1. Where were all the fans?
The obvious answer is that they were 18kms away, back in the centre of Nagpur. And they can't be blamed for that. Ticket prices were reasonable - 300 rupees (US$6) for all five days - but if you wanted to see any cricket at all you had to buy that five-day ticket. The even bigger problem was transport. With no buses plying that route (the stadium is in the middle of nowhere, just off the highway to Hyderabad), the cheapest option was an auto rickshaw for around Rs400 return.

The blame therefore has to lie at the foot of the BCCI. Since they decided to build the stadium so far out of town, they should have known transport would be a problem. A couple of buses ferrying ticket holders between the city and the ground would have helped. The other option is to stage Test matches in the more traditional Test cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Unfortunately boardroom politics continue to obstruct logical thought for the betterment of cricket. Rotate the ODIs and T20s by all means so that every part of India sees some action, but don't play Tests at venues such as Nagpur simply because the BCCI president hails from that city.

2. Graeme Smith's declaration
Blogs and text lines around South Africa have been red-hot with people complaining about the fact that Smith didn't give Hashim Amla a chance to beat the South African record for highest individual score. Quick reminder folks: cricket is first and foremost a team game. Although it is unique in that individual performances and duels on the pitch often take on their own significance, at the end of the day the team must still come first.

South Africa had a plan to keep the ball new for the third morning - when they felt it would swing around a bit more. It turned out they were right. But they also wanted a few overs on the second evening to see if they could nick a wicket and put a foot on India's head. The critics will point to the fact that South Africa won with a day to spare and thus had time to let Amla bat on. I would say that if they had not been bowling early on the third morning they would not have won at all.

3. India's problems
Yes, the injury to Rohit Sharma was unfortunate, but given that India were only "hoping" (as chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth put it this morning) that VVS Laxman would be fit, it's incredible that they didn't have a stronger squad in case something like this happened. If they never intended to use a bowler like Mithun and were merely "having a look at him", then why didn't they have an extra bowler who they would want to use. Why Dinesh Karthik was not in the squad is a mystery given his success against South Africa at Newlands on their last trip to South Africa, as is the absence of Virat Kohli.

Equally worrying is that lack of cohesion between captain, coach and selectors. MS Dhoni and Gary Kirsten can only make recommendations to the selectors, so any selection question thrown their way during the Test was merely padded away. It leads to a lack of responsibility. The South African setup where Smith at least has a selection outlet through the coach (Corrie van Zyl is a member of the selection committee) ensures that the Proteas don't feel like they're at the mercy of a bunch of outsiders.

4. Dr. Patience
Paul Harris must have been written off by every cricket journalist on the planet by now. I know that going into this Test I felt Johan Botha would be the better bet. It is a testament to Harris' mental strength that he has bounced back to be the hero of day four, but the key to his success was patience.

He knows that he is not a big turner of the ball but he comes up with a gameplan around it and he sticks to it. For long, boring periods yesterday he bowled at the batsmen's legs, and it seemed he was just trying to tie up an end until the seamers had recovered for a new spell. But he also knew that eventually they would have to come after him, and so it proved. The result was one man caught at deep backward square leg (Vijay), another played on (Tendulkar).

5. Just how good was Dale Steyn?
It was certainly the best fast bowling I've seen live. It was the type that you watch with wide eyes and an open jaw, thinking 'my goodness he's killing them out there!' On Wednesday Corrie van Zyl wouldn't be drawn into saying that he's better than Allan Donald, who Van Zyl bowled alongside at Free State, but at this rate there's every chance Steyn will become South Africa's greatest ever fast bowler.

Now that he has mastered the inswinger there's no telling how many wickets he can take in a career if he can stay fit. The movement he got with the reversing ball was extraordinary, but it was interesting to hear Dhoni say that Steyn's new-ball bowling was the best he'd seen in India. It shows that Steyn really does have the ultimate style and skill for swing bowling. Short for a fast bowler, it could well be that his lack of height turns out to be his greatest asset throughout his career. Not only does it leave him less susceptible to injuries, it seems to have blessed him with a natural affinity to swing the ball.