That India have dominated South Africa so comprehensively as we go into the fourth Test of the series is something nobody would have imagined – not even Virat Kohli, the captain of the Indian cricket team – given how comfortable the South Africans looked in Indian conditions during the early part of the tour. But Test cricket is a difference kettle of fish altogether, and is a true test of a player’s skills, temperament and mental preparation, unlike T20s and ODIs.
Clearly, the South Africans were found wanting. Indeed, they were nowhere in the race. India has won two matches comfortably and the only reason it’s not 3-0 right now is because the Bangalore rains were even more effective than the Indian spin bowling. But really, you don’t expect a side that is ranked No. 1 in the world to surrender as meekly as the South Africans have done.
It’s shocking, in fact, as none of the highly vaunted South African cricketers – except for AB de Villiers – have even put up a semblance of a fight. It was as if they had already given up the moment they walked into the field and surveyed the pitch. True, the pitches used were really quite pathetic. The ICC officiating team consisting of the match referee and the umpires, have already called the Nagpur track as poor. Mohali just about escaped censure. The Bangalore track was fine, but unfortunately saw just a single day of action.
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So what can South Africa really do in the Test match to be played from tomorrow at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi? Well, they better show up, for a start, and give the Indians some sort of a contest. Test cricket is fun only when you have both sides fighting for top honors and staying in the contest up until the last minute, when one side emerges as the winner. In this series so far, South Africans have barely competed. It’s shocking how out-of-sorts they have looked.
And who is to blame for that? The South Africans are no strangers to Indian conditions. Most of them play in the IPL and play as much in India as they do in South Africa. They are in fact well liked and well supported in India – so they can’t say that the crowd was against them. They have all the skills needed to play against spin bowling, as the likes of Faf Du Plessis and Quinton de Kock showed in the ODIs. And yet they collapsed like nine pins.
We can only expect more of the same in Delhi, unless the South Africans do something special. Dale Steyn won’t feature in this match either – he is out injured. In fact, Steyn has been largely nonexistent throughout the series, which is really sad as it was billed as a contest between India’s Kohli – the world’s best batsman, and South Africa’s Steyn – the world’s best fast bowler. It does seem, sadly that Steyn’s career in international cricket is pretty much on its last legs. It would be sad if he retires, given that his great rival Mitchell Johnson has already quit the game.
India are expected to play the same team as in the last match in Nagpur, which means another opportunity for Rohit Sharma to shine and resurrect his Test career. For South Africa, there are no easy options, as really, nobody except de Villiers has amounted to much in the whole series. But young batsman Temba Bavuma should get his chance to prove himself.
The Teams
India : 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Rohit Sharma/Varun Aaron.
South Africa: 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Stiaan van Zyl/ Temba Bavuma, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Faf du Plessis, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Dane Vilas (wk), 8 Simon Harmer/Dane Piedt/Marchant de Lange, 9 Kagiso Rabada/Kyle Abbott, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir.
Match Conditions
It’s a warm winter here in Delhi and there’s no chance of rain. We expect the pitch to play the same as the ones in Nagpur and Mohali – plenty of help for spin bowlers from both sides.
Watch India play South Africa in the fourth and final Test at Delhi at 9:00 am, starting tomorrow, live on Star Sports!
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