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India vs South Africa, 3rd Test at Kanpur, , Apr 11 2008 - Ball by Ball Commentary

RESULT
3rd Test, Kanpur, April 11 - 13, 2008, South Africa tour of India
PrevNext
265 & 121
(T:62) 325 & 64/2

India won by 8 wickets

Player Of The Match
87
sourav-ganguly
Player Of The Series
19 wkts
harbhajan-singh
New
IND 2nd Innings
Full commentary

5.06 pm local time: Dravid and Ganguly embrace each other and go to shake hands with the South Africans. Ganguly and Harris share a laugh. Dhoni is once again keeping a poker face like he did when India won the CB Series but he breaks into smiles as Ganguly walks into the pavilion.

India needed 62 to win after dismissing South Africa for 121 and the early blitz by Sehwag ensured that the target was reached with ease. The bowlers were the architects of the win for they exploited a helpful pitch to the hilt. Not to forget the valuable 10th wicket stand between Sreesanth and Ishant early in the day.

The series has been drawn 1-1 which means that India retain No 2 status in the ICC Test rankings.

I'll have the presentation ceremony for you in a moment ...

The Man of the Match is Sourav Ganguly for his invaluable 87 in the first innings.

Ganguly: It was special because we were one down in the series. When I saw how Dravid got out i thought if something kicks up from that area I can't do much about it. We bowled superbly in the second innings, chasing anything over 150 would have been difficult so the bowling effort was special.

Harbhajan Singh is the Man of the Series and he gets a SUV for his 19 wickets in the series.

Graeme Smith: I think India were clinical throughout and they deserved their victory. It's a very good Indian team and to come to their backyard and perform as we have is a good effort. We've had a very good season. I think we weren't allowed to play quicker in the second innings. India bowled well, their spinners made stroke play very difficult. it would have been interesting if we had posted 120-150.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: I think it was a complete team effort. We didn't win the toss and that put us on the back foot. Sourav batted brilliantly, the part-timers bowled well. Sreesanth and Ishant batted really well today. There were a couple of players who were above par, Bajji bowled superbly in the entire series. It was a tough series and we played 15 days of tough cricket.

Kumble and Smith share the trophy and that brings us to the end of the presentation.

I hope you've enjoyed following the series with us. It has been a hard fought series and the last Test was riveting to watch on a difficult pitch on which no batsman was ever comfortable at the crease, barring Ganguly and maybe Laxman in the first innings.

So it's time to switch off from Test cricket for a while and switch on to the frantic pace of Twenty20 cricket. The IPL begins later this week. Thank you for all your emails during this Test, this is George Binoy signing off. Cheers.

13.1
4
Harris to Dravid, FOUR runs

that's it! India have leveled the series! Dravid leans across his stumps and paddles the ball towards fine leg, India have won by eight wickets inside three days

end of over 131 run
IND: 60/2CRR: 4.61 
Rahul Dravid14 (28b 3x4)
Sourav Ganguly13 (28b 2x4)
Morne Morkel 5-1-8-1
Paul Harris 5-0-32-1
12.6
1
Morkel to Dravid, 1 run

Dravid leans forward and drives off his pads towards Ntini's right at mid-on, he will keep the strike, India need two more to win

12.5
Morkel to Dravid, no run

how did that miss off stump? That ball cut in sharply from outside off, the low bounce beat Dravid and it missed off stump by a whisker, Boucher did well to save it on the second bounce

12.4
Morkel to Dravid, no run

full ball on off and middle stump, driven back to Morkel off the front foot

12.3
Morkel to Dravid, no run

Dravid leans across his stumps and flicks a full ball towards midwicket where Amla saves runs by diving to his left

12.2
Morkel to Dravid, no run

good length once again angling into off stump, Dravid defends on the front foot towards the off side

12.1
Morkel to Dravid, no run

Morkel continues to swing the ball into the right-hander from a full length, Dravid defends on the front foot

end of over 126 runs
IND: 59/2CRR: 4.91 
Sourav Ganguly13 (28b 2x4)
Rahul Dravid13 (22b 3x4)
Paul Harris 5-0-32-1
Morne Morkel 4-1-7-1
11.6
Harris to Ganguly, no run

Ganguly moves back and across and plays the ball towards cover

11.5
Harris to Ganguly, no run

Ganguly thrusts his pad outside the line of off stump and defends

11.4
Harris to Ganguly, no run

defended on the front foot back to the bowler

Can Ganguly win it? it will be fitting after all it was his innings that helped India overhaul South Africa's total in the first innings.

11.3
4
Harris to Ganguly, FOUR runs

Ganguly leans across his stumps and paddle sweeps Harris with the turn towards the fine leg boundary, India need only 3 to level the series

11.2
2
Harris to Ganguly, 2 runs

Ganguly charges down the track and looks to hit down the ground, the ball was a bit full and he got an inside edge past Smith at leg slip

11.1
Harris to Ganguly, no run

bowled flat through the air on off stump, defended on the front foot

end of over 111 run
IND: 53/2CRR: 4.81 
Rahul Dravid13 (22b 3x4)
Sourav Ganguly7 (22b 1x4)
Morne Morkel 4-1-7-1
Paul Harris 4-0-26-1
10.6
Morkel to Dravid, no run

Dravid gets behind the line on the back foot and defends towards the off side

10.5
Morkel to Dravid, no run

the ball keeps low as it angles into the right-hander, Dravid moves back in his crease and defends on the off side

10.4
Morkel to Dravid, no run

Dravid tries to drive hard off the front foot but the swing into him induces a mis-hit towards the bowler

10.3
1
Morkel to Ganguly, 1 run

good length delivery outside off stump, Ganguly leans across and drives towards extra cover for a single

10.2
Morkel to Ganguly, no run

full ball on off stump, Ganguly moves forward and drives towards cover

10.1
Morkel to Ganguly, no run

full ball on leg stump, Ganguly moves across but gets hit on the pad, Boucher runs to his right to field

end of over 108 runs
IND: 52/2CRR: 5.20 
Rahul Dravid13 (19b 3x4)
Sourav Ganguly6 (19b 1x4)
Paul Harris 4-0-26-1
Morne Morkel 3-1-6-1
9.6
Harris to Dravid, no run

bowled flat and straight, Dravid defends on the front foot towards the bowler