India 168/6

South Africa  147/9

India won by 21 runs

South Africa team

MN van Wyk, HM Amla, AB de Villiers†, JP Duminy, CA Ingram, DA Miller, RJ Peterson, J Botha*, WD Parnell, J Theron, M Ntini

India team

RG Sharma, M Vijay, V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, YK Pathan, SK Raina, MS Dhoni*†, R Ashwin, P Kumar, A Nehra, MM Patel

Mike Haysman on Ten Cricket catches up with Ntini who says: “Nervousness and excitement, both. Last game. I want it to go alright. I want to be remembered for contributing to cricket over the years. Smiling always is the name of the game. Going out with a bang is what I want to do.”

Tribute to Makaya Ntini

Full name Makhaya Ntini

Born July 6, 1977, Mdingi, nr King William’s Town, Cape Province

Current age 33 years 187 days

Major teams South Africa, Border, Chennai Super Kings,ICC World XI, Kent, Warwickshire

Also known as George

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast

The cricket is going to be a sideshow to the festivities. It’s Makhaya Ntini’s farewell match, which is enough to charge the occasion with emotion. Sachin Tendulkar is going to be honoured for continued contribution to the progress of cricket. The match also forms part of the commemoration of 150 years of Indians in South Africa and tribute will also be paid to the South African team who toured India in 1991. All that will end with a Bollywood extravaganza.

It’s a magical stage for such an occasion. The Moses Mabhida Stadium, best recognised by its arch, has been talked up as one of the most beautiful venues built for the Football World Cup. It’s doesn’t have the dimensions of an international cricket field and the straight boundaries are particularly short, which means boundary hitting may be the order of the day.

The pitch, which was laid the day after the World Cup semi-final on 7 July between Spain and Germany, may not be singing the same tune. It’s rumoured to sustain only knee-high bounce and is quite slow. During a practice match in mid-December, players said they found cutters to be effective but not the short ball.

The match has been sold out with over 50,000 fans expected to pack into the stadium. It will be the biggest attendance for a cricket match on the African continent.