Ken Borland

It’s not as if the Delhi pitch looked like the surface of the moon and provided extravagant turn or was a green mamba that seamed around, but South Africa’s batsmen still found a way to be bundled out for a miserable 99 in the third ODI against India on Tuesday.

Much credit must go to a superb Indian attack that barely erred in terms of line and length, and thoroughly exploited the reasonable assistance on offer from a pitch that provides a good contest between bat and ball.

Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, as he often has been against the Proteas, was the most effective of the Indian bowlers as he raked in 4/18 in just 4.1 overs. But the left-armer only joined the attack in the 20^th over, when South Africa were already deep in the mire on 71/6.

Having been sent in to bat, off-spinner Washington Sundar (4-0-15-2) made the initial strike, bowling wonderfully well around the wicket to the left-hander Quinton de Kock and removing him in the third over for just six.

A double strike by paceman Mohammed Siraj (5-0-17-2), removing Janneman Malan (15) and Reeza Hendricks (3), reduced South Africa to 26/3 in the powerplay.

The introduction of more spin brought even more pain for the Proteas as orthodox left-armer Shahbaz Ahmed claimed two wickets and deciphering Kuldeep was out-of-reach for the bowlers.

Heinrich Klaasen battled on for the Proteas, scoring 34 off 42 balls, before he was undone on the back foot – like many of his colleagues – and bowled by Shahbaz.

Marco Jansen was the last man out for 14 as South Africa were left on their lowest ever ODI score against India, and their second-worst first-innings effort in all ODIs, only their 83 all out against England in 2008 being lower.

The Proteas’ focus is clearly on the T20 World Cup and giving players game time, with Temba Bavuma and Tabraiz Shamsi again sitting out as they continue to recover from illness. Keshav Maharaj has now caught the bug and he sat out Tuesday’s game, David Miller captaining the ODI side for the first time. It is also the first time in ODI history that three different captains have been used in a three-match series.

Lungi Ngidi, Jansen and Andile Phehlukwayo were brought in for the decisive third ODI.

Martin Kaymer may have reached the moon in winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club, but there is no doubt the German is still aiming for the stars.

His two-shot victory at Sun City was his first since the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November 2011 and, having been ranked the world’s number one golfer early that year, Kaymer is trying to reignite a career that has seen him sink to 32^nd in the rankings.

Kaymer’s winning score of eight-under-par 280 was the highest in the NGC since Jim Furyk’s 282 in 2005 and while the 27-year-old may not have set the Gary Player Country Club alight, there was much to admire in his calm efficiency and composure under pressure as he mastered daunting conditions better than anyone else in the star-studded field.

Kaymer followed Bernhard Langer as only the second German to be ranked number one in the world and the Ryder Cup hero admitted that his countryman has been an inspiration. Langer claimed the first half of a German double at Sun City when he won the Champions Challenge for the senior golfers on Saturday.

“Bernhard has always been a very big help, even at the Ryder Cup, he gave me advice which I could use for regular tournaments like this too. Everyone was talking about a German double, so there was a bit more pressure on me. But I’m very proud to have my name on that path at the ninth green and to be part of the special circle of winners,” Kaymer said.

Part of Kaymer’s bad run has been down to swing changes he has made and he said he would consider 2012 to be a success because of the progress he has made in that department.

“I’ve won once in 2012 and it was a very good year for me because I made progress with my swing. I am hitting the ball well and I’m very happy with the way that I’m playing.

“In golf you need a lot of patience and it’s just a matter of sticking to your plan. I have another 20 years ahead of me, maybe even 30 if you look at Bernhard,” Kaymer said.

Kaymer will now return to Mettmann in Germany for his end-of-year holiday and bask in his successful end to 2012.

He can reflect on the confidence he has gained from his key role in Europe’s extraordinary Ryder Cup triumph and returning to the winner’s circle on an individual basis at Sun City, while he has bedded down the changes to his swing.

Kaymer will return to action in Abu Dhabi on January 17 and warm to the challenge of steadily climbing back up those world rankings.