It appeared Thursday evening's sizzling show against Australia had taken its toll on the Indians. For, the host spikers looked jaded in their semifinal encounter against a lowly South Africa here on Friday.
Fortunately for them, the Proteas just didn't have the wherewithal to cash in on the largesse. And despite a below par show, the Indians still carried far too many guns for their rivals in the second Commonwealth Volleyball Championships here.
The straight sets verdict at the Netaji Indoor stadium earned India a place in the final. In the title clash on Saturday, the hosts will lock horns with Australia. The men from Down Under pummeled Pakistan into submission in the other semifinal.
Large turnout
Earlier, there was a large turnout for the India-South Africa semifinal. The 5,500-odd spectators shouted themselves hoarse, but for the connoisseurs, India's show just didn't quite match their expectations.
Attacker Sanjay Kumar was the top-scorer once again, but he looked totally off-colour, as did the rest of his team-mates. Indian coach Sridharan, like most present at the venue, looked on in utter disbelief at the turn of events.
"The performance was not up to the mark," the Indian coach agreed. "But the important thing is we are in the final and we'll come out firing on all cylinders tomorrow," Sridharan added.
The Indians, despite starting on a brilliant note, slackened a bit as the match wore on as their old frailties came to the fore. Besides struggling with their service reception, errors too crept into their play. But the early advantage helped them through the opening set.
The South African spikers came with their batteries recharged in the second. Their blocking improved remarkably, while their back court defence too stood the Indian test with aplomb.
With secondline attacker Gurchand Singh either hitting into the blocks or spraying his smashes all over repeatedly, India were in a bit of a spot. Fortunately for the hosts, their rivals failed to seize the initiative.
A couple of silly errors at crucial junctures allowed India to close out the tough second set 29-27. The Indians did up their game in the third set, but just enough to take the third set and with it the match at 25-18.
Aussies in final
Later, the men from Down Under put the India defeat in their final league clash on Thursday behind them and came out firing on all cylinders. The Pakistanis bore the brunt of their fury and crashed out without a whimper.
After the Aussies took the first two sets in double quick time, they committed too many unforced errors to give Pakistan a semblance of a chance. But then, they rode more on Aussies' largesse than any brilliance on their part.
But before much damage could be done, the favourites closed out the set and match at 26-24. The Aussies now will be thirsting for revenge against India in the final.
"Yes, we want to win every game we play, but it is not revenge we are after," said Australian coach Russell Borgeaud.
Results:
Semifinals: India bt South Africa 25-20, 29-27, 25-18; Austrlaia bt Pakistan 25-16, 25-20, 26-24.
Play-off matches:  Fifth place: Canada bt Sri Lanka 27-25, 25-12, 25-18. Seventh place: Bangladesh bt New Zealand 21-25, 32-30, 25-22, 25-21.
Today's matches: 3.00 pm: South Afrcia vs Pakistan (Third place play-off). 5.00 pm: Final: India vs Australia.