The ongoing Freedom Trophy for the Gandhi-Mandela Series 2015 between India and South Africa has been dominated by the bowlers. India’s spinners have especially proven nigh unplayable, taking 47 of the 50 South African wickets to have fallen in the series (there was one run out as well, so pacers have taken two wickets in three games). Even the South African bowlers have done exceedingly well, with Simon Harmer, Imran Tahir, Dean Elgar, and Morne Morkel bowling decisive spells at various points in the series. The spinners have dug India out of trouble in every innings so far, but they will need their batsmen to come good sooner rather than later. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs South Africa 2015, 4th Test at Feroz Shah Kotla
Barring Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, and to a lesser degree Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, and Ravindra Jadeja, none of the Indian batsmen have looked comfortable. This has a lot to do with the pitches they have played on, but it is also a matter of temperament and patience. Batsmen like Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, who did well on similar surfaces in Sri Lanka recently, have been guilty of playing far too many loose shots when the need of the day has been resilience. What Vijay and Pujara have done well is to pick the poor balls and capitalise, while defending or leaving everything else.
Kohli has especially been guilty of falling to loose shots in every innings so far. In the first innings at Mohali he got a leading edge off Kagiso Rabada. In the second innings he was sucked into driving outside off and only got an edge. Then in the first innings at Nagpur (he did not bat at Bengaluru) he was again out driving, this time to a well-laid plan by Morne Morkel. In the second innings Kohli was dismissed trying to play a big shot off Imran Tahir. This has been rather disappointing from the captain given his good Test form in recent times. READ: India vs South Africa 2015, 4th Test: Feroz Shah Kotla not likely to offer respite to spin-ravaged visitors
Another batsman who has failed to live up to his billing has been Rahane. The right-hander looked well set in the first innings at Mohali before falling to an excellent ball from Dean Elgar, getting caught at slip. He was caught at short leg in the second innings, this time off Simon Harmer. He was done in by an inswinger from Morkel in the first innings at Nagpur, while he was once again out attempting to drive against Tahir in the second innings.
Dhawan started the series poorly with a pair, but scored vital runs at Bengaluru which gave him some confidence at Nagpur. He top-scored for India in the second innings there, but was again dismissed because of an atrocious shot. Dhawan will need to buckle down and be more watchful at his home ground of Feroz Shah Kotla. Rohit Sharma has played only one game so far and to his credit has looked to be patient. He was done in by the surface on both occasions. Saha has looked solid without being outstanding, but he was the only Indian batsman to face over 100 balls in an innings at Nagpur. READ: Virat Kohli’s refreshing approach to captaincy has benefitted India
Jadeja has scored some crucial runs in the series, but Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra — both skilled lower-order batsmen — have not managed to dig deep and get those important 15-20 runs that they are capable of scoring down the order. Their bowling has more than made up for their lack of runs, but India will be well-served if they can perform in both departments.
For now, the Indian spinners have ensured that South Africa have never really had a chance to win a match, but it would be unfair to expect them to perform in every match. The Indian batsmen have one final chance to show more application and vindicate themselves. READ: India vs South Africa at Nagpur and Australia vs New Zealand at Adelaide show double standards
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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