World champions of entertainment!

So we have had another cracker of a Test in South Africa, where Australia chased down a stiff target of 310 with just two wickets to spare against the lethal bowling of Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander.

You have got to admit that when it comes to entertainment in Test cricket, the Aussies are still the world champions. They win in style and when they lose, they usually go down fighting.

Another attribute they have is team performance. To chase such a difficult target on a difficult pitch, you would have expected someone to score a century and take the visitors to the very end.

However the top score was just 65 and yet it was enough to ensure victory. That knock came from newcomer Usman Khawaja, who is just four Tests old. Former captain Ricky Ponting has been under a lot of flak, but his 62 was as good as a century in the context of the match.

The series ended at 1-1 and one wonders why we have two-match series. The top four Test playing nations absolutely have to play 4-5 Tests when they play each other.

The Double Choke

The South Africans are brilliant ODI players. They have won the ICC Champions Trophy and chased a target of 435 against the Aussies at their peak to win a series. However, they have never ever won a World Cup knockout match. Choke No. 1.

They are a brilliant Test playing nation too. They have thrashed both the Indians and Australians in away series.

But they just seem to collapse when they play the Aussies on home soil. From 1994-2011, they have hosted them six times. And guess how many series they have won?

Zero!

It sounds pretty difficult to believe. Australia have won four series and the current one was the second to be tied.

In fact in 2006, the Proteas were whitewashed. That also included the last Test where the Aussies chased 292 with two wickets to spare. Injured opener, Justin Langer, did not bat, so they in effect won by one wicket.

To put things in perspective, in the same period, India have beaten Australia in five Test series on home soil!

So what happens to the Proteas when they host the Baggy Greens in Tests? Choke No. 2.

The Double Treat

In the first Test, the Aussies dragged a precarious 163-6 to a competitive 284. Then the South Africans were 96 all out. The visitors fell to a mere 47, a position from which they never really recovered and were beaten by eight wickets.

The second Test was an even greater yo-yo. From 241-4, the Proteas crashed to 266. Then the Aussies disappointed from 174-0 to 296 all out. At 237-3, the Proteas were looking at a 400 plus target, but the Aussies contained them to 339.

The chase was a thriller. A shaky 19-2. A brilliant 122 run partnership. A nail-biting finish. Test cricket at its best, followed by non-existent third and fourth Tests.

In fact the whole tour was like that. The Twenty20 series was tied at 1-1. The Aussies won the ODI series 2-1. Then we finally had a tied Test series.

In fact if you put the seven international matches together, then Aussies won 4-3 and their Win-Loss sequence read: WLWLWLW!

The Double Debuts

When's the last time a Test team was 21-9?

When's the last time Steyn had to bowl 20 overs in an innings before picking up a solitary wicket?

And when's the last time the man-of-the-match awards went to rival debutants back to back?

If the first Test belonged to South African pacer Philander, then the second went to Aussie pacer Pat Cummins.

Man-of-the series Philander picked up 14 wickets and is going to be absolutely lethal with Steyn at the other end (who picked up 11 wickets in the series).

But Cummins had a dream debut. He picked up six crucial wickets in the second innings and also hit the winning boundary. It rarely gets better than that.

Of late, both India and Australia have been wounded tigers in Tests and are peaking nicely.

The tour Down Under promises to be one mouth-watering experience!

Kambli's fixing allegations - Pure rubbish!

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The author is a Bengaluru-based journalist and blogger.

He blogs at http://sunilrajguru.com/