Paradise regained in Eden Gardens

The crowd was at the edge of their seats for 76 minutes. The Indian players had been trying hard for 20.3 overs. Tailender Morne Morkel had so far fended off 60 deliveries. One wicket still separated the home team from the No.1 ranking.

Harbhajan Singh decided to come round the wicket. Left-handed Morkel played rather tentatively, got rapped on the pads and was given out lbw. India had finally grabbed the much-awaited wicket and won the second match with only a minimum of nine deliveries to go. Test cricket does not get much more exciting in the dying moments.

It had been over two days since India were trying to bowl South Africa out for the second time in the match. After the declaration late on the third day, rain had slowed down the home side’s progress on the next. However, the last day of the match was heralded with the sunniest morning all these past five days, and India finally got enough time to ensure a dramatic victory.

In yet another resilient effort after a huge loss, India ensured a victory by an innings and 57 runs to ward off the threat to their top ranking, which would have vanished with even a draw here. India, down to just three bowlers on Thursday with an injured Zaheer Khan restricted to the pavilion, bowled the opposition out through spinners Harbhajan and Amit Mishra, apart from useful bursts by Ishant Sharma.

After ripping through the middle-order, India ran into some tough opposition from lower-order batsmen Wayne Parnell, Paul Harris and Morkel. That was exactly the way they viewed it, because there was not enough attempt to get out the man who was actually standing between India and victory. Hashim Amla notched up the third consecutive three-figure mark on this two-Test tour. After his 253 not out at Nagpur and 114 in the first innings here, Amla remained unbeaten on 123 before running out of partners. His century in each innings, the fifth instance by a South African and as many at this famed venue, could not be disrupted despite innumerable bowling changes.

Even as players crouched around batsmen at the other end, sometimes even six in the close-in, Amla had a maximum of two at most times during his eight hours in the middle.

Harbhajan played the role of senior spinner on an important occasion, taking four of his wickets on the last day. He produced a crucial spell over the first and second sessions, in which he dismissed both Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy for the second time in the match. With good support from Mishra, who trapped AB de Villiers with a googly from wide of the crease, Harbhajan completed the most important spell at 13-8-9-3.

Prince was beaten in trying to pull one, and fell off the very next delivery when he scooped the ball to mid-off. Ishant completed the soft dismissal with an easy catch and India got the much needed boost just when the first session seemed to be going bland for the home side. Harbhajan bowled with more craft for his two dismissals after lunch. Seeing that JP Duminy preferred the back foot, he bowled fuller length deliveries from round the stumps and had him lbw soon enough. Dale Steyn was also trapped plumb, Harbhajan’s first delivery to the batsman from round the stumps doing the trick.

Ishant Sharma induced an edge from Wayne Parnell but substitute Suresh Raina let him off at gully. Surprisingly removed from the attack after just that one over with the second new ball, Ishant got his man when the left-hander jabbed at a delivery to give an easy offering to Harbhajan at mid-on. Ishant was then brought in to dismiss Harris, who had already enjoyed a life, and satisfied the crowd that was growing impatient for the last two wickets.