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AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis hit contrasting centuries to build on the platform laid by the openers Hashim Amla and Loots Bosman to charge South Africa to an imposing 365 which proved beyond the reach of the inexperienced Indian batting line-up in the third ODI in Ahmedabad. Bosman was feisty, Amla was elegant, de Villiers was destructive and Kallis and well … Kallis – solid as ever. Together, the top order blasted South Africa to their highest score against India and helped avoid a clean sweep.

India have made a slew of changes for the final one-dayer against South Africa in Ahmedabad on February 27. The most significant of them is that openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have been rested for the dead rubber. Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay and Karnataka fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun are among the new faces in the 14-man squad.

Tendulkar batted all 50 overs during his unbeaten 200 in Gwalior while Sehwag played that match after suffering a sore back in the first game in Jaipur.

It took nearly 40 years of waiting and it was well worth it. Sachin Tendulkar chose one of the better bowling attacks doing the rounds, to eclipse the record for the highest score, before bringing up the first ever double-hundred in ODI history. The spectators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium became the envy of Indian cricket fans as they witnessed one of the country’s favourite sporting heroes play a breathtaking innings which not only set up a 153-run annihilation but also the series victory. He may have been run-out cheaply in the previous match, but nothing could deny him today – be it bowlers, fielders, mix-ups or cramps. Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni stood by and admired as the master unfurled all the shots in his repertoire.

Match facts

February 24, 2010
Start time 14.30 (09.00GMT)

The Big Picture

The series opener in Jaipur shouldn’t have got so close. Ashish Nehra should have been bowled off the penultimate ball of the innings. India’s total, as a result of that freakish incident – when the ball deflected off the stumps – should have been four runs less. India’s bowlers shouldn’t have allowed the South African tail to put their specialist batsmen to shame. A more conclusive camera angle/replay would have determined whether Sachin Tendulkar legitimately saved the boundary in the final over. All these significant incidents proved the difference between an Indian win and any other result.

It went down to the last ball but when Jacques Kallis fell in the 43rd over, with South Africa requiring an improbable 74 from 43 balls and only two wickets in hand, it looked like game, set and match to India. From there, Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell threatened to pull of an incredible heist but India held their nerve to clinch a final-ball win in Jaipur.

Match facts

February 21, 2010
Start time 14:30 local (09.00 GMT)

The Big Picture

The Test series wasn’t closely fought – both teams won by an innings- in the conventional sense but the matches were intense and dramatic contests. It has, thus, left everybody hoping that the ODIs will be as interesting. Some key players are missing from both India and South Africa but, as Australia proved on their last trip here, the absence of personnel can be overcome.

They couldn’t out Hashim Amla at all. So India, down to three bowlers and led by an exceptional Harbhajan Singh, found a way around him, leaving him stranded with nine mandatory balls to go and sealing a heart-stopping, series-levelling win that also meant they retained the top spot in the ICC rankings. As was fitting, it was Harbhajan who brought about the final wicket with a slider to the left-hand batsman Morne Morkel, who had put together a 76-minute last-wicket stand with Amla. The final few steps didn’t come easy for India: the last three wickets batted out 53.3 overs to set up a beautiful Test-match finish.

Amit Mishra who had struggled to buy a wicket until the penultimate day of the series, provided two inspirational moments just before two session breaks to keep alive India’s hopes of a win on a day that they could managed only 157 minutes of play. Hashim Amla, who had scored 367 runs in two innings before this, was made to dig deep into his patience and skill reserves, and will be hoping he has more in the tank. India would have been much more comfortably placed despite bad light and rain had M Vijay held on to a sharp chance from Amla at backward short leg.

VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni saw off the tricky period with the second new ball, put together the second double-century stand of the innings, and virtually batted South Africa out of the Test. It was only the second instance of four Indian batsmen scoring centuries in the same innings. It was also Laxman’s fourth hundred in nine Tests at Eden Gardens, taking his tally at his beloved ground to 1041 runs at 94.63.

They must have read about it. They must have heard about it. They must have planned for it. Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla have played a Test there before. Nothing, though, can be preparation enough for an Indian comeback from the dead at Eden Gardens.

On Sunday, South Africa met the devil himself, and didn’t know what to do. They had reached 218 for 1 in 58 overs, via assured and quick centuries from Amla and debutant Alviro Petersen, when the famous Eden Gardens turnaround began. Eight wickets fell for 43 runs, Harbhajan Singh took three in two overs, VVS Laxman ran from first slip to short fine leg to take a catch, the crowd seemingly intimidated the batsmen, two of the middle-order batsmen just froze, AB de Villiers ran himself out, Zaheer Khan hit with a pick-up-and-throw, and the batsmen forgot about scoring runs.