The tour
of South Africa was talked about for more than it actually lasted. First there
were questions as to whether the tour would take place at all, then there were
questions as to whether Sachin would play and once that was laid to rest, there
were questions raised as to whether India would even be able to compete without
Sachin in SA.
Thankfully though, the wait for the answers wasn't long. The one big sore point of the tour was that it was way too short. It started well after the other marquee series the Ashes had started and ended with still a test match left in the Ashes.
There is always the risk of reading too much into the results of a series that had all of 3 ODIs and 2 test matches, but some of the messages that came out were crystal clear and the powers-that-be of Indian would do well to take note if they have intentions of ridding the Indian team of the tag of "Tigers at home, paper tigers abroad".
MS Dhoni mentioned about his boys being "Fantastic" in the series, but the scoreline tended to paint a slightly different story.
First the ODI series. India lost 2 of the 3 matches with the other being rained out. The margin of defeat in the 2 ODIs was comprehensive with no doubt whatsoever in anyone's mind as to which was the better team. This mind you, when SA were actually the underdogs going by the ODI team rankings. The Indian bowling was savaged and their batsmen battered into meek submission. Had the weather gods not intervened SA would in all probability have made a clean sweep of the series, going by the form book. The only gain if one might call it that, India had, from the ODI series was the recognition of the gulf that existed between the two teams, especially where bowling was concerned. India went into the ODI series with Ishant Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami to man the pace attack with only Ishant managing a somewhat respectable 4-for in one of the matches. That in turn proved more to be a bane than boon as it ensured his continued presence in the team for the ensuing test matches where he bowled at a pace noticeably lesser than his partner, 10 years his senior and was unable to extract either bounce or movement from the wicket. As for the others, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohit hardly found any purchase and while Shami had his brief moments, Umesh Yadav, who was expected to actually do well, given his pace, had very disappointing returns. Umesh Yadav's ineffectiveness in the ODIs he played and his subsequent banishment from the test team, based on the same, rendered the Indian bowling attack pretty much toothless.
An ODI squad to SA with 3 spinners meant that one of them would have lots of time to do shopping and sight-seeing in SA. That "chosen one" was Amit Mishra. The newspapers, particularly, The Hindu, in India hyped up what Ashwin's spin could potentially do in SA. At the end of the ODI series Indian supporters were none the wiser.
The batting in the ODIs was again a disappointment. While it may have been commonsensical to assume that the batting would never touch the lofty heights achieved in the ODI series versus Australia at home; to see it come crashing down in SA was quite underwhelming. There was only one 50+ score by the Indians (MSD's 65 in the first ODI) as against 9 by the Saffers (albeit having an extra innings), and there in lay the story of the ODI series. No points for batting, none for bowling. The fielding looked sharp without being spectacular.
Coming to the test matches, a 1-0 scoreline in a 2 test series is one which is open to many interpretations. However the scoreline could well have been 2-0 had SA not lost their nerve and more while chasing 16 off 19 balls. This was without a doubt one of the greatest escapes in test cricket, in modern times. What this draw did achieve, was to create a "Aisa bhi hota hai" moment for all of us who still haven't understood Dhoni's reasons for refusing to chase 180 in 47 overs versus the WI in 2011.
The test series brought about an overall uptick in performance in all 3 departments of the game. Kohli and Pujara were superb, firmly laying to rest the largely imaginary ghosts of the post Tendulkar-Dravid era. Vijay and Dhawan (although only in the last innings when his position at the top was being questioned) made up with resolve what they lacked in technique. The find of the tour was Ajinkya Rahane. Toting up tons in the domestic circuit, there was still a big question mark as to whether he would be able to adapt to the international arena; which he answered with aplomb. Plucky in the first test and classy in the second it was a treat to see this little man stand up to whatever was thrown at him by the Proteas. Rohit Sharma saw his career average plummet by 77%, and will probably be best remembered for shouldering arms to a ball on the middle stump. While this seemed like a shoo in for "the brain fade" of the series, it was trumped on the very last day of the series by none other than "Sir" Ravindra Jadeja with his wild hoick against Robin Peterson, while trying to save(?) a test match. What really transpired in Jaddu's mind will be one of those unexplained mysteries that will confound Indian cricket lovers for ages to come. There was nothing much to write home about Dhoni's batting and the bowlers made us feel glad that they at least knew which end of the bat to hold.
On the bowling front, spin which was supposed to be our key weapon let out more of a meow than a roar. Ashwin's spin performed wonders in mysterious ways mostly to the detriment of Dhoni and Team India's plans and Jadeja showed that a lack of talent could be compensated by toiling tirelessly.
When it came to the pacers, the "re-assembled in France" Zaheer Khan stayed true to the quality best exemplified by French made automobiles - great in terms of looks but underpowered in terms of performance. Ishant Sharma posed a few questions to the South Africans, most of them to those who were not on the field and had found their calling in hair styling (or is it hair "management" like everything else these days). Mohammed Shami seemed like the only Indian pacer who could shake up the opposition, but with Steyn and Morkel on the other side it was more like a .32 Beretta against the .44 Magnums.
The ground fielding, not the catching though, was quite spectacular. Rahane's run outs of Smith and Du Plessis at key moments in the first test contributed as much to the "Great Escape" alluded to earlier as much as SA's pusillanimity.
Dhoni's captaincy was well "Dhoni-ish" or unimaginative depending on how you choose to call it but it was positively brilliant when compared to that of Graeme Smith in this series.
At the outset a probable 3-0 blank out in the ODIs and a potential 2-0 whitewash in the test series may not really seem to be a cause for celebration, but better things could be in store for Indian cricket if only
a) some fast (not medium pace) bowling support can be unearthed for Shami,
b) someone is able to convince Dhoni of the axiom that 5+0.5+0.5=6; meaning that playing 5 specialist batsmen plus Ashwin and Jadeja will provide the same security as playing 6 batsmen
c) and BCCI is convinced that creating sporting wickets in the domestic tourneys is not really injurious to health.
Thankfully though, the wait for the answers wasn't long. The one big sore point of the tour was that it was way too short. It started well after the other marquee series the Ashes had started and ended with still a test match left in the Ashes.
There is always the risk of reading too much into the results of a series that had all of 3 ODIs and 2 test matches, but some of the messages that came out were crystal clear and the powers-that-be of Indian would do well to take note if they have intentions of ridding the Indian team of the tag of "Tigers at home, paper tigers abroad".
MS Dhoni mentioned about his boys being "Fantastic" in the series, but the scoreline tended to paint a slightly different story.
First the ODI series. India lost 2 of the 3 matches with the other being rained out. The margin of defeat in the 2 ODIs was comprehensive with no doubt whatsoever in anyone's mind as to which was the better team. This mind you, when SA were actually the underdogs going by the ODI team rankings. The Indian bowling was savaged and their batsmen battered into meek submission. Had the weather gods not intervened SA would in all probability have made a clean sweep of the series, going by the form book. The only gain if one might call it that, India had, from the ODI series was the recognition of the gulf that existed between the two teams, especially where bowling was concerned. India went into the ODI series with Ishant Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami to man the pace attack with only Ishant managing a somewhat respectable 4-for in one of the matches. That in turn proved more to be a bane than boon as it ensured his continued presence in the team for the ensuing test matches where he bowled at a pace noticeably lesser than his partner, 10 years his senior and was unable to extract either bounce or movement from the wicket. As for the others, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohit hardly found any purchase and while Shami had his brief moments, Umesh Yadav, who was expected to actually do well, given his pace, had very disappointing returns. Umesh Yadav's ineffectiveness in the ODIs he played and his subsequent banishment from the test team, based on the same, rendered the Indian bowling attack pretty much toothless.
An ODI squad to SA with 3 spinners meant that one of them would have lots of time to do shopping and sight-seeing in SA. That "chosen one" was Amit Mishra. The newspapers, particularly, The Hindu, in India hyped up what Ashwin's spin could potentially do in SA. At the end of the ODI series Indian supporters were none the wiser.
The batting in the ODIs was again a disappointment. While it may have been commonsensical to assume that the batting would never touch the lofty heights achieved in the ODI series versus Australia at home; to see it come crashing down in SA was quite underwhelming. There was only one 50+ score by the Indians (MSD's 65 in the first ODI) as against 9 by the Saffers (albeit having an extra innings), and there in lay the story of the ODI series. No points for batting, none for bowling. The fielding looked sharp without being spectacular.
Coming to the test matches, a 1-0 scoreline in a 2 test series is one which is open to many interpretations. However the scoreline could well have been 2-0 had SA not lost their nerve and more while chasing 16 off 19 balls. This was without a doubt one of the greatest escapes in test cricket, in modern times. What this draw did achieve, was to create a "Aisa bhi hota hai" moment for all of us who still haven't understood Dhoni's reasons for refusing to chase 180 in 47 overs versus the WI in 2011.
The test series brought about an overall uptick in performance in all 3 departments of the game. Kohli and Pujara were superb, firmly laying to rest the largely imaginary ghosts of the post Tendulkar-Dravid era. Vijay and Dhawan (although only in the last innings when his position at the top was being questioned) made up with resolve what they lacked in technique. The find of the tour was Ajinkya Rahane. Toting up tons in the domestic circuit, there was still a big question mark as to whether he would be able to adapt to the international arena; which he answered with aplomb. Plucky in the first test and classy in the second it was a treat to see this little man stand up to whatever was thrown at him by the Proteas. Rohit Sharma saw his career average plummet by 77%, and will probably be best remembered for shouldering arms to a ball on the middle stump. While this seemed like a shoo in for "the brain fade" of the series, it was trumped on the very last day of the series by none other than "Sir" Ravindra Jadeja with his wild hoick against Robin Peterson, while trying to save(?) a test match. What really transpired in Jaddu's mind will be one of those unexplained mysteries that will confound Indian cricket lovers for ages to come. There was nothing much to write home about Dhoni's batting and the bowlers made us feel glad that they at least knew which end of the bat to hold.
On the bowling front, spin which was supposed to be our key weapon let out more of a meow than a roar. Ashwin's spin performed wonders in mysterious ways mostly to the detriment of Dhoni and Team India's plans and Jadeja showed that a lack of talent could be compensated by toiling tirelessly.
When it came to the pacers, the "re-assembled in France" Zaheer Khan stayed true to the quality best exemplified by French made automobiles - great in terms of looks but underpowered in terms of performance. Ishant Sharma posed a few questions to the South Africans, most of them to those who were not on the field and had found their calling in hair styling (or is it hair "management" like everything else these days). Mohammed Shami seemed like the only Indian pacer who could shake up the opposition, but with Steyn and Morkel on the other side it was more like a .32 Beretta against the .44 Magnums.
The ground fielding, not the catching though, was quite spectacular. Rahane's run outs of Smith and Du Plessis at key moments in the first test contributed as much to the "Great Escape" alluded to earlier as much as SA's pusillanimity.
Dhoni's captaincy was well "Dhoni-ish" or unimaginative depending on how you choose to call it but it was positively brilliant when compared to that of Graeme Smith in this series.
At the outset a probable 3-0 blank out in the ODIs and a potential 2-0 whitewash in the test series may not really seem to be a cause for celebration, but better things could be in store for Indian cricket if only
a) some fast (not medium pace) bowling support can be unearthed for Shami,
b) someone is able to convince Dhoni of the axiom that 5+0.5+0.5=6; meaning that playing 5 specialist batsmen plus Ashwin and Jadeja will provide the same security as playing 6 batsmen
c) and BCCI is convinced that creating sporting wickets in the domestic tourneys is not really injurious to health.
