Until Yuvraj Singh's goalkeeper-like lunge to his right to snaffle Jonty Rhodes, India were well on course for an early flight home. That catch visibly pumped up a team that was, till then, merely going through the motions. After that, with the heat having done to Herschelle Gibbs what the Indian bowlers couldn't come close to doing, the South Africans unravelled like a worn old pullover. It wasn't so much the Indians winning this match as South Africa giving it to them on a plate, with garnish on top.

Lance Klusener was once a limited-overs finisher in the Michael Bevan class. Now, he's a has-been whose hand-eye co-ordination and strokeplay have gone to pot. For the last 18 months, he has got by on reputation alone and after today, one more layer was peeled away from the big-hitting wonder that he once was. Credit the Indians for taking their chances, but the naked truth is that South Africa had no business losing from a seemingly impregnable position at 187 for 1, with 15 overs remaining.

At that stage, it appeared that India's NatWest feelgood bubble had finally burst. Rather, the South Africans had pricked it to nothingness with the ruthlessness that was once an integral part of their cricket. With nine wickets in hand, autopilot was all they needed to cruise into the final. But Gibbs's exit cramped their style in more ways than one, and the lemming-like display that followed will haunt them for months to come.

The Indian bowling, which had been distinctly powderpuff - Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh the honourable exceptions – suddenly grew teeth, encouraged by some clueless South African batting.

Jacques Kallis did the Lone Ranger act, but for all his undoubted quality he's not the one to rely on for fours and sixes when the asking rate starts going through the roof. That used to be Klusener's job - only now his Axeman impersonations do little more than raise splinters of false hope.

Andy Flower's most recent Indian-bowling carve-up was a warning, as was Ian Blackwell's meaty effort on Sunday. But, in both cases, the batsmen did enough to paper over the cracks. Today, for 35 overs it looked as though there was no plaster left, nowhere to hide. While this new-look Indian side are capable of chasing any target on a good day, they have a big problem defending a total below 300.

There's Zaheer and then there's Harbhajan, but the rest are meat and drink to international-class batsmen at the moment. Ashish Nehra's decline this summer makes the German retreat from Moscow look unhurried, while Anil Kumble is increasingly being treated like a slow medium-pacer by most batsmen. Sehwag came to the party when it mattered today, but such Get Out of Jail Free cards won't be found in every game.

After South Africa haemorrhaged runs early on with Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly at their Pommie-bashing best, it needed experience – in the shape of Klusener and Allan Donald – to lend a semblance of normality to the proceedings.

Suddenly, Sehwag's drives started finding fielders, and the mounting frustration was tangible, like steam inside a boiler. Laxman's nothing waft didn't help matters, and once Tendulkar committed the unoriginal sin – taking on Jonty Rhodes – it left Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid to do a salvage job.

Though Yuvraj showed defiance with two glorious pulls off Donald, the run rate rarely rose above five an over. When he and Mohammad Kaif threatened a Lord's repeat at the finish, it only led to a "We'll hit, you catch" session in Pollock's final over.

Thereafter, South Africa's dominance was so overwhelming – even with Yuvraj's magnificent Rhodes impersonation to dismiss Graeme Smith – that you could have nodded off for half-an-hour to find nothing changed.

Gibbs was dismissive of the Indian bowling, running through his repertoire of strokes without ever looking under the slightest pressure - until the hot and muggy Colombo weather had its ultimately decisive say. Another day to remember for Indian cricket, as long as they don't forget the harsh lessons handed out to their bowlers.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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