Kallis 119 not out, India 91 all out

On the first day of this series, much before India sunk to a miserable defeat, Munaf popped up as one of the question marks that the team will have to answer quickly before the jitters settle down and both teams shift gears for the 45-day drive that lies ahead.

Of course, our batsmen will have their own answering to do after their collapse, in the team meeting, and then out in the middle against the Safs pacers as the series rolls on. But was that really a surprise on one of the fastest pitches on this planet? It's when you look ahead, much beyond this series, even the World Cup, that you begin to ask the real question: is Munaf Patel a strike bowler, or a stock bowler?

Today, the Indian bowlers didn't allow the Safs to explode off the blocks — except for some last-minute fireworks from Andre Nel — thanks to Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Mongia and even Sachin Tendulkar who was turning his arm over after nine months. Despite Jacques 'King' Kallis' superbly crafted 119 off 160 balls.

But Munaf's 128 kmph-and-thereabouts suggested that he should listen to what the Safs thinks of him after the Champions Trophy: "soft" and "a bit laidback". It's an image that Munaf would have to shatter over the next month. It's an image that Team India thinktank, which rates him so highly, should help him shatter.

He was extremely flat in his first spell prompting a quick switchover to Ajit Agarkar after four overs. He came back for four overs more in the 14 th to be gifted with the wicket of Herschelle Gibbs. And he came on for a final two after the 39th just one gear higher, around the 132 kmph mark. The final analysis — 10-2-39-2 - doesn't say much but he was simply not there.

... contd.