Dec. 31: The mountainous backdrop to Newlands on its eastern side — from Devil’s Peak in one corner to the flat mesa of the Table Mountain in the other — gives the otherwise picturesque venue a feeling of an amphitheatre.

The sheer vastness of these rocks has brought the best out of men competing at its foothills ever since the first Test back in 1889, and sometimes the worst. It’s perhaps the perfect setting for India’s third and final Test against South Africa beginning on Sunday, arguably the biggest contest in recent memory. With the series level at 1-1 after India’s 87-run triumph in Durban, another one here can launch skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni into that rarefied sphere that belongs exclusively to leaders who’ve lead their teams to every arena and come back home with series wins.

It’s a tough task though. Previous India captains have never gone back home from here with particularly pleasant memories with one draw and two losses from three games. The draw came under 18 years ago, back when Mohammad Azharuddin was the captain and current India coach Gary Kirsten was still wearing a South African jersey.

India came very close to a win in 2007 under Rahul Dravid, collecting a first innings lead against Graeme Smith’s men, before falling to Dale Steyn’s pace in the second innings. The eventual 221-run target was easy enough for the home batsmen to reach.

The win was South Africa’s finest of the decade. “It’s still talked about here by the locals. It was one of those wins that was like a slap in the face of those who said that the Proteas choked in pressure situations,” said Gary’s half-brother and former cricketer Peter Kirsten, a Cape resident himself.

Dhoni’s men are, however, coming from a win, and as much as the players would like to show the world that momentum is over-rated, a good win never hurts.

“They don’t have good record here, but things change over time. There was a time when lions and leopards roamed wild on the Table Mountain, but now there’s just people up there. History doesn’t always paint the right picture of the current situation,” he added.

The good thing from India’s comeback win in Durban — that rewrote a chapter of history itself — was India’s improved bowling performance.

There was a wide gulf between the two bowling sides in Centurion and was one of the main worries for Dhoni in the build-up the Durban Test. But Zaheer Khan & Co. ensured that the South Africans weren’t deprived of the chin music. And no ball could explain it better than Shanthakumaran Sreesanth’s jaffer in the second innings that dismissed South Africa’s middle-order rock Jacques Kallis.

“It was an unplayable delivery. Our pacers have been very consistent with their line and bounce. They have looked a different attack,” VVS Laxman said on Thursday. Ishant Sharma has been as effective if not as successful. And without pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, South Africa had raced away to 634/4 at Centurion.

It’s these factors that would give confidence and sense of self-assuredness when Dhoni walks out into the middle. He’s has already joined Azharuddin as the second-most successful Indian Test captain with Durban win. While Azhar got his 14 wins in 47 Tests, Dhoni’s side has taken only 23 Tests to get to that mark.