Our ploy proved successful

Shaun Pollock

Although the Kingsmead final wasn’t the most gripping or exciting spectacle, it must be said that, against the Indians, South Africa has probably played their most competitive one-day cricket in over eighteen months.

Competing against two of the world’s best batsmen generated both intensity and focus from the South Africans and we’re satisfied to have won six out of seven games played.

Our ploy to keep Nantie Hayward away from the Indian side until the final proved successful as we took early wickets to break the destructive partnership of Ganguly and Tendulkar. We’d always said that if we made early inroads we could put some pressure on the middle order, which had struggled in the series so far.

The pitch was a typical bouncy Kingsmead wicket, although it wasn’t as fast as we’d expected due to rain, and being a local Durban boy, I had little doubt in sending India in to bat first.

By taking wickets at regular intervals we prevented the kick-start which the Indians have become accustomed to and restricted their innings to 183. I thought Dravid played well and believe me, it was frustrating for us to miss a few run-out and catching opportunities where he was involved.

The selection panel had debated whether to go with Nicky Boje or Justin Kemp but through an effective bowling performance, Kempie justified his selection and rewarded us well for showing faith in him.

One of the positives of this series, which has been characterised by good batting performances on batter friendly wickets, has been that it has allowed the depth of our batting order to be tested successfully.

We paid the price for over-confidence at Centurion Park and we were careful not to repeat the mistake in the final. Although we had the psychological advantage at Kingsmead, we realise that in triangular tournaments it’s all about peaking at the right time and previous results mean little when two teams are competitive.

Fortunately, once again Gary Kirsten led the way with another good innings, supported by a more reserved Gibbs and Kallis. I’m sure India will regret dropping Kirsten on 23 as he batted on to deservedly take the man of the series award for his consistently solid performances.

Kumble was treated with respect by the South African batsmen as we were well aware of his capabilities as a wicket-taker and we could afford to be cautious as the run-rate posed little threat.

I was a little surprised that India didn’t play Prasad as he had performed well at Kingsmead previously taking a five-wicket haul in a Test match on the last tour!

After losing the last Test series on home soil 2-0 to the South Africans, I’m sure the Indians are looking forward to the Test series next week as much as we are.

So far we’ve seen vociferous support for both sides and a great atmosphere at jam-packed grounds and I hope to see this continue.

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Earlier column: I would have preferred to celebrate with a win