A final bow Kallis always dreamed of

Petersen and Smith easily hunt down final 58 runs to win second Test against India at Kingsmead

Jacques Kallis enjoyed a final Test to remember as South Africa defeated India by 10 wickets on Monday. Duif du Toit / Getty Images

On the second day of the second Test between India and South Africa, Jacques Kallis sat his teammates down in the dressing room at Kingsmead and told them that he had not come all the way to Durban to finish his career in a tame draw.

The South African team responded to the rallying call in style, putting in a big effort to win the Test by 10 wickets shortly after tea on the final day to take the series 1-0.

When they walked out of the dressing room after the winning runs were struck, every member of the South African set-up, support staff included, sported T-shirts with a photo of Kallis on the front and a simple message on the back: Jacques Kallis – the only player to have scored 10,000 runs and taken 200 wickets in Test cricket, December 1995 – December 2013.

Kallis, who has an aversion to emotional scenes and too much fussing, allowed himself to be carried by Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel as the team set off on a victory lap. Before they had gone 50 yards, Kallis gestured that he preferred to be set down, and just like that he was back down to earth.

Kallis later said he was not one for the spotlight. “I’ve played my whole career low-key and I performed best at that. I enjoyed not being in the media and getting on with the job, leaving that up to a few guys who are more out there with their personalities,” he said, adding that he and Cricket South Africa came to an agreement about his exit.

“I could still play the last game,” he said. “It gave people a chance to say goodbye, gave CSA a chance to do something nice for me. They respected what I wanted.

When the final day began, the odds were stacked against India in a manner that had been made light of by the manner in which the young batting line-up had played leading up to the final day. Any other Indian team, any other top seven, and few would have given them a chance of surviving the final day against this South African attack.

As it turned out, the pessimists were right, as Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara were dismissed by Dale Steyn, pumped up as ever.

Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane got together and kept South Africa at bay, but with the runs not flowing nearly freely enough, it was only a matter of time before a wicket set India further back. Rohit was dismissed by Vernon Philander before MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja got out to Robin Peterson. All through the procession at the other end, Rahane stuck to his guns, showing that his defensive technique matched his appetite for the fight.

Even when he was peppered with short stuff, Rahane refused to be swayed from his main game. Realising that the end was near, Rahane cut loose and was especially impressive off the back foot.

But, on 96 and looking to pick up some quick runs, Rahane swung and missed and was cleaned up. India’s innings ended on 223, a lead of 57 that was never going to be enough. In 11.4 overs, Alviro Petersen and Smith hunted down the target, giving Kallis, 38, the send-off that he deserved.

“It was the send off I always dreamed of,” he said.

Kallis, who acknowledged he enjoyed 18 years of touring, learning about other cultures and meeting new people, said he was also keen to spend time at home.

He said he would like to “play golf, do normal things that people do. Not travelling every couple of weeks. Spend time at home. Spend time with people I haven’t had the opportunity. Last year was the first Christmas in 18 years I spent at home. That was an eye-opener for me and I’d like to catch up.”

The all-rounder is also looking forward to coaching at some level now that he needs to focus only on playing limited-overs cricket. “The game has given me so much I would like to give something back. I will gladly do that – passing on knowledge,” he said.

He added it would be “stupid not to give it back. In the future who knows, maybe a batting mentor. I haven’t worked out exactly where I’m going to go with that.”

Kallis also said he was never aiming to break Sachin Tendulkar’s Test record of 51 centuries. “I’ve never played the game for records and stats. I’ve always tried to play the game to make the best calls and play the situation,” he said. “I don’t think that record of Sachin Tendulkar will get beaten very easily.”

Anand Vasu is managing editor at Wisden India