Amla ka Hamla!

It was a very calculative effort and Indians were well and truly floored by an amiable adversary who (unlike the Australians) chose to let his bat do all the talking.

Hashim Amla is somebody you never expect will explode into your face. And he did not. A grafter par excellence, he just waited for poor deliveries and on a non-receptive pitch with a tiring attack, there were enough of them.

This ‘Amla ka Hamla’ was something India least expected. They could never have anticipated before the 1st innings began, that their biggest scourge will be a soft-spoken South African, whom Sreesanth had, literally, shown the door during the last tour.

The Protea innings was a terrific tale of small little partnerships. It was remarkable that none of the first six wickets, as South Africa crossed the reasonably safe mark of 500 on any wicket, fell one after another. Even the fastest consecutive dismissals of McKenzie and Kallis were nearly 14 overs apart! None of their partnerships in reaching 500 was of less than 40 runs, and it showed in the final result.

India do have their task cut out for now. Last 10-15 overs today should be the key to survival. With South Africa bowlers all buoyed up, the contest is going to be mighty interesting. Indians are good enough to recover, but a lot will depend on how openers negotiate the might of the Proteas.