For I am a lover of
cricket, at most times which is the only other thing I am interested in, apart
from my family, friends and profession. Sometimes when I am shut down by
failure, I look up to some cricket videos to wake me up and at times it keeps
me in my bubble to combat the taxing demands of life and pressure at the
office. I watched the India tour of South Africa - Test series 2013 with great
interest as it had a lot to play and watch for.
India had the best ODI
record in 2013 winning six out of seven series# including the
Champions Trophy in England. Their Test record was also not bad with six Test
match wins in a row before this series, albeit all of them coming at home.
Importantly, the last two Test series away from home India lost eight in
a row. The series was also clouded by administrative conflicts between the two
boards and it made a lot of people angry – the SA supporters, players, and even
journalists. When the Indian team arrived in South Africa, Dhoni was even asked
what he would do if someone threw something into the field from the stands in
anger. South African media was looking to put off the Indian side whatever the
way possible, not to forget the broadcasters who had a video tape under the
caption ‘Kohli softened up’ after he got some blows from bouncers in the ODI
series. To add to the misery, India were beaten comprehensively 2-0 in ODI
series and no one gave India a chance, not even the most optimists.
Indian batting was under
the scanner, as for the first time none of the Fabulous Four (Dravid,
Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly) playing and no Sehwag, Gambhir too. Even the
experienced seniors failed to rescue the team in the last eight defeats abroad.
The most experienced batsman in the lineup was Kohli with 19 Test matches,
among which only seven Test matches in abroad. It was a completely inexperienced batting lineup and there were question marks on their ability to
cope up against the best bowling attack in the world. Not to forget
that this South African team is no. 1 Test team in the world and have not been
beaten in a series since March 2009. The world’s top two* bowlers
are the Proteas fasts, bowling in the series along with Morne Morkel (ranked
12*). There were questions about Indians as flat track bullies and would have
trouble against bouncing balls.
However, this young batting
lineup stood firm and had answers for the South African bowling attack as they
piled more than 400 runs in the second innings of the first Test, which is
remarkable as it is only the fifth time a
touring team had scored more than 400 in a Test innings in South Africa in the
last four years. India dominated the first four days of the first Test at
Johannesburg and almost pushed South Africa to the brink. In the second Test,
India was not out of the game until the last day. India probably lost the
second Test and as a result the series because of a poor morning session on Day
five. To have countered this South African team until the last session of the
series with a victory is itself a big achievement considering how India entered
the series.
If you are a reader of
headlines, the end result is a loss 1-0 for India. One can bark aloud about the
Indian team doing poorly in foreign conditions again. To have been beaten again
is tough as it lingers not only in mind but also it goes in the records as
another series loss away from home. But if you are a
cricket lover and someone who looks beyond the results, statistics and headlines, then you
have a lot to praise for this Indian team performance. Moreover, this defeat
unlike the previous two series in England and Australia was not in surrender
but was a battle that this young Indian brigade went toe to toe with the
Saffers.
The batting of Pujara,
Kohli and Rahane were highly impressive and they were the top three in the run-getters list in the series above all the South African players. They were not
afraid to take on the bouncers and played the pulls very well and were severe
on over pitched deliveries and made sure to dispatch them to the boundary. The
most noticeable thing was their temperament to leave the balls outside off
stump, and in my opinion these guys have even outscored their seniors of the
previous era as well as their opponents. Murali Vijay whom many doubted about
his spot in the Test side, did a fabulous job in blunting the new ball and
making it easier for the rest of the batters.
The bowling attack did well
in the first Test. But in the second Test it failed due to the negative
strategy of bowling with the old ball to slow down the scoring rate. Ashwin who
was the quickest to 100 wickets earlier this year did not acclimatize to the
conditions and he must work on the speeds, length of his bowling. Jadeja or Ojha
might be the way ahead in Tests abroad. Shami on his first tour abroad did an
exceptional job with wickets throughout the series. But India lacked the
‘X-factor’ in the bowling. It would not be a bad idea if India look at Umesh
Yadav as the pace option to hit the pitch hard and fast to make it difficult to
score, a kind of job that Morne Morkel does for South Africa. India might need
to sort out how they manage the work load of their quickies with only four
specialist bowlers and no street-smart part time bowler in the lineup.
In nut shell, India can
take loads of positives especially from this batting performance as they travel
to New Zealand, England and Australia after this. One can hope that if this
batting lineup bats like this in the tours to come, with help from the bowling
attack, they can really post big challenges as a team. Time will tell, if
this Indian team and its batting line up have a legacy to make. As of now,
India gave South Africa a run for their money in the concluded Test series,
which the Indian team and their fans can hold their heads high and be proud, as
not many teams have managed to do so.
Any comments and feed backs
will be of appreciation and thanks for your time and efforts in reading this
piece.
(*as on December 30, 2013; #those
series started and concluded in 2013)
