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Rohit Sharma, JP Duminy set tone for historic tour

Rohit's brilliant 66-ball 106 was undone by Duminy's unbeaten 68 as SA beat India by seven wickets.

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Rohit Sharma (left) and JP Duminy defined the innings of their respective teams © AFP
Rohit Sharma (left) and JP Duminy defined the innings of their respective teams © AFP

The ongoing IndiaSouth Africa series is no ordinary contest. Named after Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela — two of the greatest ambassadors of the 20th century — it was deemed special even before a ball had been bowled. What made it even more special was the fact that the series started on Mahatma’s birthday, and in the 100th year of Gandhi’s return from South Africa following his Passive Resistance Campaign.

The onus was on the players to put on a show befitting the occasion, and Rohit Sharma rose to the challenge in style in picturesque Dharamsala after Faf du Plessis put India in. Things did not look ominous for South Africa when there was bounce and movement in the first few overs and the batsmen were struggling to rotate the strike. In fact, things took a bad turn when Rohit after carting Marchant de Lange for two fours lost Shikhar Dhawan to a mix-up while running between the wickets.

An unperturbed Rohit continued to play his shots, hooking and pulling de Lange whenever the ball was pitched short, and emphatically cut loose in the sixth over, pulling Chris Morris to long-leg for a four and a six. Virat Kohli joined the party, hitting Morris for a six and a four off consecutive balls, and India were up and running.

When Imran Tahir came on, Rohit dismissed him disdainfully over the mid-wicket fence, and Kohli followed with two sixes. But Rohit had saved his best for Kagiso Rabada — with a shot straight out of the double-hundred at Eden Gardens last year. He moved the front-foot out of the way and lofted the ball high over long-off into the stands.

That one shot was a reminder of what Rohit is capable of when on song. He has been criticised for his inconsistency, especially in Test cricket, but once he finds his groove, there is usually no stopping him. The timing was perfect, the stroke going many a mile. When Rabada bounced in retaliation, Rohit hooked him for a six.

It was wonderful to see Rohit playing to his strengths. In the past, he has sometimes fallen into the trap of trying to hit the ball too hard. On Friday, he took his time, and once he got his timing right, he concentrated on finding the gaps. And when he played the ball in the air, the timing was so immaculate that he cleared the fence easily.

It was perfectly fitting when he hit de Lange through the line to get to his first T20I hundred. The sound of ball hitting bat reverberated around an already vociferous ground. Few batsmen are as attractive to watch as Rohit in full cry, and on Friday, he was close to his best.

Despite Rohit’s and Virat’s innings, India were pegged back a little when they lost both the set batsmen in the 16th over. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni played a few big shots, but India probably fell about 15 short of what they could have got, given the platform laid by Rohit and Virat. Those 15 runs hurt them in the end.

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Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers set up the chase with a 77-run opening stand. India would ideally have wanted a wicket or two in the first five overs, but both batsmen were at complete ease. It did not help that the dew was making it extremely difficult for the bowlers to grip the ball.

It was the triple-strike in the middle overs that brought India back into the match. But even though South Africa needed 105 from 57 balls, an uphill task by any stretch of imagination, it was not beyond them given the firepower and depth at their disposal.

I thought Ravichandran Ashwin once again bowled beautifully throughout his spell. The wicket of de Villiers was a perfect example of his intelligence and mastery over his craft. He set up AB by sending down a few quicker ones before slowing one up. De Villiers stepped out, but the ball dipped on him and the batsman couldn’t get to the pitch of the ball. Owing to its slowness, the ball turned substantially too, and for once, AB was foxed.

Ashwin has improved with every passing day since the Border-Gavaskar series last winter. Despite possessing a full repertoire, he does not experiment as much as he used to do a couple of years back, instead sticking to bowling his off spinners and an orthodox line and length , using his variations sparingly. The change has worked in his favour, and the wicket of de Villiers bears testimony to that.

A few eyebrows may have been raised when Faf promoted Farhaan Behardien above Miller. Perhaps, he wanted to keep Miller for the kill in the end and to have a left-right combination in the middle. Behardien did a good job of rotating the strike and putting the odd one away. In fact, it was Behardien who hit the boundaries at the beginning of his decisive partnership with JP Duminy, who quietly played himself in.

Once again, the 16th over turned out to be the turning point. With 62 needed off 28 balls, Duminy lofted young Akshar Patel for three consecutive sixes, swinging the match in South Africa’s favour. He took control thereafter, controlling the pace of the chase.
With 24 to score off 12 balls, Duminy all but settled the match with a four and a six off consecutive balls from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He had earlier survived a leg-before shout off Bhuvneshwar; it looked pretty close, but these things are a part of the game and decisions usually even out over time.

Friday’s innings was one of those typical Duminy performances. So many times we have seen him in complete control during run-chases; he was perfectly happy letting Behardien play his shots, and stepped on the pedal just when it was needed.

Even when it came down to the last over, Duminy looked extremely composed despite a string of balls that did not result in boundaries. India still had a chance when South Africa needed seven from four balls, but Duminy did not panic. His eyes lit up when he saw a full toss from debutant Sreenath Aravind. He gave it his all, and it was some time before the ball could be retrieved.

Even when it came down to the last over, Duminy looked extremely composed despite a string of dot balls. India still had a chance when South Africa needed seven from four balls, but Duminy did not panic. His eyes lit up when he saw the ball in the slot: he gave it his all, and it was some time before the ball could be retrieved.

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Looking back at the match, India probably missed out on a trick or two by playing Ambati Rayudu at No. 6. With Akshar, Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar all capable with the bat, Dhoni could probably have played Stuart Binny, who could have been an option with the new ball.

I am all in favour of giving newcomers a long rope, but with India needing to win both matches if they are to clinch the series, Dhoni may also want to replace Aravind with the extra spinner. This is where Harbhajan Singh’s experience may come handy, especially in Cuttack if the dew isn’t as pronounced as it was in Dharamsala. Like me, he also has great memories of Eden Gardens which will host the final T20I. It will be a good idea to play him in the last two matches. Raina, too, has knack of getting breakthroughs in this version of the game.

The Gandhi-Mandela Trophy 2015 could not have asked for a better start. I hope the quality of cricket and the intensity of the contests continue as the tour goes on. A series of this significance deserves quality, and if Friday’s match is anything to go by, we are in for a wonderful couple of months of exhilarating cricket.

(VVS Laxman, CricketCountry’s Chief Cricket Mentor, remains one of the finest and most elegant batsmen in history. He was part of the iconic Indian middle-order for over a decade and a half and played 134 Tests and 86 ODIs. He tweets at @vvslaxman281)

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