Pacer Siddharth Kaul said the skipper’s instruction during the team huddle before the taking the field was simple: “Josh dikhana, par hosh mat khona (show enthusiasm but don’t lose control).” That is something the new ball bowler — and the eventual Man of the Match — Ajitesh Agral followed to the T, sticking to a perfect line and length. His two wickets and India’s one-off spectacular fielding moment of the day — Manish Pandey at square leg, brilliantly running out in-form opener Jon Jon Smutts — saw the South Africans faltering, down to 17/3 in 8.4 overs.

That’s when the rain came in and when the match resumed, the target was revised from 160 from 50 overs to 115 in 25. The pressure was now on South Africa. Post-break, the spinners took over but the fielders were of no help. Left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, who saw two catches being dropped in his first over, was ready to forgive and forget after the win. “It happens in cricket. After every dropped catch, I merely clapped and went back to my bowling mark. I didn’t want to lose my concentration,” he said. Jadeja, who too saw three stumping chances being missed, didn’t lose heart. All he did was merely walk back to his bowling mark.

It was because of their efforts that by the time pacer Siddharth Kaul came in for the last over of the game, South Africa needed 19 runs from six balls. And, maybe, that’s when they realised that catches don’t always win matches.