Verdict

Osman Samiuddin's verdict from the fifth day between South Africa and Pakistan

Osman Samiuddin's verdict from the fourth day between South Africa and Pakistan

Osman Samiuddin looks at Herschelle Gibbs's failure to convert 90s into hundreds, on a day in which he fell for 94 in the 1st Test against South Africa at Centurion

There have been some odd couples before, but few could have matched the oddity of the pair who revived South Africa from what looked suspiciously like another top-order wobble this afternoon

Most of all, this was Smith's victory. When his team needed to be shown the way, he was the first one out of the trenches

A disciplined and committed effort in the field gave South Africa every chance of winning this series

Andrew Miller picks six moments which defined England's series

On his final morning as a Test bowler Glenn McGrath showed his career in a delivery. His staple on his record-breaking march was a ball that asked batsmen two severe questions. Can I go back or forward? Should I play at it or leave it?

In these days of turbo-charged run rates, this was a throwback to another era, Test cricket's attritional age

In the field England were a disinterested disaster and during the second innings they struggled to wipe away Australia's fortunate advantage while losing five wickets by stumps

At 395 for 5, India had South Africa on the ropes, but with the knockout punch set up, they slipped and fell flat on their faces

As Justin Langer ripped his gloves off as he approached the boundary it looked like a normal end to one of his Test innings. But his final Test is not going the way he planned

Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik did that with a partnership that grew ever more easy on the eye as the game went on

He's been largely anonymous for significant swathes of this Test series, but Glenn McGrath, like the cold-blooded crusher that he is, has struck the big blows at moments when others might have let their emotions run away with them

The South African sporting public is as fickle and unforgiving as any and defeat to India in Cape Town in the new year would be unthinkable for them and their ensuing outrage would surely force the national selectors to make some fresh call-ups for the se

To a catalogue of shame that reads Jamaica 2002, Bangalore 2005 and Mumbai 2006, you can now add the Kingsmead game. Expecting India to bat out time to save a game has now become as much an exercise in futility as asking a wino to stay away from the bottl

With 70 overs of play still possible, South Africa will be confident of heading to Cape Town with the series all square.

India need to introspect, especially when it comes to another dreadfully disappointing batting performance away from home

During the tea break the on-ground entertainment has featured an obstacle race between England and Australian supporters. It has been run each day throughout the series and been more competitive than the Tests

Having arrived at the ground in the morning ready to bury the last vestiges of South African resistance, the Indians found the corpse alive and kicking