INDIA WINS THE KANPUR TEST & SQUARES THE SERIES

India won the third and final Test match at Kanpur by 8 wickets. This match also ended in three days like the previous match. India and South Africa share this Test series 1-1.

SCORECARD: India vs South Africa, III Test, Kanpur, 2008

Partnerships – The Key to Victory
India had some crucial partnerships in this match. The one between Rahul and Laxman served as the foundation. Then Ganguly had substantial partnerships with Yuvraj and Dhoni. The last wicket partnership between Sreesanth and Ishant was also very valuable to the team.

Ganguly Played Important Knock of his career
Ganguly played an important knock of his career. It is important because it had contributed to the team’s cause but not for other reasons like it had resurrected his career.

Pitch – The Center of all Attention
The pitch for the first Test match at Chennai was slow and lacked pace. The pitch for the second test match at Ahmedabad was criticized for supporting opposition pacers. Actually it was a good pitch and one has to blame the Indian batsmen for the defeat. The pitch for the third Test match at Kanpur was tailor made for Indian spinners to exploit. Whenever and wherever India plays (home or away), the pitches had always hogged the limelight. I don’t know whether it is my illusion or actuality. Don’t other nations prepare tailor-made pitches for their bowlers and if so why it is not highlighted this much?

Analysis of this series
Indian pace bowlers have been performing well at helpful pitches abroad. The same bowlers find it difficult to bowl at home. I think in present lot Munaf Patel has the capability to bowl well on Indian pitches. Ishant Sharma has also done well in his limited outings. Utilizing the conditions is one type of skill and making impact in unhelpful conditions is another type of skill. Sreesanth and Irfan are very good at first but not good at second one.

Why India have been missing a Srinath at home

Who is next after Anil Kumble (Both spin bowling & Captaincy)? Harbhajan was a success in this series. Dhoni, who captained the final Test match at Kanpur in the absence of injured Kumble, has also succeeded in his first Test match as captain. In long-term I suspect their success. Harbhajan has talent but most of the time he failed to fulfill the expectations. In Dhoni’s case I suspect his place in the Test team. Infact he has improved his wicket-keeping skills by leaps and bound and played a few match saving knocks. But I feel at this stage Dinesh Karthik is better keeper and better Test batsman than Dhoni. May be Dhoni can become better at both. It is too early to comment about his captaincy.

INDIA LOSES THE AHMEDABAD TEST

India lost the second Test match at Ahmedabad by an innings & 90 runs inside three days. South Africa leads this Test series 1-0 and set to win their second Test series in India.

SCORECARD: India vs South Africa, II Test, Ahmedabad, 2008

SPINELESS BATTING IN FIRST INNINGS
The spineless batting performance in the first innings has lead to this debacle. It is difficult to come back into the game once you are bowled out within one session. A team batting first must bat atleast four sessions to post a good score. The result of this Test match was decided in the first session of first day’s play itself. The Indian team needed 2001 Kolkatta miracle to be repeated in their second innings to come back into this game. Unfortunately that was not the case.

PROFESSIONAL DISPLAY BY PROTEAS
The approach of South Africans from the day they have arrived in India is very professional. Their planning and preparation was very meticulous. Their application was faultless. Kallis came up with yet another century. AB De Villiers scored his maiden double ton. They posted a big total that ensured that India’s chances are dead and buried.

BE POSITIVE
It is not end of the road for the Indian team. They can bounce back in the last Test match and square this series. First ensure that all players are match-fit and team balance is right. The batsmen need to be positive and apply themselves. Building regular partnerships has been the strength of India’s recent success and they must follow that principle. Just forget this Test match as a bad dream!

The team needs four fit and wicket-taking bowlers and that is enough. Pathan is a great talent but he has not recovered his bowling form to play in a Test cricket. He is good with new ball on a fresh pitch. But the team needs one who uses both the new & old ball effectively. Ironically Indian pacers are struggling to get wickets with the new ball in this series. Munaf Patel is my choice but his fitness is suspicious. It is a gamble worth to be taken. I hope India’s planning and preparation for next Test match is spot on.

CHENNAI TEST ENDS IN A DULL DRAW

The first Test match between India and South Africa ends in a dull draw. This match has been a high scoring one and only 25 dismissals were possible throughout the entire Test match.

SCORECARD: India vs South Africa, I Test, Chennai 2008

WELL-PREPARED PROTEAS
It seems that South Africans are well prepared for this tour. Their preparation is showing in their performance. They managed to play the Indian spinners very comfortably. Their openers provided quick start in both the innings. Amla and McKenzie were the standout performers for the visitors. Smith and Boucher also batted well.

PITCH
The typical Chennai pitch is a result oriented one. It would have enough bounce and pace for both batsmen and bowlers to exploit and assistance for the spinners. This time around the pitch is slower and lacked enough bounce. The un-seasonal rainfall before this Test match is attributed as the reason for the state of this pitch. I hope the next two matches will have resulted oriented pitches.

INDIAN BOWLING
Indian pace attack appeared somewhat incomplete even before going into this Test match. One is back after injury and another had only moderate success in the just concluded CB one-day tri-series. Munaf Patel would have been better choice than Sreesanth since he has the ability to use the older ball very well. Indian pacers were not able to provide early break-throughs. Kumble and Harbhajan were also not in great form. Indian bowlers should improve their effort to win this Test series.

SEHWAG JOINS ELITE CLUB
Sehwag becomes only the third batsman in Test cricket history to score two triple centuries. He joins an elite club along with Sir Don Bradman and Brian Charles Lara. His knock of 319 is the highest individual Test score for an Indian batsman surpassing his own knock of 309 against Pakistan at Multan in 2004. Congratulations to Sehwag!

‘THE WALL’ REACHES 10000 RUNS
Rahul Dravid becomes the sixth batsman in Cricket history to cross 10000 Test runs. He also becomes the third batsman to score 10000 runs in both Test and One-dayers, after Lara and Sachin. Congratulations to Rahul!

PREVIEW OF INDIA-SOUTH AFRICA TEST SERIES

Men to Watch-out for
Paul Harris
This left-arm spinner will be a threat for the Indians. He made his debut against Indians when they toured South Africa last time. He had put Indian batsmen into a shell by his nagging, over-the-wicket line bowling.
Dale Steyn
He is red hot now. He has pace and swing to trouble the Indian batsmen. He has three consecutive man-of-the series awards coming into this series.
Kallis and Smith
Kallis is South African equivalent of Rahul Dravid and moreover he is in great touch. He has special liking for the Indian bowlers. South African captain Smith has been a prolific scorer for his team. Both these batsmen have great appetite for runs.
Ashwell Prince is a frustrating kind of batsmen like Jimmy Adams.

South African Squad
1.Graeme Smith (captain) 2.Ashwell Prince 3.Hashim Amla 4.Mark Boucher (wk) 5.AB de Villiers 6.JP Duminy 7.Paul Harris, 8.Jacques Kallis 9.Neil McKenzie 10.Morne Morkel 11.Makhaya Ntini 12.Robin Peterson 13.Dale Steyn 14.Monde Zondeki.

India’s Chances
I would like both Jaffer and Sehwag to open the batting. But I fear that in the name of team balance Jaffer would be sacrificed. In recent years Indian batsmen were found struggling at pitches with low bounce. They would like some bounce to play their shots. Regular partnerships have been the hallmark of Indian batting success in recent times and hopefully they would continue this. Success of Indian batting would depend on how positively they play against the spinners and how less the damage at the beginning.

Harbhajan is not as good as he has been hyped. He really needs to contribute with the ball than his mouth. RP Singh is back from an injury and Sreesanth is returning to Test cricket after a while. They would be little scratchy and slow to go full throttle. RP Singh has bowled well in the ongoing Deodhar trophy matches and that is an encouraging sign. Munaf Patel would have been the better choice for the second pacer. But no one seems to have confidence in him.

Proteas would be as tough and competent as Aussies. They would be more disciplined than Aussies but may not have the same level of self-belief as Aussies. If their self-belief is dented very early in the series then this Test series will be India’s. Otherwise it will be a very closely fought one.