India were bowled out for 215 of the first day of the third Test against South Africa on yet another turning pitch at Jamtha, Nagpur. Barring a couple of batsmen none of them applied themselves, falling prey to the South Africa bowling, who were good in patches. Although South Africa picked up a couple of wickets in the first session, India would have been quiet happy as they still had a lot of firepower left in their batting line-up. But we have not seen them clicking well as a unit. So much so that 215 is the highest score scored in the series by either sides! FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs South Africa 2015, 3rd Test at Nagpur
One can understand South Africa’s plight. They are not used to turning pitches which they have got right from Day One of the Test series. But, India, who have the luxury of making pitches according to their preference have also found it tough to bat on. Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and to a certain extent Ravindra Jadeja are perhaps the only batsmen, who have made batting look easy. But neither of them have scored big. Players like Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have not managed to spend enough time at the crease to get their eyes in.
The decision to bring in a genuine batsman in place of a fast bowler did not work to India’s advantage as Rohit Sharma’s 28-ball stay at the crease was one of the worst sights. There were somehow some good performers too. Other than Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha faced 106 balls at the crease and made a valuable 32, but importantly did not play any rash shots throughout his innings. He was even cautious off the full tosses bowled to him by Imran Tahir and other bowlers. But once he gained confidence, he dispatched them away with minimal effort. At the end of the day, it is all about application and he applied himself quite well. He showed glimpses of why Kohli rates him so highly. Full Cricket Updates: India vs South Africa 2015, 3rd Test at Nagpur, Day 1
It has been the spinners, who have dug India out of trouble time and time in this series. The spinners have done their jobs and managed to pick up majority of the 20 wickets to fall and after a certain point of time, will seem as though the spinners will be able to defend whatever score the team gets. That is good, but why are the Indian batsmen struggling to spend time, let alone make runs on the tracks they have played on for so long? The batsmen need to realise that they too have a role to play on rank turners.
After seeing Morne Morkel bowl, India will perhaps rue not having a second seamer in their line-up. South Africa seem to have had a plan for every batsman and managed to execute it well. India have the advantage of having three spinners, out of which one is yet to bowl as Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja have picked up the two wickets to fall. It is therefore clearly a case of spinners winning India matches rather than batsmen doing their job. READ: South Africa 11/2 at stumps vs India in 3rd Test, Day 1 at Nagpur; Trail by 204 runs
The pitches are surely prepared with a view to get results, rather than ensuring that it lasts all five days. But the fun in the game gets diminished when batsmen continue to play rash shots and keep committing the same mistakes. The same can be said about the South Africa batsmen, but one can always give them the benefit of not having the prerequisite experience. But when a team can boast about going unbeaten for nine away series, they cannot run away from the fact that they have performed poorly in the series so far with the bat.
Tomorrow is the day when South African batsmen can either stand up, show character and fight the demons, or let Indian bowlers continue to maul them.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
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