Match Summary

India vs South Africa, 3rd Test Match, Green Park, Kanpur

The Indian team finally managed to restore its self-respect and won the third Test match at Kanpur and leveled the Test series 1-1. The host team was under tremendous pressure after a dreadful loss at Ahmedabad and a series loss at home would mean massive disillusionment for the Indian supporters which could affect the multi-million venture, IPL, as well. But the Indian players were, perhaps, well aware of the consequences and they exhibited a professional approach to beat South Africa by 8 wickets on day 3.

The pitch was the major talking point in this match after the drama at the Motera. Everyone knew that the surface at the Green Park wouldn't be green at all. It was a typical subcontinental track and the South African captain won half the battle by winning the toss and electing to bat first. His team remained unchanged but the Indian team had three changes. Skipper Anil Kumble pulled out because of a groin injury and that made Mahendra Singh Dhoni the first Indian wicket-keeper to lead a Test squad. Yuvraj Singh replaced Irfan Pathan while Ishant Sharma, after proving his fitness, replaced R.P. Singh.

Smith's team got a decent start as the skipper himself, along with the man in form, Neil McKenzie, troubled the Indian pace attack. The Chennai centurion, Hashim Amla, played yet another useful innings. Mid-way on the first day, the Proteas would have enjoyed their drinks-break as they were 152 for 2. But the second half of the day belonged to the Indian bowlers. Ishant Sharma, who was hammered in his opening spell, clean-bowled Amla and that started the downward spiral of the African innings. The South African middle order failed to capitalize on the superb start and they were all out for 265 at the end of day one.

Sharma and Harbhajan Singh swept the middle order away and shared 3 wickets each. They were nicely assisted by the young spinner Piyush Chawla, who grabbed two wickets.

On day two, the batsmen showed a totally contrasting scorecard. Both Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer were sent back to the dressing room when the scoreboard read 35 but the middle order did the bulk of the scoring. Again, only two batsmen could reach their fifties, V.V.S. Laxman, who made exactly 50 runs, and Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly showed a great deal of maturity and had useful partnerships with Yuvraj Singh and acting skipper Dhoni. Ganguly made 87 runs and was caught at point while trying to accelerate the scoring rate.

On day three, Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth showed their skills in batting as well and they added 46 extremely useful runs for the last wicket. India made 325 and got a lead of 60 runs. This lead proved vital for India as the South African side crumbled in their second innings. The wicket wasn't that bad for batting but the visitors could not compete. Looking at their batting performance in the first two Test matches, it was really surprising to see them struggle against the Indian spin attack. Only Smith and Ashwell Prince could offer some sort of resistance and made 35 and 22 respectively. 7 out of the 11 Africans could not even reach the double-figure mark and it looked like India was, perhaps, playing against 'Pretoria Public School' and not a national side. South Africa were restricted to a paltry total of 121 in just 56 overs and that meant India needed 62 runs to win.

Indians have shocked cricket pundits in the past with their disastrous performances while chasing a small total, but this time, the Delhi Daredevil, Virender Sehwag, made sure that his team would finish the day with a win. He made a 12-ball 22 with 2 sixes and made life easier for his companions. A couple of wickets to the guests were not enough as Ganguly and Dravid left the ground as the winners of the match.

Ganguly was adjudged Man of the Match for his useful runs and Harbhajan Singh was awarded Man of the Series for his 19 wickets in the series.

So, a small break for the Indian heroes before the IPL, and this victory should reflect in their performance in the shortest version of the game.

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