Ind vs SA: South Africa give Kallis perfect farewell with Durban victory

Day five report: South Africa 58 for no loss (Petersen 31*, Smith 27*) and 500 all out (Kallis 115, de Villiers 74, Petersen 62, Jadeja 6-138) beat India 223 (Rahane 96*, Pujara 32, Peterson 4-74) and 334 (Vijay 97, Pujara 70, Steyn 6-100) by 10 wickets. Tasked with getting 58 to win the Durban Test and take the series, Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen did not muck about, getting to their target in just 11.4 overs to give Jacques Kallis a victorious send off from Test cricket. [caption id=“attachment_1314647” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Graeme Smith celebrates after striking the winning boundary. AFP[/caption] Smith finished the match in pugnacious style, slapping Rohit Sharma’s part-time offspin back over the bowler’s head for six and then cutting the next ball to the point boundary to win by 10 wickets. Smith raised both arms above his head in celebration before the players shook hands and walked off the field. It was a disappointing finish to the series for India, who matched South Africa for the majority of the two Tests, and should really have won in Johannesburg. Dale Steyn’s fierce spell on day two was the biggest difference between the two sides, while Dhoni’s defensive tactics on day four raised eyebrows and essentially eliminated any chance India had of competing for a win in this game. Despite the loss, there is much India can take from the series. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli showed they can make runs in tough conditions; Ajinkya Rahane proved he is ready for Test cricket; Murali Vijay displayed a resolve not many thought he had and Ravindra Jadeja turned out to be a viable spinning option overseas. The seam bowling remains a worry though, as aside from the first innings of the first Test, India found wickets hard to come by. That is something the selectors, the coach and the captain will have to figure out fast with India playing most their cricket away from home in 2014. Day five innings report: India 223 (Rahane 96*, Pujara 32, Peterson 4-74) and 334 (Vijay 97, Pujara 70, Steyn 6-100) lead South Africa 500 all out (Kallis 115, de Villiers 74, Petersen 62, Jadeja 6-138) by 57 runs. South Africa need 58 runs to wrap up the two-Test series in Durban but Ajinkya Rahane left his stamp on the final day’s proceedings with a courageous 96 that showed there were few demons in the Kingsmead pitch. Despite the precarious nature of India’s situation and the quality of the opposition bowlers, Rahane exuded an aura of calm concentration. He was neither cowed nor jumpy, content to trust his technique and his judgement and, as the cliché goes, play each ball on its merits. In extending India’s innings for an hour after lunch with just the tailenders for company, he also showed what could have been had one of India’s middle-order batsmen attempted to stick it out alongside him. Zaheer Khan belied his reputation and refused to slog, despite Graeme Smith giving Robin Peterson an extended spell. He batted for over an hour and faced 41 balls to make just 3, before he was wrongly give out lbw to a carom ball from Peterson that replays showed would have missed legstump comfortably. It was the second decision of the day that DRS would have overturned except there is no DRS because the BCCI does not want it. Rahane was on 81 when Ishant received a brute of a bouncer from Steyn that he could only fend off towards leg slip, where AB de Villiers took a simple catch. It was Steyn’s 350th Test wicket in his 69th Test, making the second-fastest to get to that mark (tied with Richard Hadlee; Murali Muralitharan needed 66 Tests). The loss of Ishant brought out the T20 version of Rahane, who had already hit Peterson straight down the ground for six to move into the 70s. He straight drove Philander back over his head to get to 90, then slapped him over cover for an astounding six. With three figures just one blow away, Rahane tried to slog Philander through the leg side but lost his leg bail instead. It was disappointing end to his innings, but it was still every bit as good as the ones from Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli earlier in this series and it was good to see Smith come up and pat Rahane on the back as the players walked off the field. The visitors’ hopes of saving the second Test Durban all but evaporated with the first ball of the day. Dale Steyn steamed in at Virat Kohli, who tentatively prodded at a delivery that pitched just short of a good length. In actual fact, the ball missed the edge and brushed Kohli’s shoulder on the way through to the keeper. But the noise was enough to make the umpire raise his finger. Kohli stood still in shock and disbelief but he had no one to blame but his own board, which resolutely opposes the use of the Decision Review System. Had India been able to review the decision, Kohli would have batted on and India might well have been in a very different position. Instead, a fired-up Steyn proceede to produce the ball of the match to Pujara. It swung in at speed, pitched on a good length, then seamed away to defeat even Pujara’s rock-solid defense and hit the top of offstump. Pujara was clearly stunned as he tried to work out just how bat had missed ball. India were stunned too, having lost their two best batsmen for a total of three runs and with them all hope of saving the game. Rohit Sharma, who has had a wretched series, started positively. He hit Robin Peterson for a massive six and even hooked Steyn away for four but then chose to exchange a few words with South Africa’s premier fast bowler. He was out shortly after when Vernon Philander gone one to come back off the pitch and trap Rohit in front of middle and leg. Rohit ended the series with 45 runs from four innings. Steyn made 44 in the first innings in Durban. In hindsight, Rohit would have been better off keeping quiet. Ajinkya Rahane continued to show that he has the stuff for Test cricket, carving out a n controlled half-century under considerable pressrue, but had no one to keep him company. MS Dhoni turned a half-tracker from Peterson straight into the arms of mid-on before Ravindra Jadeja, who had been in for all of four balls and already hit one six, needlessly tried to smash the same bowler out of the ground again. It was senseless batting when India most needed a disciplined approach. For some reason, Graeme Smith continued to bowl Peterson even with Zaheer Khan at the wicket, allowiug India to avoid further damage and Rahane to reach his half-century with a single from the last over before the break. But the damage had been done. India has made up the 166-run deficit but it is now only a question of when South Africa will win, not if. Day five lunch report: India 173-7 (Rahane 50*, Zaheer 2*) and 334 (Vijay 97, Pujara 70, Steyn 6-100) lead South Africa 500 all out (Kallis 115, de Villiers 74, Petersen 62, Jadeja 6-138) by 7 runs with 3 wickets remaining. For the full scorecard, click here . A combination of excellent bowling from South Africa and poor shot selection from India left the hosts on the brink of a series victory in Durban. [caption id=“attachment_1314227” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Dale Steyn celebrates the wicket of Virat Kohli. AFP[/caption] The visitors’ hopes of saving the second Test Durban all but evaporated with the first ball of the day. Dale Steyn steamed in at Virat Kohli, who tentatively prodded at a delivery that pitched just short of a good length. In actual fact, the ball missed the edge and brushed Kohli’s shoulder on the way through to the keeper. But the noise was enough to make the umpire raise his finger. Kohli stood still in shock and disbelief but he had no one to blame but his own board, which resolutely opposes the use of the Decision Review System. Had India been able to review the decision, Kohli would have batted on and India might well have been in a very different position. Instead, a fired-up Steyn proceede to produce the ball of the match to Pujara. It swung in at speed, pitched on a good length, then seamed away to defeat even Pujara’s rock-solid defense and hit the top of offstump. Pujara was clearly stunned as he tried to work out just how bat had missed ball. India were stunned too, having lost their two best batsmen for a total of three runs and with them all hope of saving the game. Rohit Sharma, who has had a wretched series, started positively. He hit Robin Peterson for a massive six and even hooked Steyn away for four but then chose to exchange a few words with South Africa’s premier fast bowler. He was out shortly after when Vernon Philander gone one to come back off the pitch and trap Rohit in front of middle and leg. Rohit ended the series with 45 runs from four innings. Steyn made 44 in the first innings in Durban. In hindsight, Rohit would have been better off keeping quiet. Ajinkya Rahane continued to show that he has the stuff for Test cricket, carving out a n controlled half-century under considerable pressrue, but had no one to keep him company. MS Dhoni turned a half-tracker from Peterson straight into the arms of mid-on before Ravindra Jadeja, who had been in for all of four balls and already hit one six, needlessly tried to smash the same bowler out of the ground again. It was senseless batting when India most needed a disciplined approach. It was also a crying shame after the disciplined way India has batted for most of the series. All the gains the team had made over nine days of Test cricket had been undone in one careless session. For some reason, Graeme Smith continued to bowl Peterson even with Zaheer Khan at the wicket, allowiug India to avoid further damage and Rahane to reach his half-century with a single from the last over before the break. But the damage had been done. India has made up the 166-run deficit but it is now only a question of when South Africa will win, not if.