India on high-Protean diet
They came, they saw and they butchered. Yes, the first two days of the much-hyped battle of biggies — India and South Africa have become a one-way traffic with the Proteans amassing a lead of 230 after bowling out India for 136. A measure of South Africa’s dominance in this Test can be gauged from the fact that Harbhajan Singh, India’s only successful bowler with 2/107 kept about five fielders on the boundary as the South Africans tainted the Indian bowling, not to mention the reputations of many including the feisty sardar from Jalandhar. What has baffled me has been some really shoddy selection in the form of Jaydev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav.
A high-profile tour such as this requires experience at the level and it is sad not to see the likes of Abhimanyu Mithun who did creditably on the tour to Sri Lanka earlier this year. The visitors’ bowling attack was exposed sans the experience of Zaheer Khan. But let’s get to the batting first. It was a wicket which had some juice on it but not one where the much-vaunted batting line-up crumbled like pack of cards. At such instances, one questions the batting averages of many of the Indian super stars who feast on sub-continent wickets.
Agreed, it is sad to label Mahi’s men as flat-track bullies but the records can’t lie. At best, the statistics can hide a few. Barring Sachin Tendulkar, not one batsman showed the basic necessity of applying themselves and only piled on the agony for the viewers and fans. Now, for the bowling on Day Two. The wicket had definitely eased up but the selection of Unadkat leaves a lot to be desired. For a player, who has just managed to play at the Ranji Level this year, the graduation to Test cricket was a big ask.
It was a baptism by fire and I am afraid, the 19-year-old has suffered sufficient burns already. Whilst I did not have any expectations from Unadkat but his approach does leave a lot to be desired. With one of the biggest defeats in recent times staring at the No. 1 side in the world, it is a wake up call for the selectors and the players who have been harping on a lot of victories accrued at the sub-continent, not to mention some sub-standard teams. For the time being, India are definitely being dished out some high-Protean diet.
