian Cricket Team toured South Africa to play 3 ODIs and 2 Tests. The Proteas won the ODI series 2-0 and all eyes were now set upon the test series. Indian Captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. On a spicy Wanderers pitch Proteas picked up the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay in no time. After 15 overs the Indian scorecard read 24/2. This is when young Virat Kohli walked in to bat. In tough batting conditions he scored a brilliant 119 and took his team to a respectable score of 280 in the first innings. It is pertinent to note that except Kohli every Indian batsman struggled in front of the South African bowling attack.  

In response the Proteas were bowled out for 244 in their first innings. Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma picked up 4 wickets each and ensured that the Indians take lead in the first innings. It is interesting to note that at one stage the Proteas scorecard read 130/1. But due to a disciplined bowling the hosts were eventually bowled out for 244.

Shikhar Dhawan's poor run off form continued in the second innings as well as he was dismissed for just 15. However early in the Indian innings Proteas lost Morne Morkel due to injury which meant Indians have to play one fast bowler less. Taking advantage of the same Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli put the depleted South African attack to the  sword. The 222 runs partnership which they shared between themselves is the highest run stand for India in tests against South Africa. Pujara scored 153 whereas Kohli missed his second 100 of the game by just 4 runs.  At the end of 2nd innings the Indians were bowled out for 421 runs. The Proteas needed a massive 458 runs to win the test.  

The South African openers gave a solid start to the hosts as they stitched an opening partnership of 108 runs between themselves. However Indian bowlers made a comeback and picked up 4 wickets before the Proteas could have reached 200. The South African scorecard read 197/4 when AB de Villiers joined Faf du Plessis at the crease.  

This is when the game tilted. ABD and Faf batted sensibly and kept the scoreboard ticking. Not only they defended well but also attacked upon the loose deliveries. Both of them scored a wonderful hundred and kept the hosts alive in the game. It was after toiling hard for 63 overs India managed to break this partnership as Ishant Sharma bowled ABD for 103. Following ABD's departure, Duminy was dismissed cheaply and the South African scorecard read 407/6. The hosts needed 51 runs in 11 overs, whereas the visitors needed 4 wickets. 

Faf continued his good run with the bat and took Proteas closer to the target. When it appeared that he will win the game for his side he was run in the most dramatic of styles. Faf left the ground after scoring a brilliant 134 as the Proteas now needed 16 runs in 3 overs with 3 wickets in hand. This when we witnessed another drama. The batsmen were confused whether they should go for the chase or not. Furthermore they did not get any clear instructions from the dressing room as well. Lastly Dhoni set up a very defensive field which tempted the batters to go for a draw. At the last ball of the game Steyn hit a six and the Proteas ended their second innings at 450/7.  

The crowd were booing both the sides because they butchered a lovely test match into a draw.  However one cannot deny that this was an incredible test match. A match which would be remembered for ages. 

To watch the highlights of the test match, Click Here.