Agencies
Mohali, Nov 4: In the last decade or so cricket has been all about the annihilation of bowlers with T20 and 50 overs cricket being played on a more consistent basis than Test cricket. The real battle between the bat and ball, to a certain extent has disappeared. Cricket fans are more accustomed at seeing bowlers being hit out of the park and holding their heads in despair.
Well the PCA Stadium here demonstrated what Test cricket is all about where batsmen had to fight it out in the middle. Twelve wickets fell on the opening day of the first cricket Test between India and South Africa. The hosts after being bowled out for 201, hit back strongly to have the visitors back on the ropes at 28 for two. At crease at stumps were Dean Elgar (13 batting off 59 balls) and skipper Hashim Amla (nine batting of 34 balls).
Back in the hut were Stiaan van Zyl, dismissed by Ravi Ashwin (1/4 off seven) and Faf du Plessis bowled by comeback man Ravindra Jadeja (1/7 off 5). The two unbeaten ones survived quite a few anxious moments – the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of the Indian fielders reverberating frequently across the sparsely-filled ground.
A Test match is now considered all about winning sessions. Well, if South Africa won the first two, courtesy non-regular left-arm spinner Elgar (4/22), the Indians came back strongly make the scoreline 2-1 at the end of the day. But then, the Indians would have definitely not wanted Elgar to be a threat. Elgar was well-supported by pacer Vernon Philander (2/38) and leggie Imran Tahir (2/23).
The disadvantages of playing too many shorter formats of the game were evident once more during the Indian innings. Playing close to the body and with soft hands, driving, by getting to the pitch of the ball, are essential ingredients of Test cricket and most of the Indian batters save Murali Vijay (75, 136b, 12×4), seemed to have forgotten those traits.
Neville Cardus always called ‘cricket, a great leveller’ and his prophecy once more came true for Sikhar Dhawan. The man who had scored the fastest century by an Indian on debut, when he played against Australia here, was back in the hut after only 10 deliveries – flashing hard at a Philander delivery to be caught at slip by Amla.
Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara (31, 66b, 6×4) put on 63 runs for the second wicket, but the latter never looked comfortable. Elgar got Pujara with the arm ball, but the deliveries with which he got Ajinkya Rahane (15) and Wriddhiman Saha (0) were classical left-arm spinner’s dismissals with the ball turning away from the batsmen and taking the edge as they attempted to drive. In both cases, the catches were snapped up by Amla at first slip.
In between birthday boy and skipper Virat Kohli had also gone – a tad unlucky though. Trying to flick Test debutant Kagiso Rabada, he found the ball stopping on him. The resultant leading edge was gobbled up by Elgar at short extra-cover.
All this while, Vijay was batting as if there was nothing on the pitch. His driving in the ‘V’ was majestic and his flicks square off the wicket had ‘class’ written all over with capital C. But a rare lapse of concentration saw him lose his wicket as he missed a sweep off Simon Harmer and was caught plumb in front.
Jadeja (38, 92b, 4×4) and Ashwin (20 n o, 42b) put on a valuable 42 runs for the seventh wicket, to take India just past the 200-run mark. But then Tahir came back for his third spell to gobble up the tail.
The wicket is not one where the game will last the full five days and as such even a first innings lead of 40-50 runs will turn out to be handy. Who gets that will be decided when play resumes Friday.
