South Africa nearly pulled it from under Australia’s nose. Australia won in the end but it did not matter because once again South Africa managed to steal the show!
On a day when two South African bowlers defended like top order batsmen for more than an hour to nearly destroy Australia’s hopes of scoring a consolation win, naturally every other effort took a backseat.

Graeme Smith eventually won the ultimate applause for coming out to bat knowing there were fifteen overs in the day still to be negotiated. That the South African nearly did bat out the day and lost it with just ten more balls to go gave them an uncharacteristic standing applause from the crowds in Sydney.

Somehow the Australian victory did not look like Australia’s at the end of the day. 28 from 75 balls is not exactly headline material. But what Makhaya Ntini did by blocking ball after ball was to ensure that Dale Steyn had an able companion at the other end in what was presumed was the final wicket for South Africa.
With the threat of a storm looming in the background, South African tail was led to believe it was a matter of time of seeing off the Australian bowlers before mother nature would oblige.
An hour wore on, Steyn had batted sixty-six balls for his twenty-eight and they each batted nearly an hour and a half and thereabouts. Ricky Ponting admitted to feeling that this would going to severely affect his health the manner in which the South African duo calmly tackled any grievances from the pitch and showed the top order just how close they had come to sealing this match at least with a draw.
When Steyn was eventually out lbw, the rejoicing Australians were silenced by the applause that greeted Smith when he walked down the steps to the pavilion, ready to resume battle despite two painful hands.
That Smith was eventually bowled after Australia were wondering if it would be their day after Andrew MacDonald who took a splendid caught and bowled to dismiss Jacques Kallis only to spill one at the death and Matthew Hayden dropped Ntini and only prolonged Australia’s agony.
In the splendour of the mayhem caused by the final two wickets in a drama filled afternoon, the half centurions in Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers were forgotten.
But such was the euphoria on a day when victory did not feel like winning and defeat did not feel like a loss!392988