5 defiant, match-saving innings of this decade

#1 Jacques Kallis – 109* vs India (Cape Town, 2011)

Jacques Kallis was solid as a rock despite a bad back against India at Cape Town in 2011

It’s amazing when one recalls that this great knock from Jacques Kallis came after he had already scored a hundred in the first innings of the Test. And if that is not incredible enough, he played this knock with an injured back that had kept him off the field in India’s first innings.

The series was locked at 1-1 and the hosts seemed in imminent danger of losing the third and final Test - and the series - when they had lost half their wickets with just 98 runs on the board in their second innings. Harbhajan Singh was on a roll having dismantled the South African top-order.

Kallis needed to do something special to halt India’s momentum. His response was masterful. The great batsman started to play the reverse sweep to counter Harbhajan’s efforts and succeeded in foiling his plans.

After having stopped the off-spinner, Kallis, along with Mark Boucher who joined him after the loss of the sixth wicket at the score of 130, crafted a 103-run partnership to get South Africa out of the woods, and then carried the lower order along with him to put the game out of India’s reach.

By batting for more than six hours with a bad back, Kallis, always an under-appreciated figure, once again showed why he is an all-time great.