India-South Africa first Test post-mortem
Ah! Time for introspection and post-mortem for a team that just days before this Test was ranked alongside great teams of the past and present. To be outplayed under four days on an average pitch by any international standards. A hint of movement was enough to rattle the famed Indian batting line-up and Dale Steyn used the conditions much better than his Indian pace counterparts.
First things first, India was outplayed in all aspects and there should be no two ways about it whatsoever. Secondly, to have not chosen the best possible team against a top-ranked Test side is a crime for which the selectors are solely responsible. Grooming debutants is all nice and cool but not against South Africa. The trick should have been to have sent in a side that could give chances to Wriddhiman Saha, Subramaniam Badrinath, Murali Vijay on the tour of Bangladesh last month. By giving the debut cap to Saha and axing him for the second Test does not make any point clear on the selectors part. Also, Sudeep Tyagi who has carried drinks, sat diligently watching on the ropes has literally been on it for months now. His drinks carrying sojourn commenced when the Australians came for a seven-match series and while he did get a couple of games, his potential could never be gauged in those 2-3 outings.
Unfit players being drafted in the team is not something new to our selectors, it is high time they mend their ways for the sake of playing a fit XI on the field. Also, a series that has so much significance clashed with a two-Test outing against rank-outsiders Bangladesh which speaks of poor planning on the part of the selection committee. We often speak of rest, recuperation but the burn-out rate seems to be catching on all the old legs. Can the ‘old’ wise men please look at this issue before the plans are laid for the next couple of seasons.
Now for the performances on the field. Agreed, Virender Sehwag got to his 18th Test century, but at what cost. Having played Test cricket for long, it is mandatory to stay at the crease and it is high time the Indian supreme court punishes the batsmen who perished to horrendous strokes on the field. Jokes apart, it is time this Indian team learnt the necessity to put a price on their wickets. Sachin Tendulkar shephered the Indian innings in the followed-on outing but fell prey to temptation against an intelligent Harris, who to a normal eye looks like an average Joe on the middle. The biggest criminal in the first Test to me was none other than Mr. Zaheer Khan who just could not control his emotions after having stayed at the wicket for over an hour and patiently making 33. It is this ‘patience’ that the Indian team did not have and the result was out in four days. The Indian think tank has already gone on damage control mode and asked for a rank-turner at the Eden Gardens. Now, I have no problems with that.
Will our Indian team get a spin-friendly track at Kingsmead, Durban when we play a match?
