India vs South Africa Test: Visitors down but not yet out

One must agree with Kohli’s assertion that there were times in all the four innings of the Test when India looked good to take hold of it.

Ajinkya Rahane

These days when cricket is played more on social media sites than on the field of play, the posts after India’s 72-run loss in the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town have been mostly humourous one-liners and by and large considerate to the team and skipper Virat Kohli. Effectively, the Test was over in less than three days, though for the record, it ended on the fourth day as persistent rain made sure not a ball was bowled the previous day.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis and the star of what proved to be the last day of the Test, Vernon Philander, could afford to give a spin to their strategy since it worked for them whereas Kohli had to do the job of dispelling doubts among his teammates and fans back home that everything is not lost for them.

One must agree with Kohli’s assertion that there were times in all the four innings of the Test when India looked good to take hold of it. All the talk of Indian bowlers finding it difficult to dismiss top batting sides twice outside of the subcontinent was proved wrong.

The bowlers not only claimed 20 wickets but also scored bulk of the runs. It appeared as though the bowlers themselves had to get runs on the board to have something to bowl at. The stock quote that the team that held its nerve and stayed calm carried the day perfectly fits the Proteas’ claim. They did not have enough runs to attack with four slips as they did in the first innings. All that the Indians needed was a big partnership between two of the top-order batsmen.

It is all so nice to say that the Proteas literally prized out Kohli’s wicket in the second innings. The lucid explanation of Vernon Philander bowling two and a half overs, taking the ball away from the off stump, and then bringing one back to trap him leg before does not tell the full story.

What he forgot to mention was that Kohli had flicked a couple of times beautifully to be confident enough to play the stroke when the ball seamed in. He just missed it. One thought it was possible seeing the way Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who stood out with bat for the second time in the match, defied the attack without missing an opportunity to score playing attacking strokes.

Come to think of it, Philander is no express fast. He was in the range of 125kmph-130kmph. In fact, Bhuvaneshwar steamed in more, seaming the ball either way beautifully.

Just like AB de Villers hit him out of the attack or Hardik Pandya tore into the South African pacers in the first innings, Shikhar Dhawan or Rohit Sharma should have gone after the bowlers in both the innings.

Dhawan tried but ended up looking ugly, raising questions about his position in the team ahead of KL Rahul.

Rohit thought his defence is tight enough as he had shown against the Sri Lankans in the subcontinent, but it did not work. His Test dismissals came in all sorts of ways, from heaving to missing the line to trying to steer or fishing at the ball rooted to the crease. It is becoming increasingly difficult to talk of his enormous talent. But then these were not the conditions where he could seriously be tested. If anyone, it was Kohli who could have taken the charge.

The analysis would be incomplete if one does not take a look at the dismissals of two of the technically well-equipped batsmen in the team — opener Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara. The way they got out would have sent shivers down the men in the dressing room.

Any knee-jerk reaction or pressing the panic button would only make life more difficult for the replacements as it would demoralise the dropped. There is little scope for tinkering with the composition.

If another specialist fast bowler has to be brought in, then the axe has to fall on the lone spinner as Pandya can’t be touched. For that matter, even Jasprit Bumrah did enough to merit retention.

Now, India have to win the remaining two Tests to wrap up the series in South Africa. The next one is at the Centurion where the pitch is considered the fastest and the last one is at the Wanderers, again a pitch where the quick bowlers relish the surface.