As soon as the resilient ninth wicket 50-run partnership between Steyn and Ntini was broken, Australia erupted in joy. However, to add a final twist to the tale, South Africa’s injured skipper Graeme Smith made his way to the center from the dressing room to dent the joy of million Australians, who were following the game worldwide.Even with a broken right-hand finger, which has forced him to give the upcoming one-day series a miss, Smith decided to take the field.The left-hander entered the ground to a rousing reception, with the SCG standing up to applaud the visiting skipper for his gritty decision.It was a show of grit and courage as Smith set out to defy the Aussie challenge, putting behind his pain to bring honour to his country. Few nerve wrenching moments followed after that, as the top two teams in world cricket gave absolutely everything.Skipper Ponting made some ambitious bowling changes and the pressure even resulted in two drop catches of Ntini. Smith and Ntini managed to play out seven overs and for a change Ntini seemed to be more confident, of the two batsmen, under the circumstances.With just two overs left in the day, Mitchell Johnson got the first delivery to come back in, which Smith defended with his loose bottom hand.
With some signs of swing, Johnson bowled a perfect in-swinger as Smith was stuck in his crease and the ball crashed onto the stumps. South Africa was all out for 272, 103 runs behind the Aussies.However the Proteas clinched the series after triumphs in the first two Test matches in Perth and Melbourne respectively.Smith won the Man of the Series award for his aggregate of 326 runs and superb leadership in the series.
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