Australia made it a memorable day for the man in the limelight - Graeme Smith - giving the SA skipper a guard of honour on his way to the crease for one last time. However, the Aussies had no plans of making it easy for the Proteas with the bat as Smith - scoring only three, failing to end with a captain's knock - was sent back to the pavilion by Mitchell Johnson.
South Africa require 440 runs on the final day of the third Test with only 6 wickets remaining to win the series, which now seems unlikely with a draw the best the hosts can manage. If the Proteas manage to save the match, it'll be as good as a win for their skipper as he bids adieu to international cricket. Russell Domingo was hopeful that AB de Villiers will see their side through the day backed by Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy.
"I think there is still hope," Domingo said. "We're hoping AB can score the slowest 40 in the history of the game. We've got Faf who has done it before. And JP is off the back of a 100. There's still hope."
In Adelide in November 2012, South Africa were in the exact same position at stumps on Day 4 against Australia - 77 for 4 with De Villiers and Du Plessis in the middle. Here again, De Villers is at the crease with Du Plessis to follow, South Africa are at 71 for the loss of 4 wickets.
Most players in the South African squad owe a lot to their skipper Smith and will be looking forward to sending him off on a smiling note. Can history repeat itself? Can they pull off a miraculous draw?
"We've managed to get ourselves out of holes like this before. It's an emotional space," Domingo reflected on the dressing room after Smith's announcement to retire. "Everybody in that team started their career with Graeme as the captain.
"When guys like Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock retired, people thought who is going to come next and up popped Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. We've always got some depth and some good players. It's time for Hashim Amla, Dale, Morne, Vernon and AB de Villiers to become icon players. They learnt their trade under the Smiths and Kallis' and now they need to impart knowledge," Domingo pointed talking of South Africa's future without Smith.
South Africa have never won a series against Australia since their readmission and Smith would have liked to finish off his career with some more history made, but it looks like they'll fall short.
"We'll always want to win but we'll take a draw right now and run very quickly," Domingo said. "I wouldn't have taken a draw at the start of the series because it was an opportunity to make history."
Where to Watch Live
The match is set for a 10.30 am local time (2 pm IST) start with live coverage on Ten Cricket and Ten HD in India. The action can also be watched via live streaming online in India HERE. Viewers in Africa can catch the action live online HERE. The match can be watched via live streaming in Australia HERE. UK viewers can live stream the match HERE, while US viewers can do the same HERE.
