No excuse for India’s weak display |
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Saturday April 5, 01:18 AM
A tinge of green and a bit of moisture in the pitch is not enough for an international side to be all out for 76. It was meek surrender against an attack that struck to basics. There were no demons in the wicket nor was the bowling terrific. The batting lacked application.
Looking at the long history of Test cricket, the records of openers will never quite match up to those of middle-order batsmen because playing the new ball is hazardous. To counter the early morning freshness in the wicket is the primary job of the opener. This show was even more deflating considering the fact that India had won a Test at Perth that has easily one of the fastest and bounciest tracks in the world.
The Indian top-order is full of stroke makers and no one seems to know the value of batting out time barring Rahul Dravid. Once he was cleaned up by a peach of a ball the rest of the order just caved in. I may not be totally qualified to talk on the subject of playing out time but the solid defence of Sunil Gavaskar gave me the license to go after the bowling. It is important to know your role in the team. I can understand Sehwag being able to play only that way but it is hard to fathom what the others were doing. They lacked the heart to fight.
If the South Africans found the same wicket to be a paradise to bat on in just a few hours’ time, what were the Indian batsmen doing? The selection of shots was pathetic to say the least. The first hour was crucial. It is important to give the bowler his due when conditions are in his favour.
While the casual follower will hope for a classic turnaround like Kolkata in 2001 or Adelaide 2003-04 it might not be easy for the batsmen after spending a phenomenal amount of time in the field. They would be jaded and it will not be easy to concentrate, especially for the top-order to go out and bat after being under these oppressive conditions for nearly two days.
A section of the media that refuses to understand the game have gone on a rampage about the wicket. It was not a grassy wicket by any stretch of imagination as it was made out to be. As the chairman of the pitch committee I always wanted Test cricket to be played on sporting tracks and met with a fair share of opposition.
The grass at Motera was more to hold the top layer than anything else. A little moisture added with a thin grass covering was enough to wreck the Indian side. The team management might not have got the wicket they wanted but there can be no excuses for this weak display.
There may be no getting out of the trap now because the South Africans are so far ahead they can bowl straight and use just the few variations of bounce that are beginning to crop up to get 10 Indians out. The Indians will have to fight as hard as they can before surrendering.
They will also have to look ahead and see what sort of strategy they can use in Kanpur to try and draw level. If they don’t draw the series, they may lose the number two ranking on the teams’ list. That would be the big loss for a side that would like to be number one.
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