What clash for the No. 2 spot? It’s a no-contest!
April 5, 2008
India pretty much lost the plot- and the match- inside the first hour of Day One of the second cricket test at Ahmedabad. A total of 76 was never going to be enough even against minnows, and the Proteas, who on current form, probably deserve the No 1 spot in test cricket, are anything but minnows. Granted that a majority of this new-look South African team is short on experience in terms of the number of tests compared to the number that most Indian players have played. But experience seems to have counted for nothing on the Motera track. The result: South Africa inflicted a comprehensive defeat, winning the match by an innings and 90 runs with two days to spare.
For Kumble, key players not being 100% match fit was surely a concern at the start of the test. And yes, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini bowled ferociously on Day One. However, nothing can explain the extravagant or lazy shots essayed by many of India’s top order batsmen.
Well done, South Africa! Accurate bowling was followed by some solid batting performances- with Kallis scoring a century and AB de Villiers going one beter to score a double ton. India’s bowling attack looked listless and defanged. It was hard to imagine that many of these same players came together to beat a full-strength Australia in a 5 day cricket match at Perth not so long ago.
Perhaps it is time for a change of guard- at least we will have a plausible excuse for losing. India is now in a must-win situation at Kanpur, where the third and final test match starts next week. South Africa will be high on confidence, and it will take a miracle for India to get out of the hole they’ve dug themselves into.
Entry Filed under: Cricket. .
5 Comments Add your own
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
anandkrishna
1.
nestaquin | April 6, 2008 at 2:47 am
You say South Africa deserve the No1 spot. On what parameters?
Australia lost one series in 5 years and that was in 2005. They have won, not drawn or lost, 18 of their last 20 Test matches.
And one more thing, Australia were not at full strength in Perth, their most prolific batsman Matthew Hayden was injured.
2.
anandkrishna | April 6, 2008 at 9:42 am
The hallmark of a good team is that there is minimal dependence on any one individual. All the 11 players contribute in their own ways. By that criterion, I manitain that South Africa is deserving of the No. 1 slot- at least in test cricket rankings. For the last year or so, they have played well as a unit. Australia does that too, but the retirement of Warne, McGrath and Langer has created a gap that is still completely unfilled. The next six months will tell if South Africa, who play both Australia and England in away series, can maintain their consistency. If their performance in sub-continental conditions (where most visiting teams have struggled) is not maintained, I will agree with you that this was a flash in the pan.
I also agree that Hayden was injured and did not play at Perth. But if memory serves me right, India’s main strike bowler at the start of the tour- Zaheer Khan, was also unavailable at Perth. And I am sure you will agree that it was not just at Perth that the home side failed to produce that special brand of cricket that Australia has been known for at least since the early nineties.
3.
nestaquin | April 6, 2008 at 10:30 am
Of course I agree Anandkrishna that Australia haven’t played as well in the last few months but their achievements stand apart from every other nation.
They currently hold every trophy against every country in Test cricket. The trophy cabinet is overflowing. This cannot be denied. What more can they do?
That special brand of cricket was certainly on display at the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies where they won their third consecutive Trophy and remained unbeaten throughout. In fact they haven’t lost a World Cup match this century!
They were also on song against Sri Lanka in November. The manner in which they won the Sydney Test, morality aside, was also a supreme achievement. They never looked liked winning and snatched the win in penultimate over. Basically, the baggygreens never, ever give up. That should be respected and applauded.
If South Africa can beat Australia home and away at the end of this year they can rightly claim the mantle as World’s best Test nation. I have my doubts only because South Africa haven’t won a series against Australia since 1970 and Australia haven’t lost a home series in well over a decade.
4.
nestaquin | April 6, 2008 at 10:31 am
Oh I forgot. I wish Zaheer Khan had of played. Then Ishant Sharma wouldn’t have given the Aussie top-order such a terrible time!
5.
anandkrishna | April 6, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Nestaquin- thanks for the comments. I am not denying that Australia has been a great side. It still is in the top 2, without a doubt. But on current form, Graeme Smith’s men may have a wee advantage over Ponting and his men. Obviously, our views are purely speculative till such time as the two teams clash and the result is known.
And at no point am I taking anything away from Australia’s long run of successes over the last 2 decades or so. It is an unbelievable track record and one that is going to be very very hard to beat.
Now about the Sydney test. Forget the heated exchanges on the field- I think both sides deserve a swift kick on the backside. But do not forget that India also were at the receiving end of a couple of poor umpiring decisions (Dravid among them, if my memory is not wrong). But that does not take away from the fact that Australia took a slew of quick wickets towards the end and India could not see off 3 overs with 3 wickets in hand. For that, kudos to Australia.
Based on past performance, South Africa have been rightly called “chokers” but it looks like they have overcome that phase. Dale Steyn’s record over the last 4 series has been quite outstanding (he is perhaps Allan Donald’s successor). And Ntini is not bowling badly either. I am keenly looking forward to Australia play South Africa.
And the irony of India’s performance Down Under is that traditionally, we’ve been unbeatable at home, but have been poor travellers. But over the past few days, India has looked like a local club team even at home. It remains to be seen how we fare at the last test in Kanpur that starts in a few days. Sachin is injured, and both Kumble and Ishant will need to prove their fitness. RP Singh, who did a great job in Zaheer’s absence, also does not seem to have got back to 100% match fitness. As an Indian cricket fan, I am afraid…. very afraid.