A 45th century in the final Test meant a lot to the 'greatest cricketer of the modern era.' It would mean an entry into a 32-member club — cricketers who have scored centuries in their last Test — but there was more to it.
A recent slump in batting form had motivated a 'remove Kallis' campaign in South Africa. Kallis never made it public but deep down he must have been hurt. He wanted this century to show the entire world that he was going to leave Test cricket on his own terms. But it's easier said than done.
The emotional factor often takes over, thereby you get an Eric Hollies dismissing Don Bradman or Narsingh Deonarine getting Sachin Tendulkar a few steps ahead of their preferred destination. Bradman couldn't get those four runs which would have taken his average to 100 and Sachin stopped 26 short of a century that a nation was praying for.
But Kallis was in a different zone on a murky Sunday morning. There were not more than a 1,000 people in the ground, but one could feel the tension. An early departure of Kallis would mean India taking charge of the Test match — and they were desperate to strangle him for every run.
One small error can bring about the downfall and Kallis looked to negate that. "I don't think Kallis was looking too far ahead...It has to be one ball at a time," Sunil Gavaskar, who scored 96 in his final Test, said.
On 99, there was an inside-edge off Jadeja that could have rolled onto the stumps, but Kallis kept it out. And then, a glance towards fine-leg and Kallis ran for that single.
There were not too many in the ground to cheer him, but those who mattered were out there on the balcony. Shaun Pollock, Rahul Dravid, Mike Haysman, Robin Jackman — whoever was not commentating at that time — joined the fans in appreciation of the effort.
Kallis got 15 more, displaced Rahul Dravid from the third position on the list of highest run-getters in Tests, and then top-edged an attempted sweep off Jadeja to get caught by Dhoni. Everyone stood up, Graeme Smith came down the stairs and kissed Kallis on his head and the clapping continued. The cricket world seemed to say — 'Thank you Kallis for the entertainment!'
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