Graeme Smith averted what could have been a disaster for his team © AFP

A series that began with India supposedly on a hiding to nothing ended on the final day at Newlands with the team wondering how they let a coveted away win escape like sand through cupped fingers. On a pitch that Graeme Smith wished that he'd never see again in the southern cape, India dominated for three days before freezing in sight of the finish line. The batting on the fourth afternoon will forever be a black mark in the annals of the Indian game, and the shabby display in the field on the final day obliterated pleasant memories of four golden days at the Wanderers.

When it came to the crunch, Indian cricket's legends failed it, even as South Africa's key performers carried their team home. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid set the negative tone while batting in slow motion, and the lethargy spread to Anil Kumble, who went wicketless on a fifth-day surface against batsmen not renowned for their ability to combat the turning ball.

The rot had set in at Kingsmead, on a second morning when South Africa's last two wickets added 73 to take the gloss off another strong bowling performance. As at the Wanderers, Sreesanth had led the way, with beautiful use of the seam while swinging the ball at lively pace. With the momentum having shifted, South Africa pressed home their advantage, with Makhaya Ntini's magnificent final-day bowling bringing about a result that hadn't appeared possible as bad light cast a pall over the whole match.

The batting of Ashwell Prince was a crucial part of South Africa's success © AFP

Even without the injured Jacques Kallis, South Africa's batsmen had rebounded after the Johannesburg humiliation, with Ashwell Prince and Graeme Smith at the forefront of the revival. Smith's second-innings 58 turned out to be pivotal in more ways than one, heralding as it did a return to form after a woeful start to the season. At Newlands, in front of his adopted home crowd, he was once more the intimidating leader, muscling strokes in every direction on his way to two priceless half-centuries.

India's answer was a whimper. A year ago, Virender Sehwag was the most feared opener in the game. But after a series where his highest score, 40, came from the middle order, he might just be yesterday's news, with his form, fitness and attitude all under a cloud. Time away from the limelight has revived the careers of men like Sourav Ganguly and Michael Clarke, and an enforced sabbatical is perhaps Sehwag's best hope of coming back as the player we all know he can be.

If anything, this series only reinforced just how crucial Dravid is to India's Test plans. For the first time since the home series against South Africa in 1999-2000, he finished without a half-century, and it was Ganguly that finished top of the Indian run chart with 214 runs. To be fair to Dravid, he got two poor decisions in Durban, and the officiating on the whole made a mockery of the Elite Panel concept.

While the batting side of things was an unmitigated disaster, things couldn't have been more different with the ball. Sreesanth will wonder how he took more wickets than Ntini and Shaun Pollock (18 at 21.94) and yet finished on the losing side, while Zaheer Khan was the perfect foil on his return from the wilderness. Kumble disappointed at Newlands, but was as committed as ever while wheeling away for more overs (134) than any bowler
on either side.

Where India lost out was in the fourth-bowler stakes. VRV Singh's inexperience showed in the first two Tests, while Munaf Patel's shocking lack of fitness in the series decider made a mockery of his selection. Playing him on the back of hardly any match practice was always going to be a gamble, and it failed signally. It didn't help either than Irfan Pathan was already back home, trying to resuscitate a career that has gone into freefall since the tour of the West Indies.

But in the midst of the all-pervasive gloom at Newlands, India rediscovered a talent that hadn't yet come to fruition when first exposed to international cricket. Dinesh Karthik was an eleventh-hour replacement for the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and the character he showed when pushed up to open the batting in the first innings augured well for the future. He was tidy behind the stumps as well, and his constant chirping tried to coax some energy out of a group where too many individuals sleepwalked their way through one of the biggest games of their lives.

The Wanderers win had been an emphatic response after the utter mediocrity of the one-day series. But instead of building on it, India blinked when confronted by the key moments that decide the fate of a series. Nothing worthwhile was ever achieved through timidity and a conservative approach, and the harsh lessons learnt at Durban and Cape Town will have to be taken on board before India embark on the ultimate tests - tours of England and Australia. And it would certainly help if the fielding didn't resemble a bunch of geriatrics having a Sunday hit.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

In a series where the scales constantly tilted,Cricinfo picked out eight
phases where the momentum shifted. It often took just one manic passage of play
for the game to turn with neither team dominating extended periods. The
pendulum swings made it one of the best series in recent memory

'17.1 overs, 45 runs, seven wickets. It was a spell of bowling like few others seen in Indian cricket history. Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan engineered an abrupt annihilation' © Getty Images

VRV's verve

The first Test hung in a fine balance on the second morning at Johannesburg when India's No.11 VRV Singh sauntered in. India had just lost 4 for 39 and seemed to have squandered high ground but VRV, in a hectic 27 minutes, wrenched back the initiative. Backing away outside
leg stump and swinging his arms with rustic abandon, VRV splintered six fours and added 44 for the last wicket with Sourav Ganguly. Amid raucous cheers fom the stands and uncontrollable laughter, VRV had coolly caused a momentum shift from which South Africa never recovered.

The Zak and Sree show

17.1 overs, 45 runs, seven wickets. It was a spell of bowling like few others seen in Indian cricket history. Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan engineered an abrupt annihilation, turning the contest into a one-horse race. The sight of South African batsmen groping outside off, hopping
and edging in their own backyard was clear indication of how rattled they were. India surged ahead from that point and wrapped up the Test in due course.

Prince ploughs South Africa out of trouble

South Africa's top order continued its struggle in the second Test at Durban, floundering at 28 for 3, when Ashwell Prince entered. His outstanding 97 at Johannesburg had been drowned in a wave of Indian elation but he wasn't to be overshadowed here, gnawing his way to his third century of the year. He realised 94 runs with Herschelle Gibbs and another even 100 with Mark Boucher, allowing South Africa to cross 300 and gain some sort of advantage.

After a traumatic start Graeme Smith hit his straps and led by example © Getty Images

Ntini leads bowling revival

Unlike at the Wanderers where they tried to bowl too short on a pitch that demanded fullish deliveries, South Africa's bowlers rejigged their plans. Makhaya Ntini was at the heart of the revival, sticking to a back-of-a-length strategy and targeting India with disconcerting bounce.
Ntini's wickets of Tendulkar and Ganguly in quick succession - one to an overambitious shot, the other to a thunderbolt of a bouncer - provided the much needed boost and to establish their dominance.

Smith finally strikes

It was an innings that was to have a bearing not only on the match but on the series as well. Graeme Smith had endured a horror patch since the start of the ODI series and his return to form, with a confident half-century, was a vital fillip for South Africa. From that point on, Smith didn't let up on his steely resolve and led by example through the series.

India get an 'Indian' pitch

Rahul Dravid gave his team-mates a New Year gift by winning the toss and batting first on a belter at Newlands. Wasim Jaffer and makeshift opener Dinesh Karthik cruised through the opening two sessions, adding 153 and setting the base for a huge total. The cracks were already developing on the surface and everything seemed to be in India's favour on a distinctly sub-continental pitch. South Africa were staring at a huge total as India could bat them out of the game completely.

In the second innings at Cape Town Tendulkar and Dravid added 24 runs in 15 overs, to which Tendulkar contributed 9 in 45 balls © Getty Images

Pollock evens the odds

First with the ball and then with a plucky partnership with Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock dragged South Africa back into the game. His four wickets in the first innings, apart from an economical line where he hardly gave any freebies, kept India down to 414. Then, with South
Africa battling on a tough pitch and reduced to 281 for 6, he rattled off 69 with Mark Boucher and steered them closer to India's score. It was an inspired effort and one that South Africa desperately needed to come back in the match.

The Tendulkar-Dravid crawl

England recently suffered at Adelaide, after their scoring ground to a halt, and India committed the same blunder on the fourth afternoon. The fourth wicket stand between Tendulkar and Dravid produced 24 runs in 15 overs, to which Tendulkar contributed 9 in 45 balls. Pollock was giving
nothing away and Paul Harris troubling the batsmen with his over-the-wicket line spinning it from the rough. Yet, the batsmen will blame themselves for the sudden drop in scoring rate and letting South Africa roar back into the contest. It was the decisive momentum shift that was to eventually seal the series.

by John Wright

The starts that India get at the top of the order would be vital to their plans © Getty Images

For all teams except Australia, South Africa are like a fortress. They are one team who know how to defend their castle. The opposition don¹t seem to know how to play well there. And that extends to other sports too: even the
All Blacks struggle against the Springboks at home. For India, especially,
it is the toughest place to tour because of the added disadvantage of the
wickets, which offer the least turn of all the Test countries.

When we last went there, in 2001-02, it was only my third overseas tour with
the team. Once there, we discovered we weren¹t fit enough; we didn¹t even
have a fitness trainer in those days. We needed to be fit to fight,
particularly our quick bowlers. Moreover we hadn¹t won many games overseas.
Our poor away record was a noose over our heads.

That was the tour that marked the start of Virender Sehwag¹s career ­ as a
middle-order batsman. He got a brilliant hundred in his first Test innings,
batting with Sachin Tendulkar. That was a game we lost, despite having put
up 372 for 7 on the first day.

It was a raw innings. He had his share of luck, but what favoured him was
that he batted with Tendulkar, something he has always enjoyed. Sehwag was
there for the one-dayers and the selectors wisely picked him for the Tests.
He has now become an opener. Being able to make the transition from the
middle order to opening is nothing short of genius in my book. That innings
was the first time I had seen the quality and the free spirit of his play.
When I look back at my coaching career, that partnership stands out.

Overall, the last tour highlighted the importance of consistent opening
partnerships when you are touring. In Australia last time, even though
Aakash Chopra didn¹t get big runs, he was very solid, and that helped Sehwag
put on big opening stands with him. That was crucial in us doing well there.
We lacked that in South Africa.

Three seamers or bust

We also lacked a quality third seamer. Given the conditions, we needed at
least three. It was difficult to play two spinners because the pitches
hardly turned. I remember we got it all wrong at Port Elizabeth when we
played two spinners and put South Africa in. They put up 362 and we were
bowled out for 201.

You have to play six batters, three seamers, and two spinners, or three
seamers and one spinner, if you want to play six batters and a keeper. The
quandary for Sourav Ganguly and me then was that in playing three seamers
and one spinner, we had to leave one of our two best bowlers out: Harbhajan
Singh or Anil Kumble. You have to go with your best players.

Individually, Indian bowlers have done well in South Africa, but as a team
they have failed. More than anything, particularly with a young attack, you
have to bowl in partnerships. There's no point in one guy bowling well and
the other going all over the place. South Africa are a good side; they will
sit back when the bowling is good, and go after the bad spells. The Indian
bowlers have got to make sure they find the right length early. Lots of
people make the mistake of bowling too short at Johannesburg.

Individually, Indian bowlers have done well in South Africa, but as a team they have failed. More than anything, particularly with a young attack, you have to bowl in partnerships

Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan look like the bowlers who can do well there, but
they need to have the discipline. I have worked with Zaheer, coached him.
When he is fit and strong, he is very capable. The bowling combination will
be an interesting choice ­ whether to go with India¹s strength, two
spinners, or one. Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Dhoni probably give them the
scope to play five batters, a wicketkeeper, and five bowlers. In the end it
all boils down to Rahul Dravid and his confidence in his bowlers. It¹s
Dravid who has to figure out a way to get 20 wickets. The key could be how
India bowl when they bowl last. If they are playing spinners, the first
innings is going to be crucial for batting and the fourth for bowling.

A bit of chin music

It¹s a difficult tour for the batsmen in particular, because there¹s a bit
more bounce and movement than they are used to. You have got to play the
ball under your head. You can¹t be pushing at it ­ you have got to play
behind the ball and let it come to you.

Looking at South Africa¹s attack, which is all fast bowlers, I would look at
doing the majority of my scoring after tea. You have got to have wickets in
hand after tea. As they won¹t be having much spin, there are chances the
fast bowlers will tire towards the end of the day. The first innings of the
Tests are going to be very important.

For me Dhoni could be a special player. He looks like he can make the
required adjustments. It might be argued that he doesn¹t seem to have the
right technique, but it¹s not about technique all the time. Moreover he has
the basic technique to go with his mental strength. He looks like a player
who can adapt.

Dhoni could be the special player for India, feels Wright © Getty Images

The importance of Viru

I understand Sehwag is going through a bit of a rough patch, but who
doesn¹t? As long as he is fit ­ physically fit; that¹s always important for
Sehwag ­ and as long as he remembers how he was playing when he was doing
well, and what works for him, he will continue to be a special player. I
hope he is not playing with any pressure on him.

Probably watching that innings from the last tour again might help him. It
always pays to watch any video analysis. You can see when you were playing
well ­ you feel it, you know in your mind that you were playing well that
day. Then you can compare it with when you are struggling. It could be a
slight movement of the head, it could be that you are not going quite
forwards, and it could be a matter of three inches. But you see it quickly;
you feel it.

There is talk that Sehwag might do well if he dropped down the batting
order, but I think he is an opener now and he shouldn¹t be asked to change
again. He has opened successfully in every other part of the world and
there¹s no reason why he can¹t do that in South Africa.

It¹s an important series for Tendulkar too, as he is coming back from an
injury. I saw him briefly in the Champions Trophy, and although he didn¹t
get too many, he looked to be playing well. He should not be a cause for
concern. I have never questioned Sachin¹s ability to perform, and that will
continue as long as he keeps playing.

Five years is a long time and a lot has changed since we last toured South
Africa. Those were still early days of rebuilding the team. India are a
better team now, they know the South African conditions better, and are
certainly better placed now than then.

John Wright spoke to Sidharth Monga. This article first appeared in the December issue of Cricinfo Magazine

	Sourav Ganguly played with confidence and an air of calmness © Getty Images

Jamie Alter

Straight off the bat, this is not just about the runs he scored. This is about a man who came, saw and conquered - if only for the moment - the demons in his head, the ghosts in his past. This is about a man with so much to prove, recalled to his country's cause not so much because he was in form but because the so called 'marquee' players had all but lost themselves to the Indian management's faith; a former captain let down by his own board, yet who had done little to suggest over the past ten months that he had the cojones to play Test cricket again.

This is about Sourav Ganguly and his 141-ball, 224-minute 83 against the Rest of South Africa at Potchefstroom, as strong a statement of intent as there can be. When he walked in, the Indians had lost Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar with just 37 on the board. When Ganguly left, they had crossed 200, 115 splendid runs had been added with Irfan Pathan, and had taken a huge step towards securing a morale-boosting tour win.

And a man with reason to feel embittered had done enough to show his detractors that he belonged there at that very moment.

This was an innings of so many dimensions and emotions. He was wary about the balls he played, he arched his back, he watched his back lift, he cover drove, he edged, he was dropped, and he copped a nasty Nantie Hayward lifter smack above the right ear.

Given all that had transpired over the past year, given the conditions of his selection, and given the situation the Indians were in, Ganguly walked out to the middle at Potchefstroom on December 7 with a fathomable amount of pressure on his shoulders.

Countless television channels in India filled the airwaves with images of Ganguly batting for hours at the nets, running laps around the Eden Gardens, and stressing on how serious he was about making a comeback. For those who chuckled at the footage and Ganguly's quotes about sorting out technical difficulties, it is important to raise here the issue of his technique. After the first day's play, Ganguly revealed what had been noticed in his innings: "In India, I take a leg-stump guard. Here, I decided to take a middle-stump guard. When you are out of the team, you get a lot more time to analyse your batting, otherwise you're just going from one series to another and you don't get much of a chance. I've had time on my hands and I've worked on certain things."

Too true. He was no longer flip-flopping with a tentative front foot shuffle or just plain stuck in expectancy of the short ball. Rather, he played with upright balance, distributing his body weight better, his shortened backlift allowing him to play much straighter. And his head was still. Absolutely still. Where Jaffer misread the movement of the ball, Sehwag the pace and length, and Tendulkar and Laxman were drawn into tame prods outside off stump, Ganguly got right behind the line, played with a full face of the bat, and soft hands, and kept the ball as close to the ground as he could.

'I've had time on my hands and I've worked on certain things' © Getty Images

His first boundary was a glance down to third man, the second a four to the point fence via a misfield but, once in the 20s, he produced two shots that revived memories of the greatness he used to perch upon. First, Morne Morkel, the day's wrecker-in-chief, pitched ever so slightly on a full length and was driven through cover and mid-off. Hayward served up a half-volley outside off stump and was square-driven through point.

There was a moment of worry, and I'm sure scoffing in some corners, when he ducked into Hayward's next ball and had the medical staff out for an examination. But in the bowler's next over, Ganguly slapped consecutive fours through point and extra cover, one back-foot, the other elegantly off the front, to indicate that he was not in South Africa to be intimidated. The bouncers, ducking, and cover driving - and the odd word from Hayward - continued between Ganguly and the South African pacers all morning and afternoon, until he finally departed, edging an attempted cut off Friedel de Wet to the 'keeper.

What thoughts rested or raged in his head as he stepped over the ropes and made his way to the crease, only Ganguly will know. What he felt when he mistimed a drive to midwicket and picked up a single to get to 50, we can assume. What he felt when he walked back into the Indian dressing room, with 83 hard-earned runs to his name, the knowledge that he had done what a famed top-order hadn't, should not be surmised. Therein lies the beautiful complexity of an estranged individual. There was a bittersweet touch to his contribution following a second-innings duck, but for his unwavering focus, judicious shot selection, and resolve to get into perfect position, Ganguly's 83 should merit automatic selection for the first Test at Johannesburg.

He said - on his recall

"They [critics] told me that I had achieved everything in any case, played for the team for 11 years, been captain for five - what else did I want to get out of the game? But I just felt I still had it in me to play at the highest level for longer. At some level, I felt my career will be incomplete if I simply give up now."

They said - Greg Chappell on Ganguly's move to take middle-stump guard

"It was a smart move. It showed that he had applied his mind and come up with the right method to overcome the conditions. He looks calm, relaxed, very fit. He looks like he's worked hard on aspects of his game. He's applying both mind and method and that's showing."

Chappell speaks, in praise again, of Ganguly's footwork

"That was very important too [play off the front foot as much as possible]. It allowed him to take his decision just that much time later. By leaning forward, he was able to judge the length of the ball accurately, which also allowed him to leave the right balls. That's why he could also play his shots without too much of a problem."

From the inside - Dilip Vengsarkar, India's chairman of selectors

"It's good to score runs in the first match of a tour and it will stand him in good stead for the Tests, which are the ultimate. I hope he performs, I think he has it in him to score runs and it is good to see him back."

	Only Virender Sehwag can decide how he reacts to the selectors' decision © Getty Images

There are, as always, two sides to the story but the story itself is a depressingly familiar one of miscommunication and mistrust. The case against Sehwag is of indiscipline, his defence is a deep-rooted sense of hurt and a bruised ego. Falling between the two are missed runs for the player and missed opportunities for his team.

On the face of it this is a slap on the wrist for Sehwag. Rumours about an attitude problem - specifically that he did not stick to dietary and training prescriptions when away from the side - have been doing the rounds for a while. Indeed, his falling out with his coach Greg Chappell dates back to the latter's early days, and the sacking of Ganguly - whom Sehwag was relatively close to - as India captain.

The problems simmered and, in the months since, Sehwag has developed a reputation,
among certain sections of the team at least, as being way too detached
from the rest. He was perceived as lacking ambition - being satisfied with
one big knock - and perhaps content with what he'd achieved so far. Given his prodigious talent, it was felt he wasn't pulling his weight . That, too, became an issue, along with his fitness.

The immediate cause of his demotion, say top sources in the Indian board (BCCI), is the belief that he's been leaking damaging and disruptive stories to sections of the media. Cricinfo has learnt that several people in the board felt it was unacceptable that Sehwag was talking to the press about things that should have stayed in the dressing room.

"We know where these stories are coming from," said a top BCCI official. "We wanted to send a clear message to all the players that such behaviour is not acceptable."

Another factor that probably came into play was, ironically, Ganguly. There was a real danger (since abated) of Rahul Dravid not being able to lead the side in the first Test, which would have left Sehwag leading a team including Ganguly. The fear was that Ganguly would then lead by proxy and with this in mind, the selectors named VVS Laxman as vice-captain.

Yet those close to Sehwag say he's been misunderstood and is nurturing a sense of hurt that he hasn't been given his due status in the team's brains trust. He believes Chappell has been talking about him - in not very complimentary tones - to journalists behind his back, and that's where the trust broke down.

Though he was appointed Rahul Dravid's vice-captain, he was never in sync with the thinking of the Chappell-Dravid combine and found it hard to fit in. He believed he was being cut out of the planning and his inputs were not asked for.

There was also the clash of cultures. Ganguly and Wright, especially the captain, gave Sehwag leeway, believing that treating him gently would bring out the best in him. Chappell's has been the direct Australian approach, and Sehwag possibly felt that the straight-talking was not something a vice-captain should hear.

There is a point of view that Sehwag is caught up in a mixture of boredom and insecurity, that he needs to be challenged, not threatened. That belief relies on evidence from matches when Sehwag has captained India, even at Port Elizabeth on Wednesday; he's at his animated best, buzzing with ideas, several times more active and attentive on the field. That's when he really seems to be enjoying his cricket.

Having been relieved of the vice-captaincy, Sehwag can react in two ways. He could either retreat further into his shell, perceiving this as yet another slight to his talents. Or he could shake off the shackles that the vice-captaincy imposed on him, the expectations it bred in his mind, and concomitantly, the perception that they remain unrealised; he could leave all that behind and seize what lies ahead. What others see as a slap on the wrist he could see as a gauntlet thrown down by the selectors: Do you still have it in you? Only he can prove that he has.