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First of all, I have to say that India produced a magnificent fightback on Wednesday to get themselves over the loss at the Wanderers last Friday. The South Africans bowled well and their ground fielding was as good as ever - a couple of sensational stops by Jonty (Rhodes) - but the Indians kept their nerve, showing that they've got a bit of fight in them, and they thoroughly deserved to win on the night.

Even as a South African, in one way, Wednesday's result wasn't a bad thing. It keeps the series open as far as public interest is concerned. For the South Africans, losing a game isn't the end of the world, and they will be absolutely determined to bounce back. I know those guys, and I know that they absolutely despise losing. They will take a some time to reflect and then, when they play India again, they will be determined to put the record straight.

As for the Indians, they did a lot of things right. Most times, nine times out of 10 in fact, you would back the South Africans to get 234, but India managed to turn on the pressure and it worked for them. When Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher were there South Africa were always in with a chance, but the Indians stuck to it, got the breakthroughs, and got home from there.

Harbhajan Singh was really impressive in his first game against South Africa. He is one of those "mystery" off-spinners with a ball that goes straight on and is really difficult to pick. He got Jacques Kallis with a beautiful ball, and if you can fool someone who is in as good form as Jacques is, then you have done well.

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I was talking to Glenn McGrath and Steve Waugh when they were in England this year, and they both reckoned that Harbhajan could be something special for India. Steve says Harbhajan could turn out to be a huge wicket-taker for India. Certainly, the way he bowled on Wednesday showed that he could be a real force for India in South Africa, both in the Test matches and the one-dayers.

One area of South Africa's game that will give coach Graham Ford something to think about is the catching. It is not often that you see Herschelle Gibbs miss one, but he put one down at mid-on and there were a couple more that went down around the field.

I know from personal experience how much time the South Africans spend on their fielding, so it is not as simple as saying that this part of their game needs more work. Sometimes you just have these patches when the catches don't stick, and you just have to make sure that your confidence is not undermined.

Sometimes the catches seem to follow one man around the field and, at the moment, Zulu (Klusener) is the one to whom the ball keeps on going. He has missed a couple at slip, but they haven't been easy, and I really don't think there's too much of a problem.

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The slips are specialist positions, but even the specialists have preferences. Some guys like to take the ball with their fingers pointing down, others with their fingers up in the "reverse cup" position. If you look at the ones that got away from Zulu, they have all been quite high up, so that might be the explanation.

It is not a crisis, as I said, but it is something for the South Africans to think about. And Polly (Shaun Pollock) and Fordie (coach Graham Ford) do have a few options. For instance, it is not as if Zulu is bad fielder in the outfield. He has a good arm and he can get around quickly enough, so it might just be that South Africa will try something a little different the next time around.

I am pretty sure that I know what they will be thinking. They will be saying: Fair enough, we got beaten; we got our butts kicked in fact, but now it's time for us to show what we're made of. That is what they have done ever since I have played for South Africa.

The home team have a few days' break now. They don't play again until they come up against Kenya in Kimberley. India play Kenya in my home town of Bloemfontein on Friday. Meanwhile, I will be in East London for a provincial match against Border.

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Other Articles by Allan Donald:

• The Wanderers pitch was made for the batsmen (9 October 2001)
• One bouncer rule will put India on the backfoot (5 October 2001)