South Africans are the happy lot

The difference between playing at home and away is best illustrated by India's record. For long now they have been considered as tigers at home and lambs abroad. A telling example of this came about in the 1996-97 season.

On the hard and bouncy tracks, the tourists found it hard to combat the menace of Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Brian McMillan and Lance Klusener. And good bowlers as they undoubtedly were, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad could not extract the same pace, bounce and lift, though they performed commendably to take 35 wickets between them.

After defeating South Africa in the Test series and then triumphing in the Titan Cup one day series at home, a confident Indian team embarked on their second tour of the Veldt within days after the completion of the South African tour of this country. And the result was the reverse. South Africa won the Test series 2-0 and defeated the Indians in the final of the Standard Bank tri-series which had Zimbabwe as the third team.

There were not many changes to the two sides that had clashed in India earlier. The difference however lay in the conditions. On the hard and bouncy tracks, the tourists found it hard to combat the menace of Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Brian McMillan and Lance Klusener. And good bowlers as they undoubtedly were, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad could not extract the same pace, bounce and lift, though they performed commendably to take 35 wickets between them.

The support they received from newcomers Dodda Ganesh and David Johnson though was woefully inadequate, while the overworked Kumble could not recapture the form he had displayed four years before. Indeed Hansie Cronje made a valid point after the first Test, played on a pitch on which the bowlers reveled with short pitched deliveries which were almost dangerous for the batsmen. "We have four fast bowlers, the Indians have only two," he said summing up the situation succinctly.

Like Cronje and Woolmer in India a few months before, Tendulkar too tried to lift the morale of his side by saying on the eve of the first Test that the South Africans could be defeated. This however did nothing for the morale of his teammates, for in a shocking double collapse, India were shot out for 100 and 66 in the first Test at Durban.

Donald had been sent home from the Indian tour after the first Test so that he could have some rest and recover in time to unleash his thunderbolts against the Indians in more helpful conditions. He did not disappoint taking five for 40 and four for 14. The four man pace attack took 19 of the 20 Indian wickets with Srinath being run out in the second innings. Rahul Dravid's 27 not out in the second innings was the top score. The South Africans had led off with modest totals of 235 and 259 but so meek was the Indian surrender that the final margin of victory was 328 runs. Prasad's medium pacers provided the one crumb of comfort for the Indians and he finished with a match haul of ten for 153. Srinath supported him with five. Mention must also be made of Nayan Mongia's eight catches behind the stumps.

Beaten in three days, the Indians moved to Cape Town but there was no respite. A week after the first Test, South Africa had wrapped up the series with a 282-run victory. Kirsten (103), Klusener (102 not out) and McMillan (103 not out) had a whale of a time as the South Africans led off with 529 for seven declared. The best part of the batting came about when Klusener and McMillan shared an unbroken eighth wicket partnership of 147 runs. India lost five wickets for 58 but then in a truly breathtaking counter attack, Azharuddin (115) and Tendulkar (169) added 222 runs for the sixth wicket. The Indians succeeded in narrowing the lead down to 170 but the South Africans methodically built upon it. Declaring at 256 for six, the home team set the Indians a victory target of 427.

The Indians could not repeat the heroics a second time and were shot out for 144 with Donald, Adams and Pollock sharing the wickets.

The tourists, now playing to salvage their pride, very nearly pulled off a surprise victory in the final Test at Johannesburg. Rahul Dravid's 148 was the cornerstone of the Indian first innings. With Sourav Ganguly coming good with 73, the Indians posted a challenging total of 410. After half the team were out for 147, Pollock (79) led a strong rearguard action which saw South Africa reply with 321. Srinath finished with five for 104.

Dravid (81) and Ganguly (60) once again starred as India, unexpectedly finding themselves in the driver's seat, declared at 266 for eight. The South Africans, requiring 356 runs for victory, crumbled against Srinath, Prasad and Kumble. At 95 for seven, a remarkable Indian win seemed around the corner. But the depth in the South African batting paid off. Daryl Cullinan (122 not out) and Klusener (49) added 127 runs for the eighth wicket and the home team managed to wriggle out, finishing at 228 for eight. Rain and bad light which cut short play by about 2-1/2 hours, also played a part in thwarting India's hope of a consolation win.