Height, conversion rate and luck: Three things that saw India end up on the losing side at Wanderers

Honestly, on paper, this South Africa team has no business beating India at the Wanderers. They are a side in transition, the batting has lost its greats (Dean Elgar with an average of 39 is their top batter), the bowling department lacks the consistency and class that made it fearsome in the past, and they were coming into the second Test on the back of a demoralising defeat at their ‘fortress’ Centurion.

But sport, like life, is something that has a way of setting you right just when you seem to be getting a little too big for your boots. As India head coach Rahul Dravid said in the press conference after South Africa won the second Test by seven wickets, India did not take the hosts lightly… they did not get complacent but rather, this was a case of South Africa raising their game with the series on the line.

Elgar showed that in tough conditions, averages count for little especially when compared to heart. He took blows on the neck, the shoulder, the arm, the midriff, and the hands, but would somehow be switched on in time for the next ball. His concentration did not waver. He did not give it…

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