Andrew Hall had just fallen victim to the guiles of Piyush Chawla, pushing South Africa into a corner at 190 for six. With no specialist batsman to follow, the Proteas were in a tight situation, and TV cameras caught the concern-filled face of coach Mickey Arthur more than once.
Jacques Kallis was perfecting a forward defensive stroke at the non-striker's end, well aware of the mini-crisis. In Vernon Philander’s company, Kallis steered his team to victory with only three balls to spare. There was no fist pumping or punches of the air, just firm handshakes to his partner and the opponents.
That is Kallis for you -- all temperament and unflinching determination. His unbeaten 91 was the quintessential Kallis innings, high on efficiency, but without sacrificing on the aesthetics of batting.
The most notable feature of his knock on Tuesday was the way he paced his innings. There were just six boundaries in his innings. the first three before he touched forty. Between 40 and 70, he concentrated only on singles and twos to push the scoreboard ticking.
His last 21 runs contained the remaining three fours, keeping the distance between balls left and runs required at a comfortable length. "It is quite nice to get runs, but to get those at a time when the team needs them is more satisfying. Hopefully, I can build on this for the rest of the matches and the season," the South African captain for this tour said on Wednesday.
The hallmark of a good leader of men is that he shares the credit. "The contribution of (Morne van) Wyk and Philander cannot be ignored. Van Wyk set the ball rolling, and Philander kept a cool head towards the end. He has played that role Cape Cobras many times in domestic cricket, but it was good to see the pair coming good at the highest level as well," Kallis said.
Indian captain Rahul Dravid also acknowledged that it was Kallis who made the difference. "His innings was the difference. We needed to get Kallis' wicket, we wanted his wicket badly at that stage, but we could not get him," Dravid said ruefully.